Chief Customer Officer

Salary: £160,109pa

Location: Middlesbrough (hybrid working)

This is an exciting opportunity to join us as Chief Customer Officer – a newly created role in our senior leadership team. Reporting to the Chief Executive, the successful candidate will lead our customer-facing operations, delivering exceptional, high-quality front-line services, including repairs, and ensuring we have happy customers who trust us, while also acting as a key contact for stakeholders.

What you’ll do:

Lead the customer experience strategy across the organisation, building trust and shaping a culture of excellence, where everything meets customers’ needs, now and in the future. Inspire and energise teams to thrive and deliver outstanding, values led services.
Design and deliver services that make a real difference, overseeing customer experience, repairs, property compliance, housing and specialist housing. Use insight and meaningful customer involvement to shape front-line services that truly work for our customers, meet evolving consumer standards and always keep customers safe in their homes.
Lead the strategy for housing management, tenancy support, and community resilience, ensuring services are proactive, person-centred, and enable inclusive, thriving communities. Champion agile, neighbourhood-based delivery models that respond quickly to local needs while driving efficiency and delivering strong, sustainable performance.
Work closely with the Chief Investment and Property Officer to identify where targeted investment, regeneration, and place-based interventions are needed. Champion a holistic approach that integrates housing, support, and community development to deliver lasting social impact.
Own the entire customer journey, from new tenants to leaseholders and supported housing residents, ensuring smooth, joined up positive experiences.
Transform digital access by enhancing digital channels and self-service options, making services faster and easier to use for customers.

Thirteen Group is looking to appoint a senior leader with attributes including:

Qualified and committed: Relevant degree, professional qualification, or equivalent experience at a senior level, with a commitment to continuous professional development, including achieving a Level 5 Chartered Institute of Housing qualification.
Customer-first leadership: A passionate advocate for service excellence, ensuring our customers are at the heart of decision-making.
Proven strategic leadership: Proven track record in senior, customer focussed leadership. An energetic, visible leader who builds trust, inspires teams, and drives major change in large, customer-focused organisations that drives customer satisfaction and organisational improvement.
Operational and digital excellence: Technology-aware, using data insights and modern tools to enhance service delivery across field and contact centre operations.
Financial and risk management: Strong track record in managing complex budgets, delivering efficiencies, and mitigating strategic risks.
Strong performance management focus: Ability to drive key performance measures that deliver the right customer outcomes and offer value for money, efficiency and great service.
Expertise in complex organisations: Deep understanding of balancing social and commercial priorities, including significant experience in older persons’ and supported housing.