Head of Corporate Strategy

About the Role

The Head of Corporate Strategy will play a critical leadership role at Homes England, guiding the organisation's strategic decisions and ensuring successful delivery of priorities. This position entails leading the ongoing development and revision of the Strategic Plan and Investment Strategy, setting medium-term goals, and translating these into impactful outcomes aligned with organisational values centered on people and place.

Serving as a key strategic advisor to the Chief Executive and executive leadership team, this role requires sharp analytical thinking, sound judgement, and a proactive approach to execute strategies effectively and maintain cross-functional alignment.

Key Responsibilities

• Direct the creation, communication, and update of Homes England’s Corporate Strategy, including horizon scanning, option development, governing body approvals, and refresh cycles.
• Manage the annual Investment Strategy for Homes England and the National Housing Bank by coordinating evidence, insights, and market analysis to guide capital allocation.
• Translate strategic plans into prioritized portfolios and intended outcomes, collaborating closely with teams across delivery, investment, finance, policy, research, and analysis.
• Maintain an active strategy process by swiftly moving from insight to decision to implementation, focusing on pivotal matters that drive organisational success.
• Lead extensive cross-organisational strategic reviews to adapt to evolving policy, market conditions, and needs.
• Craft a coherent strategic narrative tailored for internal stakeholders and external audiences including ministers, officials, local authorities, investors, and partners.
• Enhance strategic capabilities agency-wide by mentoring a small team and providing practical frameworks, tools, and coaching.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience leading enterprise-wide strategy development in complex environments such as government bodies, regulators, consultancies, or large corporations. Comfort with senior-level engagement, credibility among executive leaders, and the ability to offer constructive challenge while navigating political and operational complexities are essential.

They must be adept at moving from analysis to actionable decisions, balancing ambiguity with pragmatic solutions, and maintaining a strong orientation toward measurable impact and organisational priorities. A passion for high-profile, interdepartmental work and excellent communication skills are critical.

Essential Qualifications and Skills

• Proven leadership in corporate or agency-wide strategic planning within intricate frameworks.
• Strong judgement and interpersonal skills to influence and collaborate effectively with executive teams.
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and analytical competencies including the ability to convey complex data into clear recommendations.
• Capability to drive strategic execution with urgency and impact, linking long-term plans to practical outcomes.
• Experience leading organization-wide strategic reviews or change initiatives crossing boundaries.
• Inclusive leadership approach with a record of developing teams, fostering diverse perspectives and high performance.
• Resilience, curiosity, and confidence to operate in uncertain environments with dedication to continuous learning.

Familiarity with the housing, regeneration, planning, investment, land, development, or broader built environment sectors will be advantageous.

Benefits and Terms

• Annual salary at £69,831.
• Employer pension contribution of £20,230 to a Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
• 33 days of annual leave plus 8 bank holidays.
• Support for flexible working arrangements, including part-time, job-sharing, and compressed hours.
• Health and wellbeing provisions such as health screening, an Employee Assistance Programme, and Occupational Health services.
• Professional development support, including payment of one job-related professional membership subscription yearly.
• Family-friendly benefits including maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave options.

Additional Information

The role is based onsite in Newcastle upon Tyne with other Homes England locations noted across England. It is open to UK nationals, Commonwealth citizens with working rights in the UK, and qualifying nationals under the EU Settlement Scheme among others.

Applicants must pass requisite security and criminal record checks. Homes England is an equal opportunities employer committed to diversity, inclusion, and supporting candidates with disabilities.

Applications must reflect truthful and original content. Artificial intelligence may be used as a tool but must not generate plagiarized or fabricated material.