Everything Social Housing

Social Housing as a Career: A Few Reasons Why

How much do you know about social housing? If your answer is “not much” and you’re considering it as a career path, you’ve come to the right place.

For us, recruiting in social housing goes beyond placing people. We help job seekers from various backgrounds find their perfect role within the sector.

No direct social housing experience? Don’t you worry. If you’re passionate about helping individuals thrive within their communities, we can help you #theMoxieWay.

Before diving into how, here’s a little introduction to social housing and why it’s a fantastic sector to be part of.

What's social housing?

Long story short, social housing provides people with low income safe, warm and affordable housing.

Social housing is a form of tenure where the property is owned and managed by a local authority, council or housing association.

To give you a little perspective:

  • There are five million subsidised homes, accounting for 20% of the 25 million total dwellings in the UK (housing a total of 10% of the population!).
  • There are 1700 housing associations managing around 120,000 homes, with a combined spend of £14 bn and a £950 million turnover (Source: Statista).

Social housing may well be the key to the UK’s housing crisis. But for this, we need to bring in the best talent into this sector we love so much.

What about Wales?

  • Social housing employs over 10,000 people – over 37% of them being part-time.
  • Girl power: 61.71 % of employees are female, with 51% of CEOs in the sector being women.
  • Cymru am byth: Almost 20% of staff are Welsh speakers!
  • There are over 200 different jobs in social housing. From surveying and property development to communications and finance, most people can find their feet in it.

Source: This Is Housing Wales.

Maybe you’re a property development professional looking to bring positive change through your work. Or maybe you’re a surveyor who wants to work for a business with a social purpose, that values quality over quick profit.

If you’re asking yourself what working in social housing looks like, and what kind of advantages it brings over the private sector, just keep reading!

Work to make a difference.

The first and most obvious benefit of working in social housing stems from its philanthropic purpose.

Because the real nitty-gritty of working in social housing is in helping people. Providing affordable and future-proof homes, ensuring vulnerable people remain safe in them and empowering them to thrive more confidently.

What about the property development side, you ask?

Well, it’s not every day you get to leave a visible legacy for individuals, families, and communities. To work with a wide variety of projects and property types. From extra care complexes to commercial spaces, you’d get to use both traditional build and modern construction techniques. What a better way to widen your skills whilst ensuring you’re constantly challenged?

There is no doubt that working with a purpose and having your efforts appreciated are huge motivators. And at the risk of sounding cliché… money doesn’t buy happiness, and the highest paid jobs in the world could still be leaving you yearning for more.

What's in it for you?

Contrary to popular belief, a lot of roles in social housing can compete with what's offered in the private sector. That's especially the case in managerial or executive roles in construction, maintenance, asset management, customer service, finance...to mention a few.

What’s more, many housing associations have made it their mission to prioritise the health and wellbeing of their staff by offering a range of generous benefits.

Check out just a few of them:

  • An average of 31 days of annual leave + bank holidays. Amazing, right?
  • More flexible working options and a better work-life balance.
  • Access to training, qualifications and other personal development opportunities, with over £3.6 million spent on professional development.
  • An employer pension contribution of 5.25% (many are still offering the lucrative Local Government Pension Scheme). Thanks to local government pension schemes, some organisations can contribute up to 18%!
  • Full agile and remote working options (allowing you to cut out the costs and time associated with the dreaded commute).
  • Funding for qualifications and chartered certifications.
  • Clear career development routes.

Talk about career longevity.

Housing is widely recognised for its strength and stability in the toughest of economic climates. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the sector continues to grow in strength and move forward.

In light of the current housing crisis, the recent government funding is aiming to build hundreds of thousands of new social homes every year, demonstrating the sector’s growing need for talent attraction, retention and nurturing.

Housing providers strive to provide the very best service to their tenants. As a result, they're increasingly developing their services, embracing new digital and energy-efficient solutions.

So in order to cope with this ever-changing demand and remain innovative, housing providers are on the search for passionate yet commercially-savvy minds with transferable skills who can futureproof this incredible industry.

Get your career started in social housing!

Have we piqued your interest in the housing sector?

Bringing great talent to social housing is more than our 9-5. Have a browse through our vacancies here or drop us an e-mail at hello@moxiepeople.com to chat about how we can help you.

Social housing neighbourhood

Other sources

  • For Government Information on the Housing Support Grant, click here.
  • For. Housing Support Growth Guidance PDF, click here.
  • For the "Welsh Government Budget Confirms Housing Support Grant" article by Inside Housing, click here.
  • For the "Prosperity for All" PDF for the Taking Wales Forward programme, click here.
  • For the "The impact of welfare reform on social landlords and tenants" by Anne Power et al. for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, click here.
  • For the National Housing official information about social housing, click here.
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