Communities, Housing and Environment at Leeds City Council 

The Roles

Salary: Up to £179,320


In this pivotal role, you will lead this large and exciting community and outcome focused directorate. You will provide the strategic direction and vision for the effective delivery of a broad range of services within the city. These include climate, energy and greenspace, community hubs, welfare and business development, environmental services, elections and regulatory services, housing, and safer stronger communities.

You’ll hold the statutory responsibilities in relation to housing and ensure the effective delivery of the Leeds Housing Strategy and ensure all directorate activity is properly aligned to the wider objectives of the Council, the Best City Ambition and the city’s broader strategic objectives.

With an emphasis on strong and corporate leadership, and reporting to the chief executive you will play a full and visible role in the corporate leadership team, influencing and advocating across the council and the city.

For further information and a confidential discussion please contact:

Ali Tasker 07514 728114, Julie Towers 07764 791736 or Pete John 07701 305617 

Closing Date: Sunday 12th October 2025

Apply for Director, Communities, Housing and Environment role Director, Communities, Housing and Environment Job Description


Salary: Up to £116,260


As a city committed to housing growth and development you will play a critical strategic role within the council. In this position you will be responsible for leading, managing, and delivering services across a large housing portfolio (the second-largest social housing provider in England). Your focus will be on continuous improvement, utilizing strong management skills to achieve better outcomes for tenants and leaseholders, and driving innovation to reduce homelessness.

Our housing stock and ambitions are significant, and you will need to bring leadership and professional experience to provide strategic direction and innovation in delivering housing priorities. You will also contribute to wider place-based and community-focused initiatives.

You will be confident in working with key partners at local, regional, and national level and be adept at working in collaboration with colleagues and partners to support the delivery of real change across the city.

For further information and a confidential discussion please contact:

Mark Baldwinson 07764 698139, Julie Towers 07764 791736 or Pete John 07701 305617 

Closing Date: Sunday 12th October 2025

Apply for Chief Housing Officer role Chief Housing Officer Job Description

Our Service

Supporting citizens

The Communities, Housing and Environment directorate plays a pivotal role in shaping our communities, delivering essential services, and protecting the city’s environment.

We are looking for an inspirational, innovative Director of Communities, Housing and Environment who will drive forward our central mission of improving lives for people in Leeds.

Locality working in action

We want our services to be accessible and responsive to local needs, so many of our teams work directly within communities and localities. This embedded approach reflects our commitment to tackling poverty and inequality, ensuring no one is left behind.

Whether in community hubs, libraries, parks or out and about, our teams are dedicated to making Leeds a safe, clean and green city.

With 99 elected councillors representing residents in their local areas, strong and collaborative relationships with elected members are essential to the success of our locality-based approaches.

Our core operational areas include:

  • Climate, energy and green spaces
  • Community hubs, welfare and business development
  • Environmental services
  • Housing
  • Safer, stronger communities
  • Elections and regulatory services

This is an exciting time to join the leadership team in Communities, Housing and Environment. You’ll drive forward major initiatives, which include:

  • our £12 million customer service transformation programme,
  • implementation of the city’s Cohesion Strategy
  • significant developments in our social housing service
  • delivery of a range of projects and initiatives supporting our Net Zero ambitions
  • leadership of our locality working arrangements
  • delivery of the city’s waste management strategy
  • significant investment in our greenspaces to support income generation, enhance biodiversity and increase access to nature

The Director will also lead and chair the city’s community safety partnership, the Safer Leeds Executive.

Strong communities, sustainable city

As a member of our Corporate Leadership Team, you will play a key role in delivering the Leeds Ambitions, our strategic vision for the city to realise its full potential for the benefit of everyone who lives, works, studies or visits here.

Communities, Housing and Environment leads on two of our four core priorities within the ambitions:

  • Strong communities - a welcoming, safe and clean city where people have a voice, live in cohesive neighbourhoods, stay healthy, and enjoy Leeds’ rich cultural, social and sporting offer
  • Sustainable city - a bold ambition for Leeds to become the UK’s first net zero and nature-positive city, empowering residents and businesses to make sustainable choices that improve living standards and strengthen the economy

People and places

Our network of community hubs and libraries brings vital services directly to residents, offering face-to-face support on everything from benefits and budgeting to housing and social care. We also provide flexible contact options via phone, through our contact centre, social media and online platforms.

