Operations Director

Build Recruitment; Woodford; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Build Recruitment seeks an experienced Operations Director to lead the social housing repairs and maintenance operation in the South West. You will shape performance, safety and customer outcomes while managing a large, dispersed team.

Reporting to the MD, you will own service delivery, drive continuous improvement, and build strong relationships with housing associations and stakeholders. This is a senior leadership role offering autonomy and a clear pathway to growth.

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience in social housing repairs and maintenance.
• Proven ability to lead large, geographically dispersed teams.
• Strong understanding of responsive repairs, voids and planned maintenance.
• Track record of improving operational performance and customer outcomes.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management.
• Capable of balancing strategic thinking with hands-on leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead the operational delivery of social housing repairs and maintenance across the South West.
• Take overall responsibility for service performance, productivity, customer satisfaction and KPIs.
• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary operational team including managers and supervisors.
• Build strong relationships with housing association clients, residents and partners.
• Drive continuous improvement across repairs, voids, planned works and maintenance services.
• Ensure robust health & safety, quality, regulatory and contractual compliance.
• Collaborate with commercial/finance to maintain contract performance and financial control.
• Identify opportunities to improve productivity, technology and ways of working.
• Support development of client relationships and future tenders and business development.
• Provide operational reporting and insight to the Board and senior leadership.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Stakeholder management

Health & safety

Contract management

P&L management

Job description

Operations Director Social Housing Repairs & Maintenance

South West Permanent Senior Leadership

An established and growing South West regional contractor is looking to appoint an experienced Operations Director to lead and further develop its social housing repairs and maintenance business.

This is a senior leadership opportunity for an operationally strong, commercially aware individual who can take ownership of a complex, customer-focused repairs and maintenance operation and help shape its next phase of growth.

Working closely with the Managing Director and wider senior leadership team, you will have responsibility for the day-to-day operational performance, customer outcomes, people, commercial delivery and strategic development of the business.

The Role

As Operations Director, you will provide clear leadership across a sizeable social housing repairs and maintenance operation, ensuring contracts are delivered safely, efficiently and to consistently high standards.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading the operational delivery of social housing repairs and maintenance contracts across the South West.
• Taking overall responsibility for service performance, productivity, customer satisfaction and operational KPIs.
• Leading and developing a multidisciplinary operational team, including contract managers, operational managers, supervisors and directly employed trades.
• Building strong relationships with housing association clients, residents, supply chain partners and other key stakeholders.
• Driving continuous improvement across responsive repairs, voids, planned works and associated maintenance services.
• Ensuring robust compliance with health & safety, quality, regulatory and contractual requirements.
• Working closely with the commercial and finance functions to maintain strong contract performance and financial control.
• Identifying opportunities to improve productivity, technology, systems and ways of working.
• Supporting the development of existing client relationships and contributing to future tenders, mobilisation and business development activity.
• Providing clear operational reporting and insight to the Board and senior leadership team.
• Developing a high-performance culture focused on accountability, customer service and operational excellence.

About You

We are looking for an experienced senior operational leader who understands the demands of delivering social housing repairs and maintenance at scale.

You are likely to have operated at Operations Director, Regional Operations Director, Divisional Director, Head of Operations or a similar level within a contractor, housing maintenance provider or related organisation.

You will bring:

• Significant experience within social housing repairs and maintenance, property services, construction or facilities management.
• Proven leadership experience across large operational teams and geographically dispersed workforces.
• A strong understanding of responsive repairs, voids, planned maintenance and client-led service environments.
• A demonstrable track record of improving operational performance, productivity and customer outcomes.
• Strong commercial awareness and an understanding of contract P&L, budgets, margins and performance.
• Experience managing senior client relationships and operating within demanding contractual environments.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills.
• A pragmatic, visible and collaborative leadership style.
• The ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on operational leadership.

Most importantly, you will be someone who gets things done able to establish clear accountability, develop people, solve operational challenges and build strong relationships with clients and customers.

Why Join?

This is an opportunity to join a well-established South West contractor with an entrepreneurial culture and the opportunity to make a genuine impact.

The successful candidate will have significant influence over the future direction of the repairs and maintenance business, working alongside an experienced senior leadership team while having the autonomy to improve and develop the operation.

The role offers:

• A genuine senior leadership position with significant operational responsibility.
• The opportunity to influence business strategy and future growth.
• A strong platform from which to develop people, processes and performance.
• A collaborative, entrepreneurial working environment.
• A competitive executive-level salary and benefits package.