Disrepair Director

Howells Solutions Limited; Flitwick; On-site; GBP 99,000 - 121,000; Full time

Job summary

Howells Solutions Limited is seeking an experienced Disrepair Director to lead and develop its disrepair operation across regional social housing contracts.

This senior role focuses on driving performance, quality, customer experience and commercial outcomes, with responsibility for budgets and stakeholder relationships across occupied properties and multiple sites.

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading social housing disrepair or repairs operations at a senior level within a contractor environment.
• Strong technical knowledge of building defects, damp, mould, leaks and water ingress.
• Experience managing legal disrepair-related works and associated deadlines and evidence requirements.
• Accountable for large budgets, teams and commercial performance.

Responsibilities

• Leading and developing the overall disrepair operation across multiple contracts.
• Providing clear oversight of live cases, workloads, resources, deadlines, costs and performance.
• Driving improvements in completion times, quality and first-time resolution.
• Ensuring defects are correctly diagnosed and remedial works address underlying issues.
• Managing complex, high-risk and escalated cases through to successful completion.
• Developing and implementing consistent processes, controls and performance standards.
• Leading managers, direct labour and subcontractor teams.
• Managing budgets, forecasts, variations and commercial performance.
• Building strong relationships with housing associations, local authorities and other clients.
• Ensuring residents receive clear, professional communication throughout the works process.

Skills

Senior leadership

Stakeholder management

Budget management

Building defects knowledge

Job description

Disrepair Director

Location: Bedfordshire, with travel across regional contracts and sites

Salary: Up to £110k plus package

We are working with an established social housing maintenance contractor to recruit an experienced Disrepair Director to lead and develop its growing disrepair operation.

This is a high-profile senior leadership role with responsibility for the end-to-end delivery of disrepair works across multiple social housing contracts. You will have the opportunity to shape the service, establish consistent standards and drive improvements across operational performance, quality, customer experience and commercial outcomes.

We are looking for an individual who combines strong operational leadership with technical expertise and commercial awareness, and who understands what good disrepair delivery looks like in a contractor environment.

Your responsibilities

• Leading and developing the overall disrepair operation across multiple contracts.
• Providing clear oversight of live cases, workloads, resources, deadlines, costs and performance.
• Driving improvements in completion times, quality and first-time resolution.
• Ensuring defects are correctly diagnosed and that remedial works address underlying issues, particularly damp, mould, leaks and water ingress.
• Managing complex, high-risk and escalated cases through to successful completion.
• Developing and implementing consistent processes, controls and performance standards.
• Leading managers, direct labour and subcontractor teams.
• Managing budgets, forecasts, variations and commercial performance.
• Building strong relationships with housing associations, local authorities and other clients.
• Ensuring residents receive clear, professional communication throughout the works process.
• Ensuring robust records, photographs, surveys and completion evidence are maintained.
• Supporting new business, mobilisation and the development of future disrepair contracts.

Key requirements

• Significant experience leading social housing disrepair or repairs operations at a senior level contractor side.
• Strong technical knowledge of building defects, damp, mould, leaks and water ingress.
• Experience managing legal disrepair-related works and associated deadlines and evidence requirements.
• Responsibility for significant budgets, teams and commercial performance.
• Experience managing both direct labour and subcontractors.
• Strong client and stakeholder management skills.
• The confidence and credibility to lead change, challenge performance and drive accountability.
• A practical understanding of delivering works safely in occupied homes.

This is an opportunity to take genuine ownership of a business-critical function and shape the future of disrepair delivery. You will have the seniority and autonomy to introduce improvements, develop teams, strengthen client relationships and create a consistent, high-performing operation across the business.