Head of Repairs and Maintenance - Social Housing

The Vacancy

We're VIVID! -We offer a vibrant, friendly, inclusive culture that supports, develops and attracts the best people!

We're committed to providing safe and well-maintained homes for our residents. We are looking for a dedicated and experienced Head of Repairs & Maintenance to join our dynamic team to oversee and manage all building maintenance activities across our housing properties. This is a full time, permanent role working 37 hours per week.

The Head of Repairs & Maintenance will be contractually based out of our Portsmouth or Basingstoke office, based on your location. You'll be expected to attend the office as and when required, which we anticipate being 3 days a week on average, although this will vary. We expect a larger proportion of time being visible and present across our offices as you build relationships with your team and stakeholders.

Want to know what we can offer you?

• 30 days holiday (plus bank holidays), with the opportunity to buy or sell annual leave
• A productivity-related bonus scheme to enhance your take-home
• A generous contributory pension of 6%. We'll match employee contributions between 7% and 10%
• Life assurance paid at x 3 annual salary
• Private medical insurance
• Health care cash plan called Medicash
• Enhanced pay for maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave
• Access to counselling, legal and financial information
• Electric car scheme
• Huge variety of in-house & e-learning courses and a range of coaching and mentoring programmes

Here's the facts about the role:

As Head of Repairs & Maintenance for VIVID, you'll be accountable for the delivery of safe, efficient, compliant and customer-focused Repairs, Empty Homes, Grounds and Estates maintenance services across the housing stock. You'll have clear leadership skills on tenant satisfaction measures, consumer standards and H&S with a resident focused delivery of services and in-house DLO management.

Reporting into the Director of Property Services, you'll ensure the safety of both staff and customers, leading a large and diverse workforce of 450 and a budget circa £30m, driving business improvement through strategic and tactical management of budgets, supply chain optimisation, and the continuous improvement of services and KPIs. You'll ensure that customer influence shapes and inform how services are delivered and the right outcomes achieved.

Key areas of responsibility

• Provide inspirational leadership to a large workforce, ensuring engagement, well-being, and high levels of performance.
• To manage all external contracts, setting performance targets and monitoring them, including budgetary control
• Take ownership of the department's budget, including setting, forecasting, and managing spend across maintenance operations.
• Implement performance tracking systems to monitor service delivery and respond to feedback effectively.
• Position to anticipate and respond to the changing external environment, government, and evolving internal priorities.
• Identify, evaluate, and deliver business opportunities in accordance with our strategies and contribute to wider business objectives.
• Lead and develop the portfolio of services, working with the Chief Operating Officer and Property Services Director on strategic matters, providing insight and guidance to inform robust decision-making
• Create a culture of risk management which is embedded within day-to-day activities to ensure risks are identified and appropriately managed or mitigated.
• Provide inspirational leadership to a workforce, ensuring engagement, well-being, and high levels of performance.
• Develop a commercial approach to maintenance operations, ensuring cost-effectiveness and value for money.
• Ensure the successful delivery of our empty property works throughout our existing portfolio including garages, commercial buildings and where there is any reason for a property to be empty
• Drive the leadership and performance of the Grounds and Estates Services.
• Be the advocate for excellent customer service throughout the organisation, ensuring ease of access for customers and high levels of satisfaction

Qualifications and Experience

• Leadership, management, coaching qualifications or equivalent experience.
• Chartered membership of CiH or an understanding of the requirements for CiH as well as a commitment to working towards it.
• Proven experience in a senior leadership role within building maintenance or a similar environment, ideally within the social housing sector.
• Demonstrable track record of managing large teams, including trades operatives, and fostering high engagement and staff welfare.
• Strong understanding of compliance and safety regulations, including the "Big 6" areas of statutory compliance.
• Commercially astute, with experience in managing substantial budgets and delivering cost savings without compromising on quality or safety.
• Strong supply chain and contract management skills, with the ability to manage complex contracts and supplier relationships.
• Excellent organisational and communication skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Ability to work collaboratively with various stakeholders, including contractors, customers, and internal teams.

This is a unique opportunity to make a real impact on the lives of our customers by ensuring their homes are well-maintained and their needs are met promptly. If you have a demonstrable track record of managing large teams, including trades operatives, and fostering high engagement and staff welfare, we encourage you to apply!

The Company

We're a leading provider of affordable homes and extensive support services in the south of England. We believe that everyone has the right to a safe and secure place to call home, and from the moment customers move into their VIVID home we're here to help with that and more.

Our customers have access to a wide range of tailored advice to sustain their tenancies and look after their wellbeing. We invest in our homes and communities for the long-term, and this means in the quality, safety and energy efficiency of existing homes and neighbourhoods, with a firm focus on improving services so they're easy to use and access by our customers.

We're addressing the shortage of affordable housing in the south, building the right type of homes to meet the needs of our local communities. We're the fifth largest developer of new homes amongst housing associations in England, having built over 1,500 last year.

This is summed up in our vision "More homes, bright futures".

Living VIVID

We're ranked 91 in the Top 100 Best Companies to Work For and ranked 12 amongst housing associations.

As a 'people' business, we work hard to create a high-performing and fun working environment. We invest in our people's development, whilst looking after their wellbeing with our award-winning initiatives.

Buy / sell
annual leave

Pension
scheme

Smart
working

From 26 days holiday per year

Private medical / medicash benefits

Enhanced
paternity / maternity leave

Qualification funding support

Electric car scheme

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We're committed to diversity and inclusion, and want people from all walks of life to apply for our vacancies.

We're a disability confident leader with disabled-friendly offices and we'll make reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process to help you; please note your needs on your application form.

If you need additional support with your application, please get in touch with us
on 02392 896758 or email HRrecruitment@vividhomes.co.uk. We'll be happy to help.