Croydon or Sittingbourne hybrid working available

Southern Housingis looking for a dynamic and experiencedHead of Customer Accountsto lead our income collection service, drive customer-focused improvements, and support tenancy sustainment across our diverse resident base.

Reporting to theDirector of Customer Access & Transactions, this is a fantastic opportunity to shape strategy, deliver high performance, and play a key role in integrating our teams into a single, customer-centric service, all whilst living our HEART values.

In this role you will lead and inspire theCustomer Accounts teamto maximise income collection, oversee arrears and service charge recovery across all tenures and partnerships, and manage former tenant and sundry debt. You will champion excellent customer service, ensure proactive complaint resolution, and use predictive tools and performance data to target accounts requiring action. Working closely with internal teams, the DWP, Local Authorities, and other partners, you will ensure residents receive the right support while protecting business income. You will manage bad debt processes, budgets, and accurate reporting, ensuring compliance with legislation, FCA requirements and best practice, while using data insights to drive continuous service improvement.

This role will be based in ourCroydonorSittingbourneoffice and requires presence in both locations on regular basis due to teams allocation. Hybrid working is offered as agreed with your manager.

What youll need:

• Proven leadership experience, managing cross-functional teams and driving performance to ensure the efficient collection and debt recovery and accurate reporting
• Expertise in budgeting, forecasting, monitor and audit processes
• Deep understanding of the broad regulatory environment for arrears recovery this should include renters and leaseholders rights, and welfare reform
• Confidence interpreting KPIs and presenting financial data to senior leadership teams
• Excellent communication, organisational, and customer service skills
• Experience managing change and delivering measurable improvements
• A proactive, resilient, and diplomatic approach
• Housing professional qualification CIH 4 or willingness to work towards achieving this level

In yoursupporting statement, it is important that you address how you meet each of the aboveeight criteriaproviding real examples.

Closing date:31st March 2026at 23.59pm.

Shortlisting date:from 1st April 2026

Interview dates:

1st Stage:in-person interview on 13th of April 2026 in our Croydon office

2nd Stage:in-person interview on 20th of April 2026 in our Farringdon office

Please note:We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications. We encourage you to submit your application and supporting statement as soon as possible so your application can be reviewed and considered.

About us

At Southern Housing, our residents are at the heartof everything we do. As one of the largest housing providers in the UK with over 77,000 homes across London, the Southeast, the Isle of Wight, and the Midlands, we give over 167,000 people somewhere affordable to call their own!We also understand the difference that safe, secure, and affordable homes can make to peoples lives.

A career at Southern Housing will allow you to make a difference every day you come to work. Working in the housing sector with us will bring fresh challenges and give you the opportunity to grow and develop, too.

What's in it for you

• Pension
• Life assurance
• Healthcare cash plan
• Eyecare & dental
• Birthday leave
• Retailersdiscounts
• Cycle to work
• Buy & sell annual leave
• Season ticket loan
• In-house academy & career development
• Flexible working

Inclusion and Diversity

To be considered for an interview, please make sure your application is full in line with the job specs as found below.
We work hard to create a diverse and inclusive culture and environment where people are respected for who they are. Encouraging inclusion is not just about protected characteristics, its about celebrating differences of thought, opinion, experienceand perspective of each individual. xbpsjku Were all different in our own way and we want our colleagues to feel comfortable, that they belong, and are safe to be themselves at work, without fear of being judged or excluded, but valued for their contribution to our One Team approach.