Full Time / Permanent
Salary: £55K - £60K (FTE) per annum
Located: Stockwell, London, SW9
About SW9 Community Housing
SW9 Community Housing is a resident-led social housing charity responsible for the delivery of housing management and maintenance services for around 1,800 homes and several commercial and community buildings in Stockwell/Brixton on behalf of a G15 Housing Association, Sovereign Network Group (SNG).
Being a community-based organisation, we are seeking to recruit an experienced Repairs Operations Manager, with a focus on service delivery and a people-centre approach. With a turnover of £11m, and rising, and in excess of £150million of inward investment provided by formerly Network Homes and now Sovereign Network Group (SNG) over the last 10 years we have ambitious plans for the future, and we want a like-minded visionary to join us on this journey.
About the Role
As Repairs Operations Manager, you will provide operational and hands on management across repairs and maintenance. You will lead the day-to-day operational delivery of responsive repairs and voids, ensuring high-quality, customer-focused service. Own the end-to-end operational performance (WIP, SLAs, KPIs), oversee frontline teams and contractors, and drive first-time fix, resident satisfaction, and value-for-money outcomes.
You will drive performance, value for money, and regulatory compliance across all property-related activities, leading service improvements that enhance resident satisfaction and strengthen SW9’s reputation for quality.
You will lead a dedicated team of around three staff, overseeing property services across approximately 1,800 homes, ensuring residents receive an excellent repairs service and a consistently positive customer experience.
You will:
- Oversee day-to-day operational delivery of repairs and voids, driving performance against SLAs, KPIs, and WIP targets.
- Manage frontline teams and contractors to achieve first-time fix, resident satisfaction, and value-for-money results.
- Lead operational areas including:
o Customer Service Hub
o M&E (including door entry systems)
o Repairs & Maintenance
o Contractor Governance
o Budget Management
o Void inspections, scoping, refurbishment, and quality assurance
o Aids and Adaptations
About you:
We’re looking for an experienced Repairs Operations Manager to take ownership of our responsive repairs and voids service, ensuring high-quality, customer-focused outcomes across a diverse operational portfolio.
You’ll bring:
- A strong operational background in repairs, voids, and contractor performance.
- Proven experience managing high-volume workloads and diverse teams.
- Excellent commercial awareness and confident decision-making skills.
- Ability to challenge and influence contractors while balancing customer expectations with organisational priorities.
- A commitment to continuous improvement, resident experience, and a culture of accountability.
If you’re ready to lead a high-performing team and deliver outstanding services, we’d love to hear from you.
Who we are:
- A group of people who demonstrate integrity, respect, and teamwork.
- A group of people with passion, drive, and the courage to be different.
- A group of people committed to doing the right thing.
Education:
- Degree-level education or equivalent through relevant training/experience commensurate to the role.
- Holds a relevant professional qualification (highly desirable).
- Holds a management qualification (desirable – CIH ).
- Evidence of continuous, challenging, and relevant professional development.
Knowledge Skills and Experience:
- Strong understanding of the Regulator of Social Housing’s Consumer Standards, including the Home Standard.
- Proven leadership of a responsive repairs service in social housing or similar.
- Strong WIP, SLA and performance management capability; analytical and problem-solving.
- Contractor management, scheduling, and emergency response coordination.
- Excellent communication and complaint-handling skills; resident-centric mindset.
- Budget management; value-for-money focused.
- Solid understanding of housing/repairs policies, H&S, and audit requirements.
- Strong understanding of the Regulator of Social Housing’s Consumer Standards, including the Home Standard.
- Knowledge of HHSRS and practical experience responding to housing condition risks such as damp and mould.
- Up-to-date knowledge of Awaab’s Law, statutory timeframes, severity categorisation, and operational compliance requirements.
- Sound understanding of current and emerging challenges within the housing sector and the needs of diverse communities.
- Proven senior management experience within housing, property services, or repairs, with responsibility for budgets and service performance.
- Demonstrated ability to lead, develop, and motivate a diverse operational team across multiple workstreams.
- Experience in transforming services, improving operational processes, and delivering measurable performance improvements.
- Track record of mobilising contractors, driving performance through KPIs, commercial management, and collaborative partnership working.
- Evidence of building strong, productive relationships with residents, stakeholders, contractors, and partner organisations.
- Strong verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt approach for different audiences.
- High standard of written communication, including report writing and professional responses to complaints.
- Excellent listening skills to understand and respond to issues raised by a wide range of customers, colleagues, and stakeholders.
- Excellent negotiation skills to build and maintain effective relationships with staff and external partners.
- Able to gain credibility, represent, and promote the organisation internally and externally.
- Excellent leadership and motivational skills, with evidence of identifying and developing high performers.
Personal Attributes:
- Passionate about delivering and driving forward an excellent service to improve and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction.
- Genuine empathy to show customers that you really care and that their concerns matter.
- Adaptable and ‘can do’ attitude.
Benefits:
When you work at SW9, you are directly impacting on the lives of our residents. In return for your energy, innovation, and commitment, we offer:
- competitive salary
- a defined contribution Pensions Scheme (employer match up to 8%)
- 5 x annual salary life assurance cover
- competitive annual leave entitlement
- Interest-free loans (including season ticket loan, Cycle-to-Work scheme, rent deposit loan)
- employee assistance programme
- excellent learning & development opportunities
- staff discount scheme
- a modern office and facilities
How to Apply:
Please read the Role Profile for full details of the role and apply by sending your updated CV, together with a supporting statement demonstrating how you meet the person specification. You should return your application to recruitment@SW9.org.uk, ensuring you quote the Reference Number and Job Title. Please ensure you read the Guidance Notes for candidates prior to submitting your application.
Additional Recruitment Information:
We do value every application we receive. However, due to the volume of applications we receive we are unable to acknowledge each application. We will only reply to those who have been shortlisted for interview. If you have not received a reply within two weeks of the closing date, regrettably your application was unsuccessful.
If you want to find out more about us at SW9 you can do so at:
https://www.sw9.org.uk/about-us/