Governance Assurance & Policy Manager

Hyperion Partners; Greater London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

SW9 Community Housing is seeking a Head of Asset to provide strategic and operational leadership across the property services portfolio. You will oversee repairs, compliance, building safety, damp and mould, and M&E, ensuring safe, compliant and resident-focused homes.

You will manage budgets, set service standards, drive continuous improvement and deliver performance improvements across the full asset portfolio. The role is based in Stockwell, London, with salary £80,000–£85,000 per year.

Qualifications

• Proven senior leadership experience across property services within social housing or a similar housing/property environment.
• Strong operational leadership across responsive repairs, voids, compliance, building safety, damp and mould and contractor-led services.
• Strong knowledge of housing condition, HHSRS, building fabric and asset management.
• Practical understanding of M&E services and statutory testing, servicing and remedial requirements.
• Experience developing and delivering operational strategies, policies and service plans within a social housing environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across Repairs, Compliance, Building Safety, Voids, Damp & Mould and M&E services.
• Set clear service standards, priorities and improvement plans aligned with corporate objectives and resident expectations.
• Provide assurance to Director, SLT, Board and Committees on property performance, risk, and investment.
• Lead service transformation and continuous improvement using data and resident insight.
• Oversee contractor governance, procurement and performance reporting.
• Lead a multi-disciplinary property services team with clear objectives and development plans.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Communication

Contractor management

Budget management

Education

Degree-level education or equivalent

Property/building/housing related qualification desirable

Management qualification desirable

Continuous professional development

Tools

Northgate NEC

MS Office

SharePoint

Workday

Insite

Job description

Provide strategic and operational leadership across SW9 Community Housing’s property services portfolio, ensuring safe, compliant, well-maintained and resident-focused homes, as Head of Asset. Salary - £80,000 - £85,000 Location – Stockwell

Core focus of the role

The Head Of Asset Will Have Overall Oversight Of Responsive Repairs, Voids, Compliance, Building Safety, Damp And Mould, M&E And Contractor Performance, Owning Service Standards, Risk, Budgets, KPIs And Continuous Improvement. The Post-holder Will Oversee The Full Operational Property Portfolio, Including

• Repairs and Maintenance
• Voids and void property standards
• Compliance and statutory servicing
• Building Safety and Fire Risk Assessment actions
• Damp & Mould / Awaab’s Law
• M&E services, including door entry and associated systems
• Contractor governance and procurement
• Asset condition, HHSRS and building fabric risks
• Budget holder management and value for money
• Resident experience, complaints and service improvement

Day to day of the role

Strategic Property Services Leadership

• Provide visible strategic and operational leadership across Repairs, Compliance, Building Safety, Voids, Damp & Mould and M&E services.
• Set clear service standards, priorities and improvement plans aligned with SW9’s corporate objectives, regulatory requirements and resident expectations.
• Provide assurance and expert advice to the Director, SLT, Board and Committees on property performance, risk, compliance, investment and service delivery.
• Lead service transformation, process redesign and continuous improvement across the property portfolio, using data and resident insight to drive better outcomes.
• Work collaboratively with Housing, Finance, Neighbourhoods, SNG and other partners to ensure property services are joined up and effective.

Repairs, Voids & Operational Delivery

• Lead the responsive repairs and maintenance service, ensuring timely, high-quality and customer-focused delivery.
• Own WIP, SLAs and operational KPIs; identify overdue works, bottlenecks and failure demand and implement recovery plans.
• Drive first-time fix, right-first-time, appointment adherence, productivity and resident satisfaction.
• Provide escalation support for complex repairs and oversee emergency and out-of-hours arrangements.
• Oversee void inspections, scoping, refurbishment, budgets, quality assurance and turnaround, working with Neighbourhood teams to ensure homes are lettable and resident-ready.
• Ensure repairs, void and inspection records, photographs and milestones are accurately recorded on relevant systems for full auditability.
• Ensure post-inspections are completed and repair operatives, surveyors and contractors identify and elevate stock condition, HHSRS and building fabric risks.

Compliance & Building Safety

• Provide senior oversight of statutory compliance and ensure operational duties, testing, servicing, remedial actions and reporting are completed within required timescales.
• Oversee actions arising from Fire Risk Assessments, ensuring works are correctly scoped, prioritised, allocated and completed within risk-rated deadlines.
• Oversee EICR, LGSR and other statutory servicing requirements, working with SNG and M&E teams to ensure compliance and effective remedial works.
• Lead operational oversight of building safety risks, maintaining clear audit trails, evidence and escalation routes for Higher-Risk Buildings and other relevant assets.
• Ensure compliance with the Regulator of Social Housing’s Consumer Standards, HHSRS, fire safety requirements, Awaab’s Law and other relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.
• Ensure robust compliance reporting, risk management and evidence are maintained for SLT, Board, insurers, SNG and external stakeholders.

Damp & Mould, Housing Conditions & Disrepair

• Provide leadership and oversight of the damp and mould service, ensuring triage, severity assessment, investigation, repair and communication meet statutory and organisational timescales.
• Lead performance oversight of Awaab’s Law compliance, audit trails, evidence logs and learning to reduce recurrence.
• Oversee complex disrepair casework, inspections, legal liaison, disclosure processes, risk and cost management.
• Ensure housing condition risks, HHSRS hazards and building fabric defects are identified, recorded, escalated and resolved appropriately.
• Use data and root-cause analysis to identify recurring issues and drive preventative interventions across the stock.

