Head of Housing and Communities

Job Description

An exciting opportunity has arisen in the role of Head of Housing and Communities. The postholder will be responsible for developing, managing and ensuring the efficient delivery of services which includes Housing and Housing Asset Services, refuse collection, recycling, grounds maintenance, bereavement services and regulatory services across the East Ayrshire Council areas.

As a Chief Officer and member of the Councils’ Management Team, you will contribute to the corporate leadership, management and development of the Councils in order to assist with the promotion, delivery and integration of the key objectives identified within the Housing and Communities Service Plan and the Community Plan.

You will report performance to the Council and will liaise effectively with services as required to ensure achievement of Councils’ outcomes. You will have the ability and skills to ensure that the needs and expectations of the Council are managed and addressed in a way that commands respect, trust and confidence from Elected Members and senior officers.

We are looking for an individual with the ability to provide visible and supportive leadership, empowering, enabling, motivating and developing the Housing and Communities workforce and fostering a positive organisational culture. You will have a proven track record of successful management and leadership in the formulation and delivery of issues within a large, multi-disciplined organisation and in delivering performance improvement in areas of a similar portfolio of services.

Our recruitment pack which will provide further details in respect of the position together with various documents which will be of interest to anyone applying for this post can be found in the job attachments below.

For an informal discussion about the post, please contact Joe McLachlan, Chief Executive on 01563 576103.

Any candidate experiencing difficulties completing their online application should contact andrea.lennon@east-ayrshire.gov.uk.

Responsibilities

We follow the national guidance in relation to pre-employment checks namely “Safer Recruitment Through Better Recruitment”. With regards to requests for references and in line with this guidance, during your application process you should provide details of a minimum of two appropriate and relevant references, one of which should be from your current or most recent employer. It is also a requirement that the reference from your current or most recent employer is from an appropriate senior manager and it is not a reference from a former peer operating at the same level.

Please note that references will be taken up prior to the formal interview stage.

If you apply for this post, please add the following email address to your safe sender list to ensure that any MyJobScotland related e-mails go directly to your inbox - noreply@myjobscotland.gov.uk.

This post is classed as a politically restricted post under the provisions of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (as amended).

Additional Information

This is a permanent full-time post.  The admin base for this post is Council Headquarters, London Road, Kilmarnock.

Normal Office hours are Monday - Thursday 9am - 5pm & Friday 9am - 4pm

Annual Salary £110,471.

The longleet for the post will take place on 30^th July 2026. If your application is successful at the longleet stage, you will be required to attend a Virtual Assessment Centre on 13^th August 2026. Candidates who are successful in the assessment process will be invited to the final interview on 15^th September 2026. Please note that we are unable to change these dates.

East Ayrshire Council is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce and welcomes applications from all members of the community. We encourage applicants from underrepresented groups including Black and Minority Ethnic people, disabled people and LGBT people. We are also keen to decrease occupational segregation and so encourage women to apply for managerial posts and/or roles in which they are underrepresented. East Ayrshire Council is a Disability Confident employer and a Recruit with Conviction Ambassador.

Our recruitment information pack provides further details in respect of this position and contact details should you require a more detailed discussion.