Head of Operations

Mears Group; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 81,000 - 99,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave plus bankholidays

Annual Mears Fun Day

Volunteering Leave

Staff perks with Mears Rewards

Family friendly policies

Company Car Allowance

Access to EAP Counselling sessions

Job summary

Mears Group in Birmingham is seeking an experienced Head of Operations - Repairs & Voids to drive delivery of social housing repairs, voids and cyclical maintenance contracts. You will oversee multiple teams, ensuring operational excellence, strong financial performance and superior customer experience.

The role reports to the Operations Director and requires a senior leader who can set direction, optimise productivity, manage risk and maintain strict compliance with health and safety standards.

Qualifications

• Senior operational experience delivering repairs, voids and maintenance services within social housing or regulated environments.
• Strong leadership with financial accountability and proven performance improvement experience.
• Experience managing multi-trade teams and subcontractor supply chains.
• Ability to influence, negotiate, challenge and drive change.
• Data-driven, with strong capability in productivity, performance and resource management.
• Sound technical understanding of repairs and maintenance service delivery.
• Strong knowledge of Health & Safety legislation and compliance requirements.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery of responsive repair contract, ensuring contractual compliance, service excellence and a strong customer experience.
• Provide visible, authoritative leadership, mentoring and motivating teams while setting clear direction, targets and performance expectations aligned to divisional strategy.
• Hold full accountability for P&L performance, ensuring robust cost control, margin improvement, effective WIP management and debt oversight.
• Review and assess contract and business unit performance through regular and monthly financial and operational reviews, maintaining tight control of the cost base.
• Develop and sustain strong client and stakeholder relationships, acting as the senior operational contact and ensuring high-quality customer relationship management.
• Act as the main point of contact for internal and external escalations, resolving issues decisively and professionally.
• Drive productivity and efficiency across all operational teams, using data, dashboards and performance insight to identify risks and improvement actions.
• Ensure full and effective use of business operating systems and controls, including MCM, MSP, Dashboards, Workday, SODA, Contract Compliance Plans, Client Development Plans and Standard Operating Procedures.
• Oversee and manage a large-scale, multi-trade workforce and subcontractor supply chain, ensuring compliance, value for money and consistent performance.
• Ensure all new contracts are effectively mobilised, and any demobilisations are managed in line with agreed plans to the optimum benefit of the business.
• Maintain full compliance with Health & Safety legislation, working closely with the H&S Manager and undertaking regular joint site visits.
• Embed and role-model Mears values and the Mears Red Thread, reinforcing behaviours through contract reviews, appraisals, engagement activity and staff feedback.
• Prepare for and attend commercial, operational and performance meetings, providing clear insight, challenge and leadership.

Skills

Leadership

P&L management

Stakeholder management

Data-driven decisions

Health & Safety compliance

Commercial acumen

Education

CIOB / RICS / Degree or HNC

Job description

Annual salary: up to £90,000.00 Head of Operations Location: Birmingham Contract: Full Time Permanent Salary: £90,000 + car allowance

Mears Group has been awarded a major new 10-year partnership with Birmingham City Council to deliver repairs, maintenance, and planned investment work across 11,500 homes in central and west Birmingham. This contract represents one of our most significant projects in the city and will create a wide range of opportunities across our operational teams.

