Overview
Director of Housing – Ipswich, Suffolk, United Kingdom
JOB DESCRIPTION
- Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils
- Address: Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 2BX
- Salary: Competitive, plus Benefits
- Hours: Full Time, 37 hours per week
- Contract: Permanent
- Reference: 21919
Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils are proud of the progress we have made in housing over recent years, however there is still work to be done to achieve our ambitions for our residents and districts.
We strive for excellence and a housing service that places residents at the centre; that meets the highest standards of safety and quality and strengthens our communities.
If you are ready for the challenge and if our values of openness, ambition and accountability resonate with you, we would love to hear from you.
About the role
Reporting to the Deputy Chief Executive, you will join our Senior Leadership Team and lead a Housing Service with nearly 7,000 properties and 200+ employees, spanning two districts, with distinct geographies and political priorities.
The service has recently been through major transformation which has seen significant improvements in tenant outcomes.
We want you to build on our strong foundation and ensure that the progress we have made is sustained, particularly in areas of compliance, repairs performance, and customer experience.
You will lead and steer our housing teams with a particular focus on embedding our neighbourhood management offer to tenants, improving our void performance, and bringing all our homes up to the Decent Homes Standard.
This role will be about leading through scrutiny, shaping the future of housing in Babergh and Mid Suffolk, and making a real difference for thousands of residents.
About you
An ambitious Housing Professional, you will be a visionary leader who can steer our housing service through regulatory scrutiny, cultural change, and operational complexity.
You will bring with you a track record of achievement, delivering high quality affordable social housing services within a complex, multi-agency social housing environment.
You will have experience of working collaboratively with stakeholders at a strategic level, managing complex budgets with significant constraints, workforce development, and performance improvement within affordable social housing services.
You will demonstrate passion, drive and ambition to sustain and improve housing service levels for our communities and residents.
About us
At Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils we are passionate about building communities that people want to live, work, visit and invest in.
We serve around 200,000 residents across our two districts and are well known for our collaboration and partnership working across public, private and voluntary sectors.
We believe that the heart of Suffolk is an incredibly special place to live and work, with:
- 60 conservation areas
- two National Landscapes
- many picturesque market towns.
It is no surprise we are ranked among the top 50 places to live in the UK (United Kingdom).
Benefits
We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including:
- generous leave entitlement (26 days a year, rising to 31 days after 5 years)
- competitive local government pension scheme
- wellbeing support and employee assistance programs
- private health care options
- electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme
- paid volunteering days
- flexible and hybrid working arrangements (business needs permitting)
- great learning and development opportunities.
For more information, visit our Employee Benefits page.
Our ways of working
We believe work is what we do, not just where we go.
We work in a hybrid way, with a mix of office, home, and remote based working (business need permitting). Our hybrid working arrangements support flexibility and collaboration, helping our teams to thrive.
We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, providing opportunity and ambition for all, supporting and enabling our people to deliver the best possible services for our residents.
For more information
The recruitment for this position is being managed exclusively by Penna Recruitment, who are operating as an Executive Recruitment Consultancy, on behalf of Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils.
For a confidential conversation, please contact our consultants at Penna:
- Kelly Ridley on 07709 512415 or email: kelly.ridley@penna.com
- Bruna Varante on 07858 306725 or email: bruna.varante@penna.com
- Vikhram Singh on 07885 643 273 or email: vikhram.singh@penna.com
How to apply
For more information and how to apply, please visit the vacancy on the Penna Website.
Please read the Candidate Pack (pdf), which includes the Job Description, before applying for this job opportunity.
Closing date: 11.55 pm, 22 January 2026.
Interview date: week commencing 26 January 2026.
This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts.
For more information, visit our Employee Benefits page.
IMPORTANT PLEASE READ BEFORE APPLYING
To apply, please follow the application process detailed above.
This job does not have a Suffolk Jobs Direct online application form.
IMPORTANT: Before applying for this role, please make sure you have the right to work in the country where the role is based. Unless it clearly stipulates within in the job advert above that the hiring company is looking to or able to sponsor applicants it is deemed that the hiring employer will only consider applications from those able to comply with and work in the country where the role is based.
