Service Charge Specialist

Closing date for completed applications: 13th May at 11:59pm

**Early applications are encouraged as we reserve the right to close the advertisement and interview earlier than stated.

Join our Service Charge Team!

This is an exciting opportunity to join L&Q\’s Service Charge (Managing Agents) Team, supporting over 22,000 residents living in homes where services are provided by Managing Agents. As a Service Charge Specialist (Managing Agents), you will monitor the service charge expenditure and compliance activity undertaken by Managing Agents appointed by L&Q or superior landlords, ensuring fair, reasonable, and transparent charges for residents.

• Do you have a strong understanding of service charges, leasehold legislation, and financial administration?
• Are you confident in managing complex stakeholder relationships, challenging costs, and maintaining compliance across third-party managed estates?

If so, we\’d love for you to bring your expertise and make a lasting impact in this dynamic role.

Your Impact in the Role:

• Managing Agent Relationship Management: Build and maintain effective working relationships with Managing Agents, ensuring that service charge expenditure is reasonable and that statutory compliance requirements are met.
• Service Charge Budgeting & Reconciliation: Set up, monitor, and reconcile accurate and complete service charge budgets and accounts for schemes managed by external agents.
• Resident Support & Communication: Help residents understand the relationships between L&Q, the superior landlord, and managing agents, providing clarity on service charges and service delivery.
• Compliance & Risk Management: Check compliance with legal agreements, leases, and management agreements. Challenge unreasonable charges and ensure that services being charged for are provided.
• Collaboration Across Teams: Work closely with internal stakeholders such as Neighbourhoods, Finance, and Legal teams to support service charge activities, budget forecasting, and First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) cases.

What You\’ll Bring:

• Service Charge and Leasehold Expertise: TPI and or RICS qualifications or relevant experience with a s trong understanding of service charge processes, and ability to read, interpret, apply, and communicate title/ lease / Tenancy Agreement provisions in regards to the allocation of service charges to relevant audiences.
• Legislative & Regulatory Knowledge: Working Knowledge of relevant legislation, including the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (S18-30), Commonhold & Leasehold Reform Act 2002, and Leasehold & Freehold Reform Act 2024, as well as RICS and TPI guidelines, regulations and procedures.
• Financial and Analytical Skills: Good financial accounting knowledge (income / expenditure, VAT, accruals) with strong attention to detail and the ability to analyse service charge budgets, actual costs, and identify variances.
• Stakeholder Management: Strong interpersonal and negotiation skills to build and maintain good working relationships with external mana ging agents and collaborating effectively with internal teams.
• Effective Communicator: Ability to diplomatically resolve complaints and challenge unreasonable costs, finding solutions that balance resident satisfaction and financial accountability.
• Technical Proficiency: Advanced skills in Microsoft Excel, including V-Lookups, macros and pivots, and adaptability to learn new systems.

Why Work for L&Q?

L&Q is not just a workplace; it\’s a community. Recognised as one of the UK\’s Best Workplaces for Women and certified as a Great Place to Work, we offer an environment where everyone can thrive.

The successful candidate will have access to our full suite of benefits, which includes:

• Generous Annual Leave: Starting at 28 days and increasing to 31 days after 3 years of continuous service.
• Excellent Pension Scheme: Double contribution up to 6%.
• Health Cash Plan: Claim money towards different types of medical services, and access other health and well-being offers
• Life Assurance: Generous non-contributory coverage.
• Employee Assistance Programme: Support when you need it.
• Recognition Bonus Scheme: Spot awards for outstanding contributions.
• Family-Friendly Policies: Designed to help you balance work and family life
• Diverse Networking Groups: Join groups like Ability, Kaleidoscope, Inspire & Spectrum.
• Volunteer Time: Up to 21 hours per year to volunteer with the charity of your choice.
• Learning & Development: Commitment to your professional growth.

If you\’re committed to ensuring fair service charges, building strong partnerships, and supporting resident satisfaction, we\’d love to hear from you-apply now!

As a charitable organisation, our role goes beyond providing homes and housing services. We are a long-term partner in the neighbourhoods where we work. We hope to build aspiration, opportunity and confidence in our communities through our £250 million L&Q Foundation and our skills academy.

Our vision is that everyone has a quality home they can afford, and we combine our social purpose with a commercial drive to create homes and neighbourhoods everyone can be proud of.

At the foundation of everything that we do are our corporate values and associated behaviours. Our organisational behavioural framework outlines the core expectations of all employees, which should be demonstrated at all times when representing L&Q. More information about L&Q\’s values can be found on our website and a copy of our behavioural framework can be provided on request.

Our commitments:

At L&Q, people are at the heart of our business and our success depends on employing the best people and getting the best from them. This is why we are committed to developing our people. It\’s only by investing in a well-trained and motivated workforce that we can continue to prosper and sustain business success.

We are committed to supporting your work-life balance and recognise the changing demands and circumstances in life. Please let us know during the recruitment process if you\’re interested in part time working or job sharing. In addition, should your circumstances change once you have joined L&Q, you can also request flexible working arrangements, e.g. a change to working hours – if it\’s feasible then we\’ll make it happen.

We are recognised externally for our commitment to inclusion. We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion, a Disability Confident (Committed) employer and have signed the Time to Change Employer Pledge to demonstrate our commitment to end mental health discrimination in the workplace.

We expect all of our employees to support our environmental policy and social responsibility work. We are an employer committed to environmental and social responsibility.

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