Housing Operations Manager

mearsgroup; Wakefield; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Company vehicle and fuel card

Volunteering Leave

Staff perks with Mears Rewards

EAP Counselling

Job summary

Mears Group in Wakefield is seeking a motivated Housing Operations Manager to lead a team of Housing Support Officers across the AASC contract. You will oversee the end-to-end service delivery from property nomination through to move-out, ensuring safeguarding and contractual compliance are embedded in daily operations.

As part of the leadership team, you will participate in the on-call rota as an Escalation Manager, drive continuous service improvements, and collaborate with senior leaders to

Qualifications

• Proven ability to lead and develop frontline teams delivering person-centred services.
• Experience managing safeguarding and contractual compliance.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead, manage, and develop Housing Support Officers to meet contractual requirements.
• Oversee property management quality assurance and service user engagement.
• Ensure safeguarding and compliance, achieving KPIs and targets.
• Drive continuous improvement and embed best practices across teams.

Skills

Leadership

People management

Communication

Safeguarding

On-call experience

Job description

Annual salary: up to £42,020.69

Housing Operations Manager

Location: Wakefield

Salary up to £42,020.69 per annum Including company vehicle and fuel card or £3,500 company car allowance

Contract: Full time - 6 month secondment, 40hrs per week, Monday to Friday

Mears provides temporary accommodation to asylum seekers whilst their claim is being assessed in three regions: Northeast, Yorkshire and Humber, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. At the end of May 2021 Mears had over 19000 service users across the three regions. Mears work in partnership with central and local Government, registered providers, tenants, landlords and investors to find solutions to homelessness, provide more social and affordable housing and create specialist housing for people with care needs.

About the Role:

We are seeking a motivated and experienced manager to lead a team of Housing Support Officers within the AASC contract. This role is pivotal in supporting frontline service delivery to our service users, many of whom may be vulnerable or have specific housing needs. You will oversee the full-service lifecycle, from property nomination through to move-out and reletting, while ensuring safeguarding practices are embedded across all operations. As part of the leadership team, you will also participate in the on-call rota as an Escalation Manager, supporting frontline teams in delivering high-quality, compliant, and compassionate services.

Lead, manage, develop, and support Housing Support Officers to deliver contractual requirements in line with Mears policies and values.

Oversee quality assurance within property management, including regular property visits and service user engagement.

Ensure safeguarding and contractual compliance, achieving KPIs and commercial targets through effective team management.

Drive continuous improvement by identifying, developing, and embedding best practices across teams and the wider contract.

Work collaboratively with senior leaders, partnership managers, and local services to deliver exceptional service and safeguard service users.

Manage risk through effective planning, monitoring, and reporting, escalating issues promptly to senior management when required.

Maintain accurate and up-to-date records and IT system data in line with contractual requirements.

Support wider Mears Housing Management teams by undertaking ad hoc projects and providing cover as needed.

Role Criteria:

• Leading and motivating people in a performance management culture.
• Leading a team of frontline support staff which deliver person centred services.
• Experience of managing team member related issues, e.g. personnel related tasks.
• Communicate effectively - relaying key messages to teams regularly.
• Evidencing outcomes of service delivery.
• Working with a diverse and vulnerable client group.
• Flexible and willing to travel between sites
• Knowledge of the AASC contract
• Hold a full UK driving licence
• Happy to participate in the on-call rota as an Escalation Manager on a rota basis

Benefits we can offer you

• 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 Vehicle and Fuel Card
• 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.

Candidates should be aware that all our roles are subject to relevant Background, Identity & Security checks before commencement of employment.

As part of the recruitment process for this role, we will carry out a Background, Identity, Security clearance & BPSS check. For these checks to be completed, we will require from you the relevant identification, including Proof of Address, References, a valid passport and proof that you have lived in the UK for the last 5 years.

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.