Supported Housing Manager

About Support When It Matters (SWIM)

SWIM is a London-based social enterprise delivering culturally competent programmes that support individuals facing multiple disadvantage, including mental health challenges, substance misuse, offending histories and housing instability. We provide housing navigation, tenancy sustainment and supported housing services across London, working with NHS trusts, local authorities and community mental health partnerships to support people whose housing needs are the primary barrier to recovery and stability.

Our work emerged from collective experiences as African, Caribbean, global majority and dual heritage people, creating pathways through systems that were not designed with us in mind. We are growing something deeply rooted in community wisdom and shared experience, a space where authentic relationships and cultural understanding guide everything we do. Our services include:

• Prepare, Adjust, Contribute, Thrive (PACT) programmes for men across London boroughs
• HER-PACT programme for women leaving prison or on probation
• Supported accommodation services, including temporary housing provision
• Prison in-reach and through-the-gate support
• Community outreach and partnership work

1. Role overview

The Supported Housing Manager holds operational management responsibility for SWIM's supported accommodation portfolio and for the housing staff team across all schemes. The postholder manages the properties, the occupancy agreements and the income they generate, and is accountable for the standard, safety and statutory compliance of every scheme.

This is a management post. The principal purpose of the role is to plan, organise and direct the resources needed to run SWIM's housing provision. The postholder decides how properties are used, allocated and maintained, sets and monitors the housing budget, and directs the work of the housing team. Frontline support to residents is delivered by the team, not by the postholder.

SWIM is not registered with the Care Quality Commission and does not provide regulated personal care. This role is a housing and property management role.

Role details

Job Title : Supported Housing Manager

Responsible To: Head of Housing

Responsible For: Housing Team Leader, Senior Practitioner, Housing Support Practitioners, trainees, and bank and agency Housing Support Workers

Hours of Work: Part-Time 9am-5pm(22.5 hours pw)

Location: On-site across SWIM's supported accommodation schemes in London, with a primary base at SWIM's Hackney office

Contract Type: Permanent

Salary: £37,500-40,000 per annum (Pro Rata)

DBS: DBS check required

1. Key responsibilities

Property and asset management

• Plan, organise and direct the use of SWIM's supported accommodation portfolio, deciding how properties are configured, allocated and turned around.
• Manage the condition and presentation of every scheme, commissioning repairs, planned maintenance and refurbishment, and holding contractors to time, cost and quality.
• Negotiate and manage agreements with landlords, leaseholders, managing agents and suppliers, and act as SWIM's point of authority on property matters.
• Manage void properties and turnaround times, minimising rent loss and keeping units available to meet referral demand.
• Maintain accurate property records, including inventories, condition surveys, certificates and licences.

Tenancy and occupancy management

• Manage the granting, variation and ending of tenancies and licences to occupy, ensuring every agreement is lawful and properly documented.
• Oversee referrals, assessments and allocations, deciding on lettings in line with SWIM's policies and commissioner requirements.
• Manage breaches of occupancy agreements, anti-social behaviour and possession action, taking or authorising formal steps where required.
• Ensure residents receive the notices, information and support to which they are entitled when their occupation begins, changes or ends.

Income, rent and financial management

• Set, monitor and control the housing budget, managing income and expenditure and reporting performance to the Head of Housing.
• Manage rent and service charge schedules, including the calculation and review of charges for supported and exempt accommodation.
• Oversee rent collection, arrears management and recovery action, and manage the housing benefit and exempt accommodation income stream with local authorities.
• Resolve disputed, suspended and underpaid housing benefit claims, and manage the financial risk arising from them.
• Authorise expenditure within delegated limits and ensure value for money across property and service costs.

Leadership and staff management

• Hold overall managerial responsibility for the housing team, providing direction, oversight and accountability.
• Determine staffing levels and rotas across schemes, and manage the deployment of bank and agency workers to meet cover requirements.
• Recruit, induct, supervise and appraise housing staff, and manage learning and development activity.
• Manage employee relations matters, including performance, conduct, attendance and wellbeing, in line with SWIM HR policies and employment law.
• Deliver and commission in-house training relevant to housing management and support practice.

Resident Support and Welfare

Support Planning: Co-creating, monitoring and reviewing outcome-focused, individual support plans (such as outcome star frameworks)

Life skills and Independence: Assisting clients with daily living skills, including budgeting, paying bills and accessing community services

Benefits and Welfare: Supporting residents with Housing Benefits applications, Universal Credit claims and resolving financial support issues

Health and Wellbeing Monitoring: Tracking mental and physical health needs

Safeguarding and Complaints: Acting as a designated Safeguarding lead to manage safeguarding concerns, handle service user complaints and address anti-social behaviour.

