Estates Services Team Leader

As Estates Services Team Leader, you will be responsible for maintaining safe communal areas for our residents and safe workplaces for our staff. You will be responsible for high-quality caretaking and grounds maintenance service across your allocated patch.

Key Responsibilities

• Responsible for the day-to-day management of communal estate services on your patch through effective staff management and support, performance monitoring and contract monitoring, ensuring that services are being delivered to a high standard, and our buildings are safe.
• Lead on a programme of regular inspections and spot-checks to the communal areas of our properties, ensuring that:
• Services are being delivered to expected standards, and prompt action is taken to deal with any shortcomings.
• Fire risks are minimised and/or eliminated, with necessary enforcement action taken.
• Environmental scheme improvements are identified.
• Tenancy breaches, nuisance issues and communal repairs are identified and reported.
• Prompt follow-up actions are taken and followed through.
• Lead on identifying and implementing improvements to the communal areas of our properties, including working with residents and colleagues to apply for funding and grants as required.
• Manage and support a team of caretakers (including agency staff as required), ensuring effective performance is consistently meeting the required standards, and poor performance is dealt with effectively. This includes staff recruitment, convening regular team meetings, 1-1's and annual performance reviews at required frequency, inducting and training new staff as required, and taking disciplinary action where necessary.
• Manage and promote a culture of health and safety compliance within your staff team and patch, including regular monitoring of workplaces, provision of PPE and equipment, identifying current and future risks, conducting, implementing, and communicating scheme/task specific risk assessments, and adherence to health and safety policies and procedures.
• Identify risks and concerns affecting staff within your team, ensuring that these are logged, recorded, follow-up actions implemented and communicated, incidents and accidents are reported, and staff supported.
• Manage communal fire safety and compliance within your patch, including identifying fire risks, and taking prompt action to minimise and mitigate these risks. Carry out and implement actions and recommendations arising from Fire Risk Assessments, including liaison and joint working with our Asset Compliance and Health and Safety teams.
• Assist with management and monitoring of external contracts, including grounds maintenance, window cleaning, fly-tipping removal, refuse and recycling and cleaning contracts, taking action to report and follow through any shortcomings.
• Ensure that actions and recommendations arising from Fire Risk Assessments are carried out and implemented, including liaison and joint working with the Compliance Surveyor / Building Services / Health and Safety teams.
• Deal with low level nuisance issues in relation to incorrect disposal of rubbish, recycling and bulky items and fly-tipping, taking prompt and necessary actions in line with our policies, procedures and tenancy/lease agreements.
• Deal with initial service charge enquiries in relation to communal services, contribute to annual service charge setting for schemes, and lead on the introduction of new service and charges, including resident consultation.
• Promote and encourage resident involvement, including seeking feedback through site inspections, door-knocking, telephone surveying and attending residents' meetings and events out of hours.
• Fully investigate and respond to complaints and expressions of dissatisfaction regarding services, ensuring corrective action is taken as required.
• Play a key part in the development of new homes, attending Gateway and review meetings as required to feed back on the design of new schemes, and ensuring the requirements of the team are considered at the early stages, and lead on arranging for the necessary services to be put in place.
• Assist in the management of Octavia's CCTV systems, including liaison with Police, managing Subject Access Requests, and overseeing extraction of CCTV data in line with UK GDPR regulations.
• Work jointly and proactively with other teams, partners and stakeholders to effectively manage issues at schemes and initiate/implement improvements, including attending regular internal patch meetings.
• Provide emergency response to incidents as required, including acting as an interface between our residents and the organisation, and liaising with emergency services.
• General administration, including ordering of PPE, cleaning supplies and equipment including provision of data and statistics, covering duty lines, dealing with visitors to reception and additional administrative support to the Head of Estates & Environmental Services / Estate Services Operations Manager, and providing cover for team members.

Requirements

For this position, we have listed the requirements we believe are essential for this role:

Knowledge

• Knowledge of caretaking and cleaning practices, including equipment and chemical use.
• Knowledge of health and safety regulations and requirements in relation to caretaking and cleaning.
• Knowledge of fire safety regulations and fire risk assessments.
• Ability to diagnose repairs and defects.
• Ability to write clear correspondence including producing data and reports.
• Competent at using IT packages including Microsoft packages and mobile devices.
• Knowledge of service charges, how these are apportioned and charged.
• Physically able to carry out regular site inspections and light physical work, including regular use of stairs.

Experience

• Relevant experience in a similar role.
• Experience and passion for delivering excellent customer care.
• Experience of managing and motivating staff.
• Experience of contract management.
• Excellent communication skills, including verbal and written.
• Ability to professionally handle challenging conversations.
• Excellent time management and organisational skills, with the ability to deal with competing priorities.
• Able to use own initiative and make on-the-spot decisions.

The salary for this role is £36,397 per annum with up to 10% pension contribution.

Benefits

We also offer fantastic additional benefits:

• Flexible-working.
• Life Assurance.
• Employee Wellbeing App/ Mental Health Support.
• Online GP Service.
• Cycle to work.
• Opportunities for self-development with over 60 courses available to self-enrol.
• Opportunities to volunteer in our Charity Retail Stores or on our Befriending Programme.

Together, we continue to build an inclusive culture that encourages, supports and celebrates the diverse voices of our employees. Everyone is welcome.

Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early.