M&E & Technical Understanding

• Maintain a strong operational understanding of M&E systems and associated compliance requirements, including heating, electrical services, fire systems, lifts, door entry and other building services as relevant.
• Work collaboratively with specialist M&E teams, consultants and contractors to ensure statutory testing, servicing, remedial works and performance requirements are delivered.
• Provide informed challenge on technical solutions, scope, quality, risk, cost and programme without requiring the role to be the specialist technical designer.
• Ensure M&E-related repair and compliance actions are prioritised according to risk and resident impact.

Contractor Management, Procurement & Commercial Management

• Hold full contractor management responsibility for allocated property services contracts.
• Lead or oversee tenders, mobilisation, onboarding, variations, contract performance and commercial negotiations in partnership with SNG Procurement.
• Set and monitor contractor KPIs covering quality, compliance, productivity, customer service and cost variance; challenge underperformance and drive corrective action
• Chair regular contractor performance meetings and ensure actions, decisions and performance are clearly recorded.
• Use SOR knowledge, budgets, productivity and unit-cost information to ensure value for money and effective cost control.

People & Performance Management

• Lead a multi-disciplinary property services team, setting clear objectives, performance expectations and development plans.
• Recruit, onboard, coach and develop staff, building capability, confidence and accountability across multiple workstreams.
• Manage sickness absence, capability, conduct and performance in line with SW9 HR procedures.
• Build a positive, accountable, collaborative and high-performing culture focused on residents, safety and continuous improvement.

Complaints, Resident Experience & External Enquiries

• Oversee complex Stage 2 complaints, Ombudsman investigations and MP/Councillor enquiries, working with the Complaints Team to achieve timely and balanced resolution.
• Attend resident, MP and Councillor meetings where required and provide clear technical and operational explanations.
• Use complaints, resident feedback and service data to identify systemic issues, improve services and share learning with SLT and Board.
• Champion clear communication, appointment keeping and a resident-focused approach across all property services.

Assurance, Data, Budgets & Value for Money

• Track budgets, productivity, unit costs, WIP, SLAs, satisfaction and risk across the property portfolio.
• Produce clear performance and assurance reports for SLT, Board, Committees, insurers and SNG, highlighting trends, risks, actions and improvements.
• Maintain robust audit trails and accurate asset, repair, inspection and compliance information.
• Ensure operational performance aligns with corporate, regulatory and quality standards and that investment and operational decisions are evidence-based.

Skills you need

Education & Qualifications

• Degree-level education or equivalent through relevant training and experience commensurate to the role.
• Relevant professional qualification in property, building, housing, surveying or a related discipline is highly desirable.
• Management qualification is desirable.
• Evidence of continuous, challenging and relevant professional development.

Essential Experience and Knowledge

• Proven senior leadership experience across property services within social housing or a similar housing/property environment.
• Strong operational leadership across responsive repairs, voids, compliance, building safety, damp and mould and contractor-led services.
• Strong knowledge of housing condition, HHSRS, building fabric and asset management.
• Practical understanding of M&E services and statutory testing, servicing and remedial requirements.
• Up-to-date knowledge of Awaab’s Law, statutory timeframes, severity categorisation and operational compliance requirements.
• Strong understanding of fire safety, FRA actions, building safety principles and associated risk management.
• Strong understanding of the Regulator of Social Housing’s Consumer Standards, including the Home Standard.
• Proven contractor procurement, mobilisation, performance and commercial management experience.
• Responsibility for budgets, service performance and value-for-money outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, develop and motivate a diverse operational team across multiple workstreams.
• Experience transforming services, improving operational processes and delivering measurable performance improvements.
• Evidence of building strong, productive relationships with residents, stakeholders, contractors, consultants and partner organisations.
• Experience developing and delivering operational strategies, policies, procedures and service plans within a social housing environment.

Skills Core Competencies

• Ability to model professional behaviour, demonstrating standards aligned with SW9 CH Values and Behaviours.
• Able to work effectively as part of a small team, contributing collaboratively to team objectives.
• Able to manage and prioritise a demanding workload, meeting deadlines and KPIs.
• Excellent time management skills, with the ability to plan, prioritise and adapt flexibly.
• Calm, professional and composed under pressure.
• Self-motivated with a proactive, “can-do” attitude.

Personal Attribute

Passionate about delivering and driving forward excellent customer-focused services. Team player, collaborative and supportive of colleagues. Professional, ethical and aligned with SW9 CH Values and Behaviours. Flexible and willing to go the extra mile to achieve organisational goals.

Values and Behaviours

• Demonstrates integrity, professionalism and ethical leadership at all times.
• Embodies SW9 Community Housing’s values of accountability, collaboration, respect, inclusion and excellence.
• Promotes equality, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of work.
• Committed to continuous improvement, innovation and delivering value for money.
• Displays a customer-focused approach with a strong sense of public service and community impact.
• Acts as an ambassador for SW9, fostering trust, transparency and partnership.

Key Relationships

Internal

• Executive Director
• Senior Leadership Team
• Operational Managers and staff within SW9 Community Housing
• SNG Executives, Managers and Finance Team
• Board and Committee Members

External

• Residents and resident representatives
• Contractors and consultants
• SNG Asset Management Team
• Members of Parliament and Local Councillors

Systems you’ll be using

• Northgate - NEC
• MS Office
• SharePoint
• Workday
• Insite