Head of Service Charge

Churchill Retirement Living; Southampton; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual holiday entitlement 25 days +BH

Birthday day off

Private medical insurance

Health screening

Life Assurance

Eye Care reimbursement

Colleague Introduction reward scheme

Employee assistance programme

Free on-site parking

Job summary

Churchill Estates Management seeks a Head of Service Charge to lead the service charge function from Ringwood, shaping processes and driving performance. You will manage budgets, ensure legislative compliance, and collaborate with Finance to deliver accurate reporting while guiding a team of finance colleagues through change.

The role requires strong leadership, advanced Excel, and Leasehold Management expertise, with responsibility across budgets, ledgers and external relations.

Qualifications

• Strong people leader with excellent management skills.
• Advanced Excel and MS Office proficiency.
• Experience with leasehold management and service charge legislation.
• Property Institute Level 3 in Leasehold Management is essential.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Service Charge Team and drive process improvements.
• Manage service charge budgets and accounts to statutory deadlines.
• Coordinate with Sales/Purchase Ledger and Credit Control teams.
• Liaise with solicitors, banks, accountants, auditors and other stakeholders.

Skills

Leadership

People management

Strategic planning

Stakeholder management

IT literacy

Education

Property Institute Level 3 - Leasehold Management

Tools

MS Office

Excel (Advanced)

Qube Property Management System

Job description

Job title: Head of Service Charge
Location: Ringwood (office based) BH24 3FA
Hours: Monday to Friday, 37 hours per week
Package: Competitive salary plus excellent Colleague benefits

About the role

As part of the Senior Management Team reporting to the Managing Director, the scope of the role is both strategic and operational. This is a great opportunity to shape and improve processes, manage, motivate and drive forward the Service Charge Team acting as an important voice on various projects across the business. You will ensure that all service charge budgets and accounts are prepared accurately, within CEM workflow timeframes and in accordance with current legislation, lease requirements and industry practice. You will also have responsibility for the Transactional Service Charge Team, this includes Sales/Purchase Ledger and Credit Control functions. The role is varied, holding key relationships with external stakeholders such as solicitors, banks, accountants, auditors, government bodies suppliers, owners and other industry bodies relevant to the Service Charge function. In addition, you will work closely with the Group Finance function, which is also based in Ringwood, to share best practice.

About you

We're looking for a strong people leader with excellent management skills, highly motivated and organised, with the ability to prioritise and work with other senior Colleagues to assist in moving our business forward. Due to the high levels of reporting, you will need to have strong IT skills particularly with MS Office and importantly advanced Excel skills. Experience using software such as Qube Property Management System would be a strong advantage, but not essential. This role would be a good opportunity for someone seeking to progress their career to a Head of Department, or equally someone who is currently operating at that level but is seeking to find a role where they can lead and support a team of finance Colleagues through a program of change. It is essential that you hold the Property Institute's Level 3 qualification in Leasehold Management. You will need to have demonstratable understanding of leasehold management and Service Charge legislation.

How you'll be rewarded

Competitive salary

• Annual holiday entitlement of 25 days + Bank Holidays
• Day off on your Birthday
• Private medical insurance
• Health screening
• Life Assurance
• Eye Care reimbursement
• Colleague Introduction reward scheme
• Employee assistance programme
• Bright, contemporary offices in Ringwood with free, on-site parking

About us

We are Churchill Estates Management, a progressive managing agent of privately owned leasehold Retirement Living accommodation. We manage over 270 developments nationally. That means we oversee more than 10,000 apartments, providing property services and customer care to over 12,000 retired people. However, we are not stopping there, as we are rapidly growing and have ambitious plans for the future. Join us and be part of a professional, award winning, customer focused team.

Company Values

TORCH: Trust/Openness/Respect/Communication/Honesty