Compliance, governance and risk

• Ensure compliance with housing legislation, including the Housing Acts 1985 to 2004, the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 and the Renters' Rights Act 2025.
• Hold responsibility for building safety compliance across the portfolio, including fire safety under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, gas and electrical safety, water hygiene and hazard assessment.
• Ensure weekly property checks and statutory inspections are completed, recorded and acted upon.
• Implement safeguarding, risk management and incident reporting processes, and lead the response to serious incidents affecting properties or residents.
• Manage complaints, ensuring timely resolution and learning from outcomes.
• Lead audits and inspections of housing provision by commissioners, funders and regulators, and deliver the resulting improvement actions.

Service quality and performance

• Ensure schemes provide safe, well-maintained and psychologically informed environments, embedding Housing First and harm reduction principles.
• Set and monitor performance measures for the housing service, and report against contractual and funder requirements.
• Identify performance risks and lead service and property reorganisation where required.
• Develop SWIM's housing offer, contributing to bids, mobilisations and new scheme development.
• Maintain client confidentiality, ensuring case records are held and managed in line with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
• Oversee the quality of casework progression and move-on planning, ensuring residents are supported to transition from recovery into independent living.
• Resolve support and property related complaints in line with SWIM's complaints policy.
• Set and monitor performance indicators for housing staff, embedding an outcomes-focused framework across the service.

Partnership and representation

• Represent SWIM with local authorities, housing benefit teams, commissioners, landlords and partner agencies.
• Attend and contribute to partnership forums, commissioning meetings and provider networks.
• Manage effective internal communication across the housing team and with other SWIM services.

Other duties

• Work flexibly to meet service need, including participation in on-call and some evening and weekend working.
• Maintain a commitment to continuing professional development.
• Carry out any other reasonable duties within the scope of the role.

1. About the candidate

Essential

• Substantial experience of housing management in a supported accommodation, social housing or similar setting.
• Experience of managing property, including repairs, maintenance, contractors and building safety compliance.
• Experience of managing tenancies or licences, allocations, voids and possession processes.
• Experience of rent setting, rent collection, arrears management and housing benefit income, including exempt accommodation.
• Experience of managing and developing a staff team, including recruitment, supervision, appraisal and performance management.
• Experience of budget management and financial monitoring for a housing service.
• Working knowledge of housing legislation, building safety requirements and regulatory frameworks.
• Experience of partnership working with statutory and voluntary sector agencies.
• Strong data management skills and experience of maintaining reporting systems.

Desirable

• A housing management qualification, for example CIH Level 4 or above.
• IOSH or NEBOSH qualification in health and safety, or willingness to undertake training.
• Experience of working with people from African, Caribbean and other minoritised communities.
• Knowledge of Housing First and harm reduction approaches.
• Experience of scheme mobilisation or new housing development.

1. Why join SWIM

SWIM is a mission-driven organisation committed to improving the lives of individuals experiencing multiple disadvantage. Our work focuses on supporting people to rebuild stability through culturally competent services that address housing, wellbeing and social inclusion.

The Supported Housing Manager holds the accommodation base on which the rest of SWIM's work depends. Safe, well-run, financially sustainable housing is what allows our recovery, justice and wellbeing programmes to succeed. This is an opportunity to take full management responsibility for that provision in a values-driven organisation committed to equity, recovery and empowerment, and to help build ways of working that reflect the communities SWIM exists to serve.

Other requirements

• Ability to travel across London and work from multiple locations, including partner premises, NHS sites and housing schemes.
• Flexibility to respond to operational and service user support requirements as needed.

1. Responsibilities for all SWIM staff

All staff are expected to:

• Uphold SWIM values and ways of working: equality, understanding, inclusion, compassion, belonging and respect.
• Promote inclusive and anti-discriminatory practice aligned with SWIM policies and the Equality Act 2010.
• Comply with organisational policies and procedures, including the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and health and safety requirements.
• Participate in supervision, training and learning forums, maintaining a commitment to continuous improvement.
• Work flexibly to enable effective service delivery, including across sites when required.
• Carry out other reasonable duties as required within the scope of the role.

Pay: £22,500.00-£24,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company pension
• Cycle to work scheme

Application question(s):

• How many years of experience do you have managing supported housing or social housing services?
• Do you have experience managing properties, including repairs, maintenance, health and safety compliance and tenancy management?
• Do you have experience managing staff and supporting vulnerable residents, including safeguarding and support planning?

Work Location: In person