Jigsaw Conferences Ltd
Assistant Head of Accommodation
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Assistant Head of Accommodation
Driving service excellence, client satisfaction, and team performance across a national accommodation service.
Salary: £37,000.00 pa
Hours: 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 9.00am-5.30pm
Location: Fully remote and home-based
On-call rota: Two weeks on, two weeks off
Reports to: Head of Accommodation
The Opportunity
Jigsaw Conferences provides temporary, emergency, and planned accommodation services to housing organisations across the UK. We are seeking an experienced accommodation professional to help lead our national accommodation service and deliver outstanding operational performance.
This senior operational leadership role is responsible for the day-to-day delivery of accommodation services across multiple client contracts. You will lead and support the Accommodation Team, manage client and supplier relationships, oversee complex and high-risk cases, and ensure high standards of customer service, safeguarding, quality, and contract compliance.
Acting as a key escalation point, you will provide support on emergency placements, resident relocations, safeguarding concerns, complaints, and service recovery, while driving continuous improvement and monitoring KPI performance. You will work closely with clients, local authorities, housing providers, and partner agencies to ensure safe, effective, and resident-focused service delivery.
The role includes responsibility for quality control, supplier performance, safeguarding oversight, participation in the out-of-hours management rota, and deputising for the Head of Accommodation when required.
Responsibilities
- Support the strategic and operational leadership of the Accommodation Team, deputising for the Head of Accommodation as required.
- Provide day-to-day management, coaching, training, and development of the Accommodation Team to ensure high performance and service excellence.
- Build and maintain strong client relationships, acting as a senior point of contact and ensuring contractual requirements, service standards, and KPIs are consistently achieved.
- Oversee complex, high-risk, and sensitive cases, including safeguarding concerns, emergency placements, resident relocations, and major decant projects.
- Lead the investigation and resolution of complaints, service escalations, and operational issues, ensuring timely and effective outcomes for clients and residents.
- Champion safeguarding across the service, acting as the senior escalation point and promoting best practice throughout the team.
- Manage and develop supplier relationships, ensuring quality, compliance, and safeguarding standards are maintained, while identifying and onboarding new accommodation providers.
- Drive quality assurance through spot checks, audits, performance reviews, and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Support the development of systems, processes, and reporting tools to improve operational efficiency and service delivery.
- Participate in the out-of-hours management rota, providing leadership and decision-making during emergencies, major incidents, and critical service issues.
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What we are looking for
You do not need to have followed one particular career path. Relevant experience may come from temporary or emergency accommodation, social housing, hotels, serviced apartments, relocation, the private rented sector, or another comparable service environment.
Essential experience and skills
- Strong background in accommodation, housing, or property-related services.
- Proven track record of leading and developing operational teams.
- Demonstrable success in managing client and supplier partnerships.
- Sound understanding of safeguarding, complaints handling, and complex case management.
- Knowledge of service quality, compliance monitoring, and performance management.
- Ability to deliver training, implement improvements, and drive operational excellence.
- Strong leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
- Excellent problem-solving and decision-making abilities.
- Sound knowledge of safeguarding and risk management.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Strong organisational and quality assurance skills.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office
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Desirable skills and experience
- Background in social housing, temporary accommodation, relocation services, the private rented sector, or a similar accommodation environment.
- Knowledge of service improvement, operational systems, and digital platforms.
- Familiarity with out-of-hours service delivery, procurement, contract mobilisation, and tender processes.
- Experience supporting vulnerable individuals and managing safeguarding concerns.
- Good understanding of housing, safeguarding, and welfare legislation, along with sector best practice.
- Established relationships with local authorities, housing providers, support agencies, and other statutory partners.
Hours and on-call arrangements
The standard working hours are 37.5 hours per week, normally Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.30pm, with flexibility to support operational requirements.
As part of our 24/7 service, you will provide escalation support to the Out of Hours team on a two-weeks-on, two-weeks-off rota. This may include emergency accommodation enquiries, significant operational issues, and large-scale or group decants. The advertised salary is inclusive of remuneration for participation in the on-call rota.
Recruitment Timeline:
- Please send a covering letter and your CV to Cat Berry on events@jigsawconferences.co.uk
- Advert close date: Friday 21st August 2026
- Interview Dates: w/c 24th August – these will be held over Teams
- 2nd Interview Dates: w/c 31st August 2026 – these will be held in person
The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
If you're an experienced accommodation professional with the leadership skills, operational expertise, and commitment to service excellence needed to succeed, we'd love to hear from you. If you meet most of the criteria and believe you can succeed in this role, we encourage you to apply.
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