Head of Innovation and Policy

Overview

The Head of Innovation and Policy will spearhead a pioneering programme focused on addressing complex challenges in housing and place-making. This senior leadership position involves establishing a culture of experimentation and innovation within Homes England, fostering new partnerships and solutions to enhance service delivery for communities and regions.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop an organisation-wide innovation strategy aligned with corporate goals and risk tolerance.
• Identify significant challenges and opportunities through thorough research, data analysis, stakeholder insights, and partner collaboration, translating these into clear problem statements and testable innovations.
• Design and manage experiments ranging from minor pilot tests to comprehensive trials with defined hypotheses, success metrics, and iterative learning.
• Transform collected data and frontline experiences into practical, evidence-informed recommendations for senior leadership, transparently addressing risks.
• Create compelling communications including briefing notes and presentations suitable for senior and board-level audiences, making innovation understandable and actionable.
• Collaborate with diverse internal teams (investment, delivery, digital, data, policy) and external partners to co-design and evaluate novel approaches.
• Enable successful scaling and integration of promising initiatives into core business alongside strategy, finance, and delivery units.
• Foster and embed an innovation culture Agency-wide through facilitation tools, training programs, communities of practice, and transparent storytelling that embraces learning from failures.
• Build and nurture a high-performing, small innovation team, providing frameworks, coaching, and support to colleagues.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience leading innovation, product, service design, or policy initiatives that have progressed from ideation to tangible impact. They will thrive in complex, multi-stakeholder environments and bring strong strategic judgement, credibility with senior leaders, and a collaborative leadership style. Effective communication skills to translate complex data and experiments into clear, influential narratives are essential, as is confidence in facilitating high-level discussions on innovation risks and investments. Experience in human-centered design, digital and data collaboration, and familiarity with housing, regeneration, planning, and the built environment sector is advantageous.

Additional Information

The position emphasizes flexible working with a commitment to work-life balance, offering generous annual leave and health benefits including health screenings and confidential support services. Professional development is supported through funding for job-related membership subscriptions. The role requires passing criminal record and baseline personnel security checks and is open to UK, Commonwealth, EEA nationals, certain non-EEA nationals, and other specified groups meeting nationality requirements.

Equality and diversity are core values of the employer, which promotes inclusive hiring and disability support schemes. Applicants are reminded to submit truthful and original content in their application materials, with clear guidance on acceptable use of artificial intelligence in applications.

Locations

Offices located across multiple cities including Birmingham, Bristol, Longstanton, London, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, and Newcastle upon Tyne.