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Head of Operations - Repairs & Voids to lead the delivery of multiple Social Housing responsive repairs, voids and cyclical maintenance contracts across the Mears Housing division. This is a senior leadership role with full accountability for operational performance, commercial delivery and customer experience. You will ensure services are delivered on sound operational and commercial principles, providing a safe, high‑performing and customer‑focused service underpinned by strong leadership and positive team ethics. Reporting to the Operations Director, you will work closely with the operations leaders and senior commercial stakeholders, you will set clear direction across your contract portfolio, ensuring financial targets are achieved or exceeded, productivity is maximised and services remain fully compliant. You will act as a senior escalation point for both internal and client matters, balancing operational control with strategic oversight to drive sustainable performance improvements.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery of responsive repair contract, ensuring contractual compliance, service excellence and a strong customer experience
• Provide visible, authoritative leadership, mentoring and motivating teams while setting clear direction, targets and performance expectations aligned to divisional strategy
• Hold full accountability for P&L performance, ensuring robust cost control, margin improvement, effective WIP management and debt oversight
• Review and assess contract and business unit performance through regular and monthly financial and operational reviews, maintaining tight control of the cost base
• Develop and sustain strong client and stakeholder relationships, acting as the senior operational contact and ensuring high‑quality customer relationship management
• Act as the main point of contact for internal and external escalations, resolving issues decisively and professionally
• Drive productivity and efficiency across all operational teams, using data, dashboards and performance insight to identify risks and improvement actions
• Ensure full and effective use of business operating systems and controls, including MCM, MSP, Dashboards, Workday, SODA, Contract Compliance Plans, Client Development Plans and Standard Operating Procedures
• Oversee and manage a large‑scale, multi‑trade workforce and subcontractor supply chain, ensuring compliance, value for money and consistent performance
• Ensure all new contracts are effectively mobilised, and any demobilisations are managed in line with agreed plans to the optimum benefit of the business
• Maintain full compliance with Health & Safety legislation, working closely with the H&S Manager and undertaking regular joint site visits
• Embed and role‑model Mears values and the Mears Red Thread, reinforcing behaviours through contract reviews, appraisals, engagement activity and staff feedback
• Prepare for and attend commercial, operational and performance meetings, providing clear insight, challenge and leadership

Key Criteria

• Senior operational experience delivering repairs, voids and maintenance services within social housing or a regulated environment
• Strong commercial and leadership, with financial accountability and proven performance improvement experience
• Experience managing multi‑trade teams and subcontractor supply chains
• Ability to influence, negotiate, challenge and drive change
• Data‑driven, with strong capability in productivity, performance and resource management
• Sound technical understanding of repairs and maintenance service delivery
• Strong knowledge of Health & Safety legislation and compliance requirements
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Formal qualification (CIOB, RICS, Degree or HNC) desirable or relevant career experience
• Full UK driving licence

Benefits

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Annual Mears Fun Day - Our annual Fun Day is organised as a massive thank you from the Executive team for all the hard work!
• Volunteering Leave - Mears supports employees to undertake paid volunteering in the community, in support of our social value commitment.
• Staff perks with Mears Rewards - discounts of up to 10% weekly groceries, holidays, eye test vouchers, Share save scheme, plus much more
• Family friendly policies
• Company Car Allowance
• Access to EAP Counselling sessions

All our roles require candidates to have the entitlement to work within the UK, Mears does not currently offer visa sponsorship. To drive a Mears vehicle, you must be aged over 21 have held your licence over 3 months and have less than 9 points. Candidates should be aware that all our roles are subject to relevant Background, Identity & Security checks before commencement of employment

At Mears Group, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive, we are a Disability Confident employer, valuing individuality and ensuring equal opportunities for all. We proudly support the Armed Forces Covenant and are honoured to have achieved the Gold Award in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) to coincide with this, we hold an Endorser Award for the Career Transition Partnership, recognising our commitment to veterans transitioning into civilian careers. In our continued effort to promote social mobility, we invite applicants to voluntarily share their background information during the application stages to help us better understand the diverse experiences of our candidates. This is to ensure we are committed to improving social mobility. We use the Social Mobility Index to assess and enhance opportunities for individuals from diverse backgrounds. These questions are optional and will not impact your ability to apply.

We are the people behind the smile! At Mears we look for people who share our vision and values - to make a positive difference to the communities we serve. We do this by improving homes, improving communities and improving lives. We are proud of our business and the opportunities we provide to colleagues working across the UK. Our Values - Customers / Innovation / Teamwork / Responsibility