Rural Housing Enabler

Job Details

About Us:

Based in the heart of Warwickshire, the beautiful district of Stratford-on-Avon is, without doubt, one of the most scenic and historical regions in the UK. [Employer hidden]’s headquarters are located in the heart of William Shakespeare’s hometown. In the District, you will find thriving market towns, home to over 135,000 residents and a tourist destination for millions of visitors each year, from across the globe. We are proud to provide public services to residents, businesses and visitors across this magnificent region, making it a great place to live, work and visit.

At the Council, our people are our superpower and by choosing to bring your talents to our organisation, you will be joining a great team where everyone feels that they truly belong, full of dedicated people all working with passion and purpose, across a dynamic portfolio of work providing high-quality services.

Benefits:

As part of our team, you will enjoy a comprehensive benefits package, including:

Flexibility:

• A minimum of 25 days of annual leave, plus Bank Holidays. (pro rata)
• Hybrid working arrangements with the flexibility to work from home for up to 60% of your hours (dependent upon the role)
• Flexi-time scheme for a better work-life balance.

Lifestyle:

• Health Cash Plan Scheme for medical and dental expenses.
• Eye test voucher scheme
• Everyone Active Gym Membership discount

Professional Development:

• Training and Development opportunities.
• Payment of one professional subscription fee

Financial Planning:

• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme to secure your future.
• Access to free Will writing services.
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Salary Sacrifice schemes e.g. Cycle to Work etc.
• Free town centre parking

What to Expect in the Role:

You will work with rural communities, stakeholders, local developers and Registered providers to promote the development of rural affordable housing. You will work with other policy and planning colleagues to co-ordinate the implementation of the Council's housing enabling policies and programmes. You will work closely with Parish administrations to advocate for local groups and promote wider housing need within communities. Covering a large geographic area with a variety of community characteristics, you will facilitate the forming and delivering of local housing policies and strategies. You will be instrumental in shaping the housing landscape and ensuring residents have a good supply of quality homes. You will ensure local voices are heard within the council and wider housing need championed across the district.

Key Accountabilities and Responsibilities (Please see Job Description and Person Specification for more details):

To work in partnership with local communities, housing associations and others in accordance with the District Council’s Housing Strategy and Local Plan to: Raise awareness of the need for affordable housing amongst local communities. Facilitate the identification of local housing needs by local communities. Promote positive relationships between communities and the council Act as a main point of contact and a link to parish councils in relation to local housing needs/ community-led schemes Raise awareness amongst local communities of the importance of their producing plans and strategies for addressing any identified housing needs (including consequential public consultation processes). Facilitate the identification and assessment of suitable potential sites for affordable housing schemes. Develop and promote new and innovative ways of providing affordable housing for local communities. Promote the development of sustainable, as well as affordable housing, with reference to the sustainability of local communities as a whole. Be familiar with the evolving policy framework for housing at a regional, sub-regional and local level and offer advice and intelligence on housing issues as appropriate. Undertake, where appropriate, locally relevant research which contributes to more effective solutions to meet the affordable housing needs, including Housing Need Surveys. Be able to produce and disseminate verbal and written information that is tailored to different audiences. This includes presentations, briefings, and committee reports. Respond to requests for advice and guidance such as relevant Freedom of Information requests, member press inquiries, consultation documents as directed. Attend and participate in meetings as appropriate and to assist in organising conferences, seminars, workshops and other training events as appropriate.

What You’ll Need (Please see Job Description and Person Specification for more details):

• The ability to travel to locations within the district
• Experience of working with communities, developers, Registered providers and council planners.
• Able to deal with contentious and confidential matters with diplomacy and tact.
• Enthusiastic, positive and can-do approach and ability to use initiative and build strong relationships with colleagues and key stakeholders.

Right To Work

Applicants must have existing Right to Work in the UK, as visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) e.g. ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini etc.

Artificial Intelligence could be a useful tool to support your application. However, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by AI, as your own) applications may be withdrawn.

Interview Format

All interviews for this position will be held face to face, as we believe this offers the best experience for candidates and panel members.

Internal Applicants – Secondment Opportunity

This post is offered as a secondment opportunity, allowing employees to return to their original post at the end of the secondment period. All parties must agree to the secondment, so please ensure that your Line Manager is supportive before applying. Full agreement from all parties must be confirmed in writing for the secondment to proceed, therefore candidates must have written agreement from their Manager before making an application.

For an informal chat about the role, please contact Jon Mutchell, Housing Strategy and Development Manager on [contact hidden] or [contact hidden]

Applications will close at midnight on 5th May 2026

Interviews will be held w/c 1st June 2026