Digital Improvement Partner

Do you want to work on one or the most exciting transformation projects in the public sector?

The Defence Housing Service (DHS) is being created through the Armed Forces Bill to deliver a step-change in housing for the UKs Armed Forces and their families following the publication of the Defence Housing Strategy on 3 November 2025, which marked the most significant change to Armed Forces housing in over 50 years. DHS will bring a dedicated focus to improving the homes, communities and lived experience of Service personnel, placing families firmly at the heart of everything it does.

This is one of the most ambitious housing transformation programmes in the UK today. Backed by a 9.2 billion investment, DHS will modernise tens of thousands of homes, introduce a more proactive and customer-focused approach to maintenance, and unlock new opportunities to develop housing on Defence land. DHS will have the focus and agility to deliver change at pace, combining public service values with greater flexibility to build the skills, systems and partnerships needed for the future.

This is a rare opportunity to be part of shaping its culture, influencing how it works, and helping deliver lasting improvements for Service families across the UK.

The Defence Housing team is currently part of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), who respond to the evolving needs of our military personnel, and the ways in which they live, work, train and deploy. We are proud to be the expert partner Defence needs for all their infrastructure requirements. From large scale infrastructure projects such as runways for the F35 fighter jets to net carbon-zero accommodation for our Service families, our activities focus relentlessly on our customers, and our outputs are unique in the UK and across the globe!

DIO , What we deliver every day .

The future delivery model for this team is currently under review and may change as part of potential organisational developments. This could include the team or function transferring to a different employer or organisational structure in the future. Should activities transfer out of the Ministry of Defence existing employees transferring with those activities will maintain the same, or substantially the same, terms and conditions of employment.

Are you passionate about improving services, solving complex operational challenges and using digital technology to deliver better outcomes for customers?

We are seeking an experienced Digital Improvement Partner to lead the design and delivery of transformative improvements across Defence Housing Services (DHS). This is an exciting opportunity to drive meaningful change, combining continuous improvement, digital innovation and service design to enhance customer experience, operational performance and value for money.

Taking ownership of improvement opportunities from initial problem through to implementation and benefits realisation, you will work closely with operational teams, stakeholders and suppliers to develop practical, data-driven solutions to complex service challenges. Using customer insight and evidence to identify root causes, you will design and deliver improvements that create measurable benefits for Service personnel and their families.

A key aspect of the role is driving digital innovation, including improving existing systems, processes and services, while identifying opportunities for automation, self-service, workflow improvements and data-enabled solutions. You will challenge existing ways of working, influence stakeholders across the DHS operating model and supply chain and support the successful delivery and adoption of service improvements.

Reporting to the Head of Customer Experience & Insight, you will play a key role in improving service performance, operational effectiveness and customer outcomes. Experience within housing, accommodation or property services, particularly in supplier-led environments, would be advantageous, as would familiarity with digital housing platforms such as HomeHub or similar technologies.

What youll be doing

Leadership and Team Management

• Lead and support the SEO Improvement Support Officer, setting priorities and embedding effective, user-centred ways of working (e.g. agile, user-centred design) that enable improvements to be delivered at pace.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement across the Customer Experience & Insight function and wider Defence Housing Services (DHS).

Continuous Improvement Delivery

• Lead the delivery of improvement initiatives from problem identification through to implementation and benefits realisation.
• Use data, customer insight and operational evidence to identify root causes, develop solutions and improve service performance, efficiency and customer experience.
• Design, test and implement sustainable improvements to services, processes, systems and ways of working.
• Manage and prioritise a pipeline of improvement activity, focusing on customer impact, operational value and strategic priorities.
• Lead pilots and test-and-learn activity where this provides a proportionate means of validating proposed improvements.

Digital Improvement and Solution Delivery

• Identify opportunities to use digital technology, automation and data to improve housing services and operational performance.
• Translate business and customer needs into practical digital solutions, working closely with technical teams, product specialists and suppliers.
• Assess and enhance existing digital services while driving the development of new technology-enabled solutions where required.
• Use performance data and user feedback to continuously improve digital services and maximise benefits.

Supplier and Housing Sector Collaboration

• Work with accommodation and service delivery partners to improve performance and deliver better outcomes across the housing supply chain.
• Build strong relationships while constructively challenging performance, processes and service delivery where improvements are needed.
• Drive initiatives that improve collaboration between DHS, suppliers and customers, reducing inefficiencies and enhancing the end-to-end customer experience.

Customer Insight and Governance

• Collaborate with insight, analytics and portfolio teams to ensure improvement activity is informed by robust evidence and aligned to organisational priorities.
• Support the development of performance measures and governance arrangements that demonstrate the impact of improvements.

Performance and Assurance

• Monitor the effectiveness of improvements, using data, benchmarking and customer feedback to identify further opportunities for optimisation and innovation.

We're looking for someone who combines strategic thinking with practical delivery and has a proven track record of leading operational and digital improvements in complex environments. You'll be skilled at identifying service improvements, solving operational challenges and turning customer and business needs into effective solutions. You'll bring a strong understanding of digital service delivery and work confidently with technical specialists, product teams and suppliers to deliver successful outcomes. You'll also be a collaborative and influential leader who builds effective relationships across organisational boundaries, uses data and insight to inform decisions, and remains focused on delivering meaningful improvements for service users.

Essential criteria

To be successful with your application, you'll need to show that you meet the following essential criteria:

• Significant experience of leading and delivering continuous improvement activity in a complex operational service.
• Strong commercial and supplier-management awareness, with the ability to challenge suppliers constructively and hold them to account for outcomes.
• Significant experience of working with external suppliers and managing improvement across organisational boundaries.
• Experience of working with accommodation or housing technology platforms, including HomeHub or comparable products.
• Experience in housing/facilities management.

The successful candidate must hold or be willing to work towards holding a formal housing qualification by 2029, subject to approval.

Whilst this role is advertised as a full-time position of 37 hours per week, we recognise the benefits of flexible working and are open to discussing ...