Assistant Director - Housing Repairs

We are seeking an experienced and committed individual to lead our Housing Repairs service. You will deliver a mixed model of contractors and in-house providers that achieve excellent customer services and outstanding tenancy satisfaction, and ensure we are Doing things with our residents, not to them.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead a service that will deliver a blend of innovation, drive, determination, and compassion within a local authority that genuinely cares about and works closely with members to deliver on its ambitious and transformative plans for Housing Repairs.  We are striving to provide consistently high-quality services successfully co-produced in partnership with residents, to deliver ongoing change.

You will have responsibility for:

• Client Repairs team
• Contract management
• DLO
• Complaints Resolution

Key role duties include:

• Responsible for the strategic and operational design and oversight of a mixed delivery model of external and internal providers maintaining homes in excellent repair, ensuring repairs are undertaken to an outstanding standard within set timescales for 17,000 homes.
• Responsible for developing, shaping, and procuring a mixed model of general repairs service provision and investment to meet resident and Member aspiration and regulatory tenancy satisfaction measures.
• Robust contract management and monitoring
• Ensure that the division is resident focused and develops and customer charter to provide and monitor excellent customer satisfaction
• Responsible for the resolution of all repairs related Member enquiries within the prescribed timescales.
• Responsible for the resolution of all complaints raised within the prescribed timescales in the Housing Ombudsman Code at Stage 1, 2 and at Ombudsman
• Responsible for the resolution of all complaints and escalations that are raised outside the formal complaints process.
• Ensure the effective management of contractor relationships to enable the Council to meet its strategic objectives.
• As a member of the senior management team in Housing, you will provide clear direction and leadership to support the division.
• Drive cultural and organisation change to develop a strong distinctive performance culture and commitment to resident satisfaction (tenants and leaseholders)
• Provide Members and the Executive with the open and timely information that they need to maintain effective oversight of the Division.

About you

To be successful in this role you will need an extensive track record of success in a senior management role within housing repairs services.  You will have strategic and operational budget and contract management experience reflecting the scale and complexity of our services, being able to manage and deliver service improvements whilst achieving efficiency and excellent customer service.  You'll have an extensive knowledge of the legal framework within which our services work and you will also be able to build strong and effective business relationships, both internally and externally.

If you'd like to know more, please read our Role Profile below, and if this sounds like you, we very much look forward to receiving your application.

Indicative Timetable

Closing date for applications: Sunday 19 March 2023

Technical interviews: Tuesday 28 March 2023 - provisional

Stakeholder interviews/final interviews: Tuesday 4 April 2023 – provisional

Contact

For a confidential discussion about the role please contact our retained consultants at Faerfield:

Dawn Faulkner
Tel: 0121 312 3755
Email: dfaulkner@faerfield.co.uk

Martin Tucker
Tel: 0121 312 3755
Email: mtucker@faerfield.co.uk

Sarah Longbottom
Tel: 0121 312 3755
Email: slongbottom@faerfield.co.uk

Applications

To apply for this job please submit your CV, a Supporting Statement (no more than four sides of A4), a completed Candidate Application Form and a completed Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form to lbhf@faerfield.co.uk quoting: ‘Vacancy: Assistant Director - Housing Repairs, Reference: A000317’.

Your supporting statement should express why you are interested in this role and what experience you can bring to the organisation. The statement should tackle the specific requirements of the role; outlining examples and outcomes showing how you meet those requirements.

Please also provide the names and contact details of two referees, one of whom should be your current or most recent employer. If you do not wish us to approach your referees without your prior permission, then you should state this clearly.