Head of Independent Living - North

Title: Head of Independent Living - North

Location: Cheadle, Cheshire, GB, SK8 6RL

Department: Housing Services

Operation: Sanctuary Independent Living Service

Closing Date: 26/04/2026

Requisition: 227899

Sanctuary manages rented and shared ownership homes and supports community initiatives for thousands of customers across England. Our staff help make a real difference to the quality of people's lives.

Head of Independent Living Homeworking - covering the North of England

£64,224 - £78,015 per year plus car allowance

37.5 hours per week

We have an exciting opportunity for a Head of Independent Living to lead the effective delivery of housing management services for the operation.

The Head of Independent Living will manage a high performing national team to meet performance metrics and deliver enhanced customer satisfaction and positive customer outcomes, in line with Group strategy and objectives. This role drives service excellence, innovation and ensures the delivery of high-quality, person centred support that enables customers to live independently, safely and with dignity.

The role of Head of Independent Living will include:

• Lead Independent Living operational teams to deliver a responsive, customer focused and sustainable Housing Management service, putting our customers at the heart of all we do
• Lead high performing operational teams to deliver the balanced scorecard performance metrics, exemplary service standards and compliance with all regulatory requirements within the remit
• Support the development of and lead on implementation of local engagement plans to be able to influence other local services on behalf of customers within Independent Living
• Lead the effective management of operational housing management activities including anti social behaviour and safeguarding cases, complaints, void management, compliance and customer engagement with a focus of sustaining tenancies, supporting customers and creating community cohesion to deliver positive outcomes
• Act as a key point of contact and engagement for local stakeholders, supporting operational and customer service teams, as well as the Director of Independent Living
• Maintain effective control of all local budgets and ensure compliance with all financial policies and procedures

Skills and experiences:

• Degree, management qualification or CIH 5 qualification or willingness to undertake
• Proven experience of delivering high quality housing management services
• A knowledge and understanding of the political landscape of the region
• Proven knowledge of organisational and reputational risk management
• Ability to promote a culture of inclusion, wellbeing and professional development
• Proven experience of leading a high performing team and performance management
• This role will involve driving on company business. In order to drive a company vehicle, drivers must hold a full valid UK driving licence

Why work for us?

We are a not for profit housing association, and own and manage around 125,000 homes. We foster a diverse and inclusive culture, and nurture and reward talent. Our customers are at the heart of all we do, and colleagues help make a real difference to people's lives.

As part of our commitment to making Sanctuary a great place to work, where your wellbeing is of genuine importance, we have developed an attractive employment package. The package recognises your contribution, supports your physical, mental and financial health and gives you the flexibility to tailor your employee benefits by offering:

• 25 days annual leave (rising to a maximum of 30 days) plus public holidays
• A pension scheme with employer contributions from Sanctuary
• Life Assurance
• Employee Advice Service including counselling
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Voluntary health plans
• Wellbeing support and tools
• Staff Networks, with a shared interest in inclusion, and who provide invaluable support to colleagues

Role Salary is dependent on successful candidate's home location/ local office base as below:

• London area - £66,703 with an additional policy allowance of £7,410 per annum (rising to £ 70,214 with an additional policy allowance of £7,800 per annum after 12 months service and subject to satisfactory performance)
• South East region - £60,692 with an additional policy allowance of £6,742 per annum (rising to £ 63,886 with an additional policy allowance of £7,097 per annum after 12 months service and subject to satisfactory performance)
• Elsewhere in the UK - £57,802 with an additional policy allowance of £6,421 per annum (rising to £ 60,844 with an additional policy allowance of £6,759 per annum after 12 months service and subject to satisfactory performance)

If you're unsure about any details, have questions about the role or want to discuss a need for adjustments, our fantastic talent team will be happy to help you -

We reserve the right depending on application numbers to close or extend the closing dates for positions; we would therefore recommend an early application.

Inclusion is one of our core values. Our goal is to be a diverse, inclusive organisation where our people thrive and meet our customers' needs with fairness and empathy.

We encourage and welcome applications from people from diverse backgrounds to support this mission. We will make adjustments throughout your application process, in line with Sanctuary's commitment to our Disability Confident employer status.

Building Equality and Diversity

Sanctuary Group encourages and welcomes applications from people from diverse backgrounds to support our commitment to offering an inclusive environment for our employees and customers.

We work closely with the Home Office in order to prevent illegal working.

A basic Disclosure and Barring Service check will be necessary in the event of a successful application which we will pay for.

Sanctuary Housing Services Limited is a subsidiary of Sanctuary Housing Association, an exempt charity.