Site-based Contract Manager - Oldham

Chartwells Independent; Oldham; On-site; GBP 43,000 - 53,000; Full time

Job summary

Compass Group UK&I is recruiting a Contract Manager (Soft Services) to lead Cleaning, Security and Catering across three sites including two distribution centres and a corporate office. This hands-on leader will oversee frontline teams, drive standards, and manage client relationships on a site-based role.

You will balance operational priorities with commercial and administrative duties, ensuring service excellence daily and developing a high-performing workforce across departments.

Qualifications

• Multi-site facilities management experience
• Cleaning operations knowledge and standards
• Experience leading soft services teams (Cleaning, Security, Catering)
• Visible hands-on leadership with coaching focus
• Continuous improvement and innovative problem-solving
• Strong organisational and time management skills
• Budgeting and contract performance awareness
• Excellent stakeholder and client relationship skills
• SIA Licence (or willingness to obtain)
• IOSH qualification (or willingness to work towards)
• Full UK driving licence and regular travel between sites

Responsibilities

• Lead Cleaning, Security and Catering operations across three sites.
• Be the visible operational lead with frontline teams and Heads of Department.
• Apply technical cleaning expertise to drive standards, compliance and best practice.
• Identify innovative ways to improve service delivery, efficiency and customer experience.
• Coach and develop Heads of Department and frontline teams to create high-performance culture.
• Ensure contractual obligations, KPIs, SLAs and statutory compliance are met.
• Build strong relationships with key client stakeholders as the trusted partner.
• Manage employee engagement, performance, and lifecycle planning.
• Take ownership of budgets, labour management and P&L performance.
• Prioritise time across multiple sites to ensure visibility and consistency

Job description

Contract Manager (Soft Services)

Salary:£48,000 per annum

Location: Oldham, Heywood & Manchester (predominantly based at the Oldham site)

Working Pattern:Monday to Friday, with flexibility to support operational requirements across varying shift patterns. This is a fully site-based role, five days per week.

Lead from the Front. Drive Excellence. Make a Difference.

We're looking for a highly visible and hands-on Contract Manager to lead the delivery of Cleaning, Security and Catering services across two distribution centres and a corporate office location.

This is a demanding but highly rewarding role for an experienced operational leader who thrives on being out with their teams, supporting Heads of Department, improving standards and identifying innovative ways to enhance the customer experience. You'll be a strong people manager with the ability to balance operational priorities, client expectations and administrative responsibilities, while ensuring service excellence is delivered every day.

If you're passionate about leading people, driving continuous improvement and creating high-performing teams, we'd love to hear from you.

What You'll Be Doing

• Leading Cleaning, Security and Catering operations across three sites.
• Acting as the visible operational lead, spending time with frontline teams and supporting Heads of Department to deliver outstanding service.
• Using your technical cleaning expertise to drive standards, compliance and operational best practice.
• Identifying innovative ways to improve service delivery, efficiency and customer experience across all service lines.
• Managing, coaching and developing Heads of Department and frontline teams to create a high-performance culture.
• Ensuring contractual obligations, KPIs, SLAs and statutory compliance requirements are consistently achieved.
• Building strong relationships with key client stakeholders and acting as a trusted operational partner.
• Managing employee engagement, performance, succession planning and the wider employee lifecycle.
• Taking ownership of budgets, labour management and P&L performance.
• Effectively prioritising your time across multiple sites to ensure operational visibility and service consistency.

What We're Looking For

• Proven multi-site Facilities Management experience, ideally within distribution, logistics or corporate environments.
• Strong technical knowledge of Cleaning operations, standards and compliance requirements.
• Experience leading soft service teams across Cleaning, Security and Catering environments.
• A visible, hands-on leadership style with a passion for coaching and developing people.
• Demonstrable experience driving continuous improvement and introducing innovative solutions that enhance operational performance.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills with the ability to balance operational, commercial and administrative responsibilities.
• Strong commercial awareness with experience managing budgets and contract performance.
• Excellent stakeholder management and client relationship skills.
• SIA Licence (or willingness to obtain).
• IOSH qualification (or willingness to work towards).
• Full UK driving licence and ability to travel regularly between sites.

Why Join Us?

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a high-profile contract where you'll have genuine influence over service delivery, team development and client satisfaction. You'll play a key role in shaping a best-in-class workplace experience while leading teams that make a real difference every day.

At 14forty, we're here to make workplaces better, cultivating working environments that energise, inspire and attract talent across all sectors. Our 'people and planet first' approach prioritises the aspects of FM that make the biggest operational impact, affording businesses more time to focus on what truly matters.

Job Reference: com/0809/99957001/52602795/R/SU #14Forty

Compass Group UK&I is committed to fostering an environment where every individual can truly be themselves at work and has equal opportunities to advance in their careers. We strive to build a culture that respects and celebrates the unique talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and abilities of all our team members. We want our colleagues to feel valued, empowered to reach their full potential, and to thrive - because diversity is our strength!