Assistant Empty Homes Manager

Gentoo Group Limited; New Penshaw; Hybrid; GBP 37,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

31 days annual leave (plus bank hols)

Hybrid working

Private Health Plan

Pension scheme

Salary sacrifice EV

Life assurance

Job summary

Gentoo Group Limited in Sunderland is hiring a Assistant Manager for our Property Maintenance Team to get empty homes ready for customers. You will lead maintenance colleagues to deliver a safe, efficient service and meet KPI while ensuring health and safety standards.

The role offers a 36-hour week, Monday to Friday, with early finish on Fridays and a great work-life balance, plus benefits and career development opportunities within a values-driven housing organisation.

Qualifications

• Full UK driving licence is essential.
• Knowledge of health and safety regulations and application in field.
• Experience in social housing repairs and maintenance teams.
• Excellent communication and relation-building with colleagues and customers.
• Know when to call on specialist services (e.g., building surveyors) for guidance.
• Customer-centric, helpful service attitude.
• Strong organisational skills to ensure materials and workflow readiness.
• Willingness to work extra hours, including evenings and weekends.
• Flexible approach to meet service needs and customer requirements.

Responsibilities

• Support the Empty Homes Team to grow skills and lead the team in compliance trades work.
• Coordinate and supervise repairs to ensure safety, quality and value for money.
• Plan and sequence work for empty homes to meet targets and timescales.
• Inspect properties and coordinate with subcontractors to keep work on track.
• Arrange asbestos testing and oversee site management requirements.
• Collaborate with Housing Management to allocate homes promptly.
• Maintain coordination of utilities and energy during vacancies.

Skills

Full UK driving licence

Health and safety regulations

Social housing repairs experience

Communication skills

Use of specialist services (surveyors)

Customer-focused service

Organisation & planning

Flexibility / overtime

Initiative

Job description

We’re a values-driven, charitable organisation on a mission to make a real difference in Sunderland. Every day, we provide more than 60,000 people with a place they’re proud to call home. Our vision is clear: everyone deserves a good-quality home they can afford. We invest millions of pounds each year to keep our homes safe and decent, while also playing a part in tackling the UK housing crisis by building hundreds of modern, energy-efficient homes for rent right here in Sunderland. If you share our passion for creating thriving communities and want to be part of something that truly matters, we’d love for you to join us and help achieve our vision. If you have any accessibility needs or require adjustments, please let us know—we’re here to support you.

Salary : £40,775.00

Location: Doxford Park, Sunderland – moving to Eastgate Point, Hendon, later this year.

Construction work begins on site for new Gentoo depot at Eastgate Point - Gentoo Group A full UK driving licence and a basic DBS check (arranged and funded by Gentoo) are required for this position.

Job Description: Join our Property Maintenance Team as an Assistant Manager and help get empty homes ready for their next customers. You’ll lead and support our maintenance colleagues to deliver a safe, efficient service, meet key performance indicators, and make sure work complies with health and safety legislation. Taking pride in a job well done, you’ll bring colleagues together to provide a great service for our customers, communicating clearly and treating everyone with respect.

Enjoy a 36‑hour working week, Monday to Friday, with an early finish on Fridays and a great work-life balance. We’re proud to be certified as a “Great Place to Work” and recognised as one of the UK’s Top 50 Best Workplaces™ 2026. We ask for some flexibility, including occasional overtime when needed.

What you’ll be doing:

Support colleagues in our Empty Homes Team to grow their skills and do their best work, while leading the team and supervising colleagues carrying out compliance trades work. Make the most of our resources to deliver a service that offers value for money. Put safety first, making sure all work meets the relevant health and safety legislation, standards and regulations. Encourage colleagues to share ideas and find better ways of working, making continuous improvement part of everyday life. Keep track of individual productivity and team performance, supporting colleagues to meet targets, get work right first time and finish within agreed timescales. Take a hands‑on approach to site management, offering technical support and checking quality so every home meets our ‘Lettable’ standard. Plan and coordinate colleagues’ work so repairs to empty homes happen in the right order and run smoothly. Inspect homes, outbuildings and gardens, spotting defects and identifying the repairs needed to put them right. Make sure repairs follow the specifications provided by specialist maintenance surveyors and building surveyors. Work with subcontractors to oversee delivery and keep their work on track within agreed timescales. Arrange asbestos testing in properties and coordinate the site management needed afterwards. Work together with local Housing Management teams to get empty homes allocated promptly, following the Group’s Letting Policy and target timescales. Keep utility and energy supplies coordinated while homes are empty.

What you’ll bring:

• A full UK driving licence.
• Knowledge of relevant health and safety regulations and experience of applying them to keep everyone safe.
• Experience of working in social housing repairs and maintenance teams.
• Great communication skills with the ability to build positive working relationships with colleagues across the Group.
• You’ll know when to call on specialist services, such as building surveyors, for advice and guidance.
• You put our customers at the heart of what you do, providing a helpful, caring service.
• Great organisational skills, making sure colleagues have the right materials when they need them.
• The ability to work additional hours when needed, including evenings and weekends.
• A flexible approach to meeting the needs of our service and our customers.
• The ability to use your initiative and work confidently with colleagues to get things done.

It would be great if you could also bring: Experience in a skilled trade would be great, but it’s not essential.

Some of our great benefits include:

• 31 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) with an option to purchase up to 5 additional days per year.
• Early finish on Fridays
• Flexible and hybrid working.
• Free Health Cash Plan, with cashback for dental, optical, physio, wellbeing therapies and more, with some free child cover.
• Access to private healthcare through the Health Cash Plan.
• Competitive Aviva pension scheme – Gentoo will contribute up to 10% based on your personal contribution.
• Salary sacrifice electric vehicle scheme
• Enhanced family-friendly leave
• Car mileage allowance if you use your personal vehicle for business purposes.
• Life assurance cover to the value of 3 times your annual salary

We are one of the largest employers in Sunderland and a leading provider of social housing in the North East.

We are officially a Great Place to Work and employ more than 1,100 people in more than 200 different job roles.

We are proud of every colleague who helps make a difference in our communities and our customers’ lives.

Our Values, made by colleagues for colleagues. We care about people. We take accountability. We shape the future. We bring leadership. We deliver.

If you have any accessibility needs or require adjustments, please let us know—we’re here to support you.