Homes Collective Lead
Wates Family Enterprise Trust (WFET) 24Month FTC
Location: Leatherhead (once a fortnight) then split between London/hybrid
Salary: £50,000 per annum FTE
About the Role
At Wates Family Enterprise Trust, we believe that safe, stable housing is the foundation for a decent life.
We are looking for a Homes Collective Lead to play a pivotal role in strengthening collaboration across the housing and homelessness ecosystem. This is a unique opportunity to work at a system level—bringing together funders, practitioners, policymakers, researchers and people with lived experience to drive meaningful, long-term change.
This is not a traditional programme or grant management role. Instead, you will act as a connector, facilitator and strategist, ensuring organisations are working collectively—not in silos—to address housing insecurity, Temporary Accommodation and challenges within the Private Rented Sector.
Key Responsibilities
Programme Leadership & Grant Making
- Manage WFET's Homes grant portfolio (c.£350k, scaling to ~£1m over time)
- Build strong relationships with partners across housing and homelessness
- Identify opportunities for shared learning and system-wide impact
- Develop co-funding partnerships with aligned funders
- Use insights from funded work to shape long-term housing strategy
Convening & Collective Impact
- Lead the Housing Funders Policy Network to drive alignment and collaboration
- Coordinate cross-sector groups focused on housing data and systems change
- Convene learning spaces (online and in person) to share evidence and insight
- Foster collaboration and reduce duplication across the sector
Learning, Evidence & Influence
- Work with research partners to generate and interpret evidence on:
- Temporary Accommodation
- Private Rented Sector reform
- Access, tenure and prevention models
- Ensure lived experience is meaningfully embedded in all work
- Translate complex data into actionable insights for stakeholders
- Support proportionate monitoring, evaluation and learning approaches
Strategic Engagement
- Identify and engage co-funders, investors and philanthropists
- Contribute to the development of WFET's Homes strategy
- Work closely with trustees and senior leadership to shape direction
About You
We’re looking for someone who is collaborative, systems-minded and passionate about social impact.
Knowledge & Experience
- Strong understanding of UK housing and homelessness systems
- Experience working within or alongside housing, policy or homelessness organisations
- Track record of building partnerships and convening diverse stakeholders
- Experience in grant making or managing funded programmes
- Ability to interpret and communicate research and evidence effectively
Skills
- Excellent communication skills across a wide range of audiences
- Skilled facilitator, able to lead inclusive and constructive conversations
- Experience working across public, private, voluntary or academic sectors
- Ability to influence without authority through relationships and insight
Behaviours
- Highly collaborative with a shared leadership mindset
- Values-led, with a strong commitment to equity and social justice
- Comfortable navigating complexity and ambiguity
- Empathetic, proactive and solutions-focused
Additional Information
- This role manages a grant budget of c.£350,000, with growth to ~£1m over time
- The role does not include direct line management responsibility
- Jointly funded by WFET, Trust for London and Oak Foundation
- WFET is committed to supporting your professional development
Legal Equality and Discrimination Statement
We don't discriminate based on a criminal record; all applications are reviewed on an individual basis against the requirements of the role. Some roles may require additional checks, due to the nature of the work. As a Disability Confident Leader, we offer an interview to applicants with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for the role and opt in to the Disability Confident scheme. Reasonable adjustments are available, please contact us at recruitment@wates.co.u
