Head of Neighbourhoods

We’re building thriving communities as one of the UK’s largest housing groups and a leading developer of affordable housing.

We believe everyone is entitled to a good home they can afford, in a place they are proud to live. More than 100,000 people live in our homes.

If you want to experience work that’s truly rewarding, join us. Because when we achieve together, customers and communities thrive.

Work for Orbit. Believe in people.

The role

We’re looking for an experienced and inspiring Head of Neighbourhoods to join Orbit and lead the delivery of high-quality neighbourhood and community services across a significant regional portfolio.

The role will have responsibility for either our Midlands and East or South region, covering around 25,000 homes, approximately 50 colleagues and up to four direct reports.

As one of the UK’s largest housing groups, we believe everyone is entitled to a good home they can afford, in a place they are proud to live. This role is central to making that ambition real.

This is an opportunity to lead a substantial service, influence how neighbourhood management is delivered and make a visible difference to thousands of customers and communities.

You’ll join an organisation focused on improving services, strengthening customer experience and creating places where people are proud to live.

This position is offered on a fixed-term contract until March 2027.

What you'll achieve

You’ll provide strategic leadership across our neighbourhood services, creating a culture where colleagues are empowered to deliver excellent outcomes and where customers are at the heart of our decisions. You’ll work closely with teams across Orbit, community partners and other stakeholders to ensure our services remain responsive, effective and focused on improving the lived experience of our customers.

• Translate strategy into clear operational plans and measurable outcomes.
• Lead and inspire a large, geographically dispersed team.
• Drive high standards of neighbourhood management and customer service.
• Champion continuous improvement and lead change across services.
• Ensure customer insight and feedback influence priorities and service design.
• Oversee performance, financial planning, risk and regulatory compliance.
• Build strong partnerships internally and externally to improve outcomes for customers and communities.
• Develop agile, innovative and digitally enabled ways of working.
• Act as a senior point of expertise for neighbourhood and community management across the organisation.

What you'll bring

Essential skills

• A thorough understanding of tenancy and neighbourhood management, including ASB and safeguarding.
• Significant leadership experience within a complex service environment.
• A proven ability to develop high-performing, customer-focused teams.
• Strong commercial, financial and performance management skills.
• Experience leading service improvement and large-scale change.
• Excellent influencing, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• A strong understanding of risk, compliance and regulatory requirements.
• A relevant Level 4 or higher housing qualification, or a willingness to work towards one.

Why Orbit?

Choosing us means being rewarded in every sense.

Here’s what you can expect to enjoy with us.

A rewarding experience that works for you

We strive to create an inclusive experience with benefits and wellbeing programmes designed to help you, and your loved ones, to thrive. For a better work life balance, we offer flexible working opportunities for many roles.

A place to progress

From training programmes to professional qualifications, we provide opportunities to learn and develop at every stage of your career. Whether you’re a student, graduate or experienced professional we’ll support you to grow.

For leaders, our tailored development journeys are designed to stretch and strengthen your leadership skills. As well as practical training, we give you access to renowned business schools and experiential programmes for greater breadth and depth of learning.

A purpose to feel proud of

We’re proud to make a difference to people together. We’re values-driven with a commercial focus on performance - because the more profit we make, the more we can achieve for people.

What brings us together is a passionate belief in progress and people.

Read more about the values and purpose that drive us on our careers website.

How we hire

We aim to make our hiring process simple and fair:

1. Online application
2. Interview(s)
3. Decision and offer

We put the safeguarding of our customers, colleagues and contractors at the heart of everything we do and as such, certain roles will be subject to a DBS check