With around 276,000 customer interactions each month, we are investing in a customer-first culture. Our transformation programme will harness technology to streamline processes, embrace innovation, and ensure every interaction is quicker, easier and more effective.

Safety is fundamental to wellbeing. Our Safer, Stronger Communities team works in partnership with West Yorkshire Police, health agencies, the third sector and others to address anti-social behaviour, support the Prevent agenda, and manage the night-time economy.

Our climate, energy and green spaces teams are leading the council’s ambition for Leeds to become the first net zero city in the UK. We are leading by example, reducing our own carbon footprint through renewable energy, low emission vehicles, local food sourcing, planting woodland and more. We are committed to ensuring every resident has access to quality green spaces.

We are proud of our environmental services team’s achievements in waste and recycling. Over 99% of household waste collected is reused, recycled, composted or converted into electricity, with less than 0.2% going to landfill.

Our housing service is focused on delivering the safe, high-quality homes that the city needs and going above and beyond our statutory duties to fulfil the ambitions of our Leeds Housing Strategy 2022 to 2027. Working in partnership with other providers we are adding to the city’s housing stock through our Council Housing Growth Programme, which has delivered almost 3,000 affordable homes in five years with strong progress projected to continue.

Alongside our new Director of Communities, Housing and Environment, we are appointing to another key senior role, Chief Officer Housing. The successful candidates will work closely together to make our housing services the best they can be and continue our strong record in meeting the city’s need for new homes. 

Our housing service

In a city that’s home to 812,000 residents and growing, our housing service is the second largest social housing provider in the country managing over 43,000 units of social housing.

We are seeking an inspirational senior housing professional as Chief Housing Officer to lead this vital service, bringing strategic direction, sector expertise and collaborative leadership at a time of significant challenge and opportunity.

Strategy and innovation

This is a high-profile leadership role at the head of a large complex service with responsibility for delivering our statutory housing duties and driving forward the ambitions of our Leeds Housing Strategy 2022 to 2027.

Like most local authorities, Leeds faces rising demand for social housing, a shortage of affordable homes, and the urgent need to upgrade older housing stock and improve energy efficiency. These priorities require innovative approaches and strategic investment.

Our changing city

The demographic profile of Leeds poses specific issues in the coming years, which will need a flexible, inclusive housing system that is responsive to evolving needs.

The city has:

  • significant pockets of disadvantage, as highlighted in the most recent Index of Multiple Deprivation
  • an ageing population, with the 50+ age group growing by 30,000 over two decades
  • a projected increase in residents aged 80+
  • around 17% of residents living with a disability or long-term health condition

Progress and ambition

Our Council Housing Growth Programme has delivered 788 homes over the past five years, including 400 new-build council homes. Across all providers, 2,900 affordable homes were delivered in the same period, more than in any city outside London. An annual average of at least 800 affordable homes is projected for each of the next three years.

We are proud of this progress, but we know there is more to do. Heading up the leadership team in housing, you will be instrumental in accelerating delivery, shaping future investment, and ensuring our housing offer meets the needs of all residents.

People and communities

Our housing teams are driven by a strong customer-first ethos. From statutory homelessness support and housing advice through Housing Options, to tenancy management and lettings via Housing Leeds, we put residents at the heart of everything we do.

We also deliver specialist services that enable people to live independently and with dignity, including:

  • Retirement LIFE - supported housing for older residents
  • Independent Living Service - home adaptations and relocation support for disabled people

Resident engagement is central to our approach, helping us co-design services and shape communities that reflect local aspirations.

Collaboration and influence

Leeds has a complex housing landscape and a huge diversity of communities. The success of our housing strategy depends on strong partnerships across the public, private and voluntary sectors. As Chief Housing Officer, you will lead a collaborative, outward-facing service that works across boundaries to deliver innovative housing solutions.

This role also offers a unique opportunity to influence national housing policy. With changes due in central government housing policy, you will represent Leeds at a strategic level, building relationships with national partners to shape policy that translates into real outcomes for our communities.

Join Us

We are seeking strategic leaders with extensive sector experience and in-depth knowledge, operational acumen and a passion for public service. You will bring confidence, creativity and resilience to lead at scale, navigate complexity and drive innovation.

These are exceptional opportunities to make a lasting impact on the lives of Leeds residents and their communities, and to shape the future of one of the UK’s most dynamic cities.