Head Of Maintenance - Residential Portfolio in Manchester

Wow! Stop the clock – this is a big one and such a cracking opportunity. This Head of Maintenance role goes above and beyond. This is NOT about holding the baby. This is about conducting the orchestra.

A rare, hands‑on leadership opportunity to own the full maintenance function for a fast‑growing UK residential platform across single‑family and build‑to‑rent homes. This is a genuine build role: you’ll create the SOPs, systems, team and supply chain that set the standard for how homes are maintained as the business scales.

The opportunity

• Brand-new Head of role reporting to the Head of Estates – you will design and own the maintenance function end‑to‑end.
• Multi‑product residential – single‑family and BTR portfolio with real people living in the homes you manage.
• Build from day one – review existing data and processes, then create the operating model, CMMS, asset platform, policies and KPIs.
• Performance culture – a business built for long‑term results, not comfort; values are “stay grounded, use your judgement, own it, play the long game”.

What you’ll own

• Lead reactive and planned maintenance across the portfolio, hitting response times, quality standards and resident communication targets.
• Develop deep knowledge of the existing estate and engage with all new handovers and acquisitions.
• Compliance with building regulations and associated legislation; own safe, compliant ways of working with regional and on‑site teams.
• Set clear objectives and KPIs for the function; ensure all works are properly documented, costed and auditable.
• Lead technical diligence on new buildings (handover from development or acquisition) and partner design/development to embed technical and functional requirements in future projects.
• Undertake a strategic, data‑led review of current maintenance needs; define and build the future operating model as the business grows.
• Support in‑house vs outsourced decisions with clear thinking on cost, quality and operational reality. Ticketing systems etc.
• Set clear expectations with contractors and suppliers; manage performance against them with clarity, not goodwill.
• Hold contractors to account where standards slip; escalation, replace or remediate as required.

OPEX, lifecycle & Capex coordination

• Create, track and deliver the annual maintenance budget; drive OPEX optimisation through smart FM procedures and by eradicating repeat faults.
• Partner finance on spend and ticket analysis, producing regular reports with commentary and forward‑looking interventions.

All about you

• Multi‑site residential estates or FM experience at scale; you understand the complexity of occupied homes.
• Hands‑on contractor and lifecycle management – setting expectations, managing performance and holding suppliers to account.
• Single‑family or build‑to‑rent experience preferred; Proven track record delivering and optimising FM budgets across geographically diverse estates.
• Technical qualifications (City & Guilds, NVQ or Degree) or 10+ years leading in a technical environment.
• Experience in hyper‑growth or growth‑stage businesses, building platforms and processes that still work at scale.
• Comfortable juggling competing priorities: reactive maintenance alongside planned works, without dropping standards on either.
• Able to operate where not everything is defined; use judgement, make calls and stand behind them.
• Resident‑focused mindset: when maintenance goes wrong, it’s someone’s home that’s affected – you hold that awareness while managing the practical reality.
• See change and ambiguity as opportunity, not instability, in a business that’s still evolving.

You must be able to live and work in the UK without restriction.

Head of Maintenance - Residential Portfolio Greater Manchester, England