Operations Manager

Sento Talent; West Midlands; Hybrid; GBP 64,000 - 86,000; Full time

Job summary

Sento Talent seeks an Operations Manager in the Building Services sector to own contracts across the Midlands. You will oversee resourcing, ensure on-time delivery, manage performance against KPIs, and work with clients, supervisors and subcontractors to maintain high standards.

This hybrid role offers autonomy with travel within the Midlands, and the chance to influence how the operation grows. SMSTS or equivalent and a valid UK driving licence are preferred.

Qualifications

• Experience running framework contracts for housing associations or local authorities.
• Track record in resourcing contracts and managing subcontractors.
• Strong leadership of mixed teams and driving performance improvements.
• Commercially aware with ability to manage margins and variations.

Responsibilities

• Running the contracts: day-to-day control of all contracts in the region, including responsive repairs,Voids, planned works, and larger projects.
• Resourcing: ensuring the right trades and supervision are available, mobilising new contracts ahead of demand.
• Performance: hitting KPIs/SLAs, managing attendance times, first-time fix, and resident satisfaction.
• People: leading supervisors, schedulers, admin staff, directly employed operatives and subcontractors.
• Commercial: working with Commercial Manager on cost, margin, variations, and payments.
• Safety and compliance: ensure health and safety, CDM, asbestos, gas, electrical regs, audits.
• Clients: main operational contact, performance reviews, escalations, quality.
• Mobilisation: getting new contracts up and running, staffing and systems.
• Improvement: continuously improve scheduling and operations.

Skills

Operations management

Contract management

Resourcing

Performance tracking

People leadership

Commercial awareness

Health & safety governance

Stakeholder management

Client relationship building

Education

HNC/HND in Construction-related discipline

Tools

Job management software

Job description

Role: Operations Manager - Building Services Sector/Repairs/Planned Maintenance

Location: Hybrid/Midlands - Home based with Travel within Midlands

Package: up to £75,000, excellent benefits and Bonus

My client are an established and growing Building services company that focus of providing Construction/building/Repairs elated framework services with local authorities, housing associations and commercial clients across the Midlands. From project inception to completion, they are committed to delivering excellence at every stage.

They are recruiting for an Operations Manager to take ownership of the contracts they deliver in the region: resourcing them properly, keeping them under control, and making sure each one is performing for the client, You own delivery and the people.

The person appointed will have a lot of autonomy, direct access to the owners, and a genuine say in how the operation is set up as it grows.

Duties:

• Running the contracts. Day-to-day control of every contract in your area - responsive repairs, voids, planned works and any larger projects - including the emergency service outside normal hours. Knowing where each contract stands at any point without having to go and ask.
• Resourcing. Making sure each contract has the right trades, supervision and support behind it, and moving people and subcontractors between contracts as the workload shifts. Recruiting ahead of demand so a new contract can mobilise without stripping the ones already running.
• Performance. Hitting the KPIs and SLAs we've agreed on each contract - attendance times, completion within target, first-time fix, resident satisfaction, complaints. Knowing the numbers week to week and dealing with problems before they end up in a client report.
• People. Leading the supervisors, schedulers, admin team, directly employed operatives and subcontractors across the region. Setting standards, dealing with performance issues properly, and keeping good people.
• Commercial. Working hand in hand with the Commercial Manager on cost, margin, variations, valuations and applications for payment. Feeding them accurate information from the ground, and acting on what they feed back. Keeping an eye on productivity, van stock and subcontractor spend.
• Safety and compliance. Health and safety on every job, every day, liaising with our H&S manager. Compliance with CDM,asbestos, gas and electrical regulations, and our own systems. Audits, toolbox talks, near-miss reporting and site inspections that actually happen, on every contract.
• Clients. Being the main operational contact for each client - performance meetings, resident escalations, quality issues. Building the kind of relationships that lead to more work.
• Mobilisation. Taking a lead on getting new contracts up and running: staffing, scheduling, systems, materials, the first few weeks of delivery. We're winning work regularly, so this will be a recurring part of the job rather than a one-off.
• Improvement. Making the operation better over time: how jobs are scheduled

Key Skills:

• Currently doing an Operations Manager, Repairs Manager or Contracts Manager role in responsive maintenance, or ready to step up from a senior supervisor or project lead role in the same field.
• Proven experience running framework contracts for housing association or local authority clients, ideally across more than one contract at once. You'll know what good looks like and what the client will pick up on.
• A track record of resourcing contracts properly - planning labour ahead, managing subcontractors and keeping control when the workload moves around.
• Managed a mixed team of directly employed trades and subcontractors, and comfortable having difficult conversations when needed.
• Commercially switched on - understands margin, variations and what drives cost on a repairs contract, and can work closely with a commercial lead rather than around them.
• Strong on health and safety. SMSTS or equivalent, and a working knowledge of the regulations that matter in occupied homes.
• Confident with clients. Can present performance data, explain a problem honestly and agree a way forward.
• Based in or within easy reach of the Midlands, with a full UK driving licence.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with a Tier 1 property services contractor or a large housing association client.
• Trade background, or an HNC/HND in a construction-related discipline.
• Experience mobilising a contract or growing an operation from a small base.
• Experience using job management or scheduling software.