Subsidence Consultant

Location: Leicester or Bexhill (Hybrid) with a high degree of flexibility

Role Overview

As our new Subsidence Consultant, you’ll lead technical decision‑making and team capability across domestic subsidence and ground movement claims ensuring claims are investigated, validated and resolved fairly, accurately and commercially. You’ll act as the technical authority for subsidence claims, supporting effective claim strategy, supplier challenges, clear customer communications and continuous improvement across the Home Claims function.

Required Experience

• Team Leadership and Performance – leading, coaching and developing a team of subsidence claims handlers, allocating work, monitoring workloads, building technical confidence and ensuring claims progress within agreed SLA’s and operational targets, acting as an escalation/technical referral point for complex, high value, sensitive or disputed claims.
• Technical Claims Management – providing expert guidance on subsidence, heave, landslip, drainage related damage, tree related movement and any other structural movement claims, reviewing technical evidence and setting and challenging the claims strategy on liability, proximate cause, mitigation, repair scope, settlement, repudiation and reinstatement. Ensuring repair scopes, schedules, estimates and settlements are technically appropriate, proportionate and commercially controlled.
• Supplier and Stakeholder Management – overseeing the appointment, instruction and performance of external specialists (such as adjusters, engineers, contractors and repair networks) and ensure suppliers are providing clear and evidence‑based recommendations that support robust claim decisions and customer communications, challenging supplier recommendations where required.
• Customers, Quality and Compliance – ensuring customers receive clear, empathetic and timely communication, especially on complex, long running, declined or disputed claims. Using audits, quality reviews, complaint insights and root cause analysis to identify risks, trends, training needs and improvement opportunities – maintaining accurate file records.
• Service Delivery – balancing customer experience, technical accuracy, indemnity control and timely resolution across the subsidence claims portfolio, monitoring claim lifecycles, outstanding actions, reserves, supplier performance and settlement activity.

Essential Skills and Experience

• Appropriate professional building qualification or equivalent relevant experience.
• Strong knowledge of subsidence engineering, building surveying, repair methodology, site investigation, monitoring, drainage investigation, arboriculture evidence and building pathology.
• Detailed understanding of domestic structural defects including cracking, distortion, foundation movement, drainage‑related damage, tree‑related movement, heavy, landslip and any other ground movement.
• Ability to diagnose likely cause of damage through the use of photographs, reports, survey findings, investigation results, monitoring data and repair recommendations.
• Strong knowledge of policy liability, proximate cause, indemnity, exclusions, delegated authority, reserving, settlement options and customer outcome requirements.
• Strong decision‑making and problem‑solving skills combined with excellent stakeholder management skills – able to challenge and influence and explain technical details in plain language.

Responsibilities

• Team Leadership and Performance – leading, coaching and developing a team of subsidence claims handlers, allocating work, monitoring workloads, building technical confidence and ensuring claims progress within agreed SLA’s and operational targets, acting as an escalation/technical referral point for complex, high value, sensitive or disputed claims.
• Technical Claims Management – providing expert guidance on subsidence, heave, landslip, drainage related damage, tree related movement and other structural movement claims, reviewing technical evidence and setting and challenging the claims strategy on liability, proximate cause, mitigation, repair scope, settlement, repudiation and reinstatement.
• Supplier and Stakeholder Management – overseeing appointment, instruction and performance of external specialists and ensuring suppliers provide clear, evidence‑based recommendations that support robust claim decisions and customer communications, challenging supplier recommendations when required.
• Customers, Quality and Compliance – ensuring customers receive clear, empathetic and timely communication, using audits, quality reviews, complaint insights and root‑cause analysis to identify risks, trends, training needs and improvement opportunities and maintain accurate file records.
• Service Delivery – balancing customer experience, technical accuracy, indemnity control and timely resolution across the subsidence claims portfolio, monitoring claim lifecycles, outstanding actions, reserves, supplier performance and settlement activity.

Interview Process

• Recruiter intro/screening call
• 1st stage interview with hiring leader (Technical Claims Manager)
• 2nd interview with one of our senior leaders

Regrettably we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

Benefits

• Flexible working – hybrid working approach; discuss details with recruiter.
• Competitive bonus scheme – eligible for annual 4Cs performance bonus.
• Physical wellbeing – private medical insurance (PMI) for Band 4 colleagues.
• Financial wellbeing – life assurance cover 4× salary, income protection at no extra cost, matched pension contributions up to 10%, discount & cashback, free independent mortgage advice, financial wellbeing support.
• Mental wellbeing programme – Thrive mental health app, colleague assistance programme, in‑house mental health first aiders, support groups, dedicated team for wellbeing support.
• Additional benefits – 27 days annual leave + bank holidays, option to buy or sell holidays, health care cashback plans, dental plans, discounted health assessments, cycle to work & tech schemes, free onsite facilities, social events.

Hastings Group is an equal opportunities employer which means we treat people fairly. We welcome applications from all suitably skilled persons regardless of their gender, age, race, disability, ethnic background, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or marital/family status. Please also note that we have a thorough referencing process, which includes credit and criminal record checks.