Strategic Lead: Independent Living Services

Location: Edinburgh, Glasgow or Dundee base (with regular travel across our Communities in Scotland and opportunity to work remotely available)

Hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week (Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM)

Salary/Benefits: £72,000 to £78,000 per annum + plus annual Car Allowance

The Opportunity

We are looking for an experienced senior leader to grow and embed our Independent Living approach across our national services and communities. This role offers a significant opportunity to provide corporate and system leadership, directly shaping our strategic direction while leading the delivery of high-quality housing, supported living, and care-at-home services.

In this role, you will provide strategic oversight across a diverse portfolio, including Scotland’s largest alarm receiving service, meals provision, tenant engagement, and community development. You will lead digital innovation and Technology Enabled Care (TEC) alongside community-led approaches that champion independence, dignity, and choice. Working collaboratively with fellow organisational leads, you will foster a culture of joined-up leadership to deliver Bield’s strategic priorities and enhance outcomes for our tenants, customers, and colleagues. As an ambassador and senior sector leader, you will strengthen Bield’s influence across the broader housing, health, and social care systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and delivery of Bield’s Independent Living strategy across housing, supported living and community services.
• Provide senior leadership accountability for a workforce of more than 300 colleagues and a multi-million-pound portfolio.
• Drive innovation, digital transformation and Technology Enabled Care to deliver proactive, personalised and sustainable services.
• Build influential partnerships across housing, health and social care, strengthening Bield’s contribution at local, regional and national level.
• Ensure tenant voice and co-production shape service design, community development and wellbeing initiatives.
• Lead high standards of quality, performance, regulatory compliance, financial stewardship and continuous improvement.

The Candidate

You will be an inclusive and forward-thinking leader with a strong track record of leading comparable service delivery programmes at a senior level. You will bring sound strategic, commercial and financial judgement, together with the ability to motivate a diverse and dispersed workforce and influence senior partners. We are seeking someone who can combine strategic vision with a strong focus on delivery. You will be able to demonstrate:

• Significant senior leadership experience and the ability to shape strategy, policy and organisational direction.
• Experience of managing significant budgets, resources and performance.
• Success in developing strategic partnerships that support service improvement, growth and better outcomes.
• Excellent communication, influencing, negotiation and decision-making skills.
• A creative and adaptable approach to leading change in a complex environment.
• A relevant professional qualification and degree-level education, or equivalent senior-level experience.
• Experience in housing, social care, supported living or a related public service sector, and experience of alarm receiving or Technology Enabled Care services, would be advantageous.

A valid UK driving licence and access to a roadworthy care, insured for business purposes is an essential requirement of the role. This post is a regulated role under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007. In line with Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020, PVG Scheme membership (or scheme record update) is a mandatory requirement. This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, meaning spent and unspent conviction data will be assessed in accordance with current disclosure rules.

We Offer

• A genuine commitment to your work-life balance supported by flexible or remote working in line with business needs.
• Excellent holidays of up to 34 days per year (pro rata for part-time employees).
• A defined contribution pension scheme which includes salary sacrifice options.
• Learning and development opportunities which include financial contribution or funding for vocational and/or professional qualifications.
• Enhanced and paternity and maternity pay.
• Employee assistance programme.
• Long Service Awards.
• Cycle to Work Scheme.

Bield is committed to creating an inclusive workplace and we welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. To view the full job description and person specification and to apply for the role, visit https://jobs.bield.co.uk. If you’d like further information, you can call the HR team on 0131 273 4020. If you require this information in an alternative format, please call the HR team or email us on HR@bield.co.uk.