General Manager

Property Management Recruitment Ltd; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Contributory pension

Health cash plan

Travel allowance

Autonomy and ownership

Job summary

Property Management Recruitment Ltd is supporting a growing student living operator to hire a General Manager for one of its residential communities. You will own resident experience, drive occupancy, financial performance, compliance, and site standards while leading a multidisciplinary onsite team to deliver exceptional living environments.

This high-impact leadership role offers autonomy and exposure to senior leadership as the portfolio expands, with a culture that blends entrepreneurial

Qualifications

• Experience within PBSA, BTR, residential property, hospitality, or another customer-focused operational environment.
• Proven experience leading and developing multi-disciplinary teams.
• Strong commercial awareness with experience managing budgets, KPIs, and performance targets.
• Track record of delivering exceptional customer or resident experiences.
• Understanding of building operations, contractor management, compliance, and health & safety.
• Confident communicator capable of managing stakeholders and challenging situations.
• Strong organisational, leadership, and decision-making skills.
• Experience with property management, CRM, finance, or compliance systems.
• Yardi experience is beneficial but not essential.

Responsibilities

• Lead the overall performance and day-to-day operation of a student living community.
• Manage and develop teams across resident services, maintenance, and housekeeping.
• Drive resident satisfaction, retention, rebookings, and community engagement.
• Take ownership of occupancy, revenue, debt management, and key performance metrics.
• Manage budgets, forecasting, expenditure, and financial performance.
• Ensure the building remains safe, compliant, and maintained to a high standard.
• Oversee planned and reactive maintenance programmes and contractor performance.
• Manage complaints, service recovery, safeguarding, and resident welfare matters.
• Lead key operational periods including check-in, check-out, and summer turnaround.
• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency, resident experience, and commercial performance.

Skills

PBSA experience

Team leadership

Budget management

Stakeholder management

Compliance awareness

Customer experience

Tools

Yardi

Job description

We're supporting a growing student living operator in the search for an exceptional General Manager to take ownership of one of their residential communities. This is a high-impact leadership role with responsibility for resident experience, operational performance, commercial outcomes, compliance, and site standards. Leading a multidisciplinary onsite team, you'll drive occupancy, resident satisfaction, financial performance, and day-to-day operations while creating an environment where students genuinely want to live. Backed by a business with ambitious growth plans and strong investment foundations, this is an opportunity to make a visible impact, take real ownership, and grow with a rapidly expanding platform.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the overall performance and day-to-day operation of a student living community
• Manage and develop teams across resident services, maintenance, and housekeeping
• Drive resident satisfaction, retention, rebookings, and community engagement
• Take ownership of occupancy, revenue, debt management, and key performance metrics
• Manage budgets, forecasting, expenditure, and financial performance
• Ensure the building remains safe, compliant, and maintained to a high standard
• Oversee planned and reactive maintenance programmes and contractor performance
• Manage complaints, service recovery, safeguarding, and resident welfare matters
• Lead key operational periods including check-in, check-out, and summer turnaround
• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency, resident experience, and commercial performance

Your Requirements

• Experience within PBSA, BTR, residential property, hospitality, or another customer-focused operational environment
• Proven experience leading and developing multi-disciplinary teams
• Strong commercial awareness with experience managing budgets, KPIs, and performance targets
• Track record of delivering exceptional customer or resident experiences
• Understanding of building operations, contractor management, compliance, and health & safety
• Confident communicator capable of managing stakeholders and challenging situations
• Strong organisational, leadership, and decision-making skills
• Experience with property management, CRM, finance, or compliance systems
• Yardi experience is beneficial but not essential

What's On Offer

• Competitive salary and performance-related bonus
• Contributory pension and health cash plan
• Travel allowance and business expense reimbursement
• Significant autonomy and ownership within the role
• Opportunity to join a growing operator at an exciting stage of its journey
• Exposure to senior leadership and the ability to influence site performance
• Long-term career progression as the portfolio continues to expand
• Collaborative, entrepreneurial, and people-focused culture