Head of Compliance & Building Safety

This is an opportunity to lead compliance and building safety for one of London’s most distinctive resident-managed housing organisations. Managing around 1,600 homes across Borough and Bermondsey, between London Bridge and Tower Bridge, the organisation operates differently from a traditional housing provider. Residents have genuine influence over how their homes and neighbourhoods are managed, with strategic decisions made by a Board of resident directors elected by the people who live there.

That creates a particularly interesting opportunity for the new Head of Compliance & Building Safety. You will have the scope and seniority to shape the service, strengthen assurance and governance, and work closely with residents and senior leaders to ensure homes are safe, compliant and well managed.

This is a senior leadership role with responsibility for compliance and building safety across the portfolio, covering fire, gas, electrical safety, asbestos, water hygiene, lifts and high-risk building activity.

The role:

• You will lead the Compliance & Building Safety function, providing strategic and operational direction to the team and overseeing specialist contractors and consultants.
• Your responsibilities will include:
• Leading statutory compliance across all key FLAGEL workstreams
• Providing oversight of building safety and high-risk building activity
• Ensuring fire risk assessments, compartmentation, structural reviews, external wall information and Safety Case requirements are effectively managed
• Developing strong governance, assurance, risk and escalation arrangements
• Ensuring compliance information is accurate, current and fully auditable
• Providing clear reporting and assurance to senior leaders, the Board, auditors and regulatory stakeholders
• Managing contractor performance, consultants and relevant budgets
• Supporting procurement, mobilisation and contract management
• Driving service improvement and challenging underperformance
• Ensuring residents are properly informed and involved in building safety matters
• Leading the operational response to serious compliance or safety incidents when required

You will work closely with senior property services colleagues, residents, Board members, the local authority, contractors and consultants, giving the role considerable visibility and influence.

About you

We are looking for someone who brings significant experience of leading compliance and/or building safety within social housing or a comparable property environment.

You will need:

• Strong experience across multiple statutory compliance workstreams
• A good understanding of the Building Safety Act, fire safety and high-risk residential buildings
• Experience of compliance assurance, governance, risk management and regulatory reporting
• Experience managing teams, contractors and consultants
• The ability to interpret complex information and turn it into clear reporting for senior leaders and Boards
• Strong contractor, performance and budget management experience
• The confidence to challenge, make decisions and provide leadership when issues arise

You will have a relevant degree, Level 5 qualification or equivalent professional experience in an area such as building safety, fire safety, construction, asset management, housing, property management or building control. A recognised health and safety qualification such as NEBOSH General Certificate, IOSH Managing Safely or equivalent is required, alongside relevant building or fire safety training. Professional membership or higher-level qualifications in building safety, fire engineering, health and safety, leadership or management would be an advantage.

Why this role?

This is a chance to work somewhere where the relationship between residents and their housing provider is genuinely different. The organisation has been resident managed for more than 25 years, with residents repeatedly choosing to retain that model. It combines the responsibility and complexity of managing a significant London housing portfolio with the accessibility and influence of a much smaller organisation. For the right person, that means the opportunity to make a visible impact. You will be close to the residents affected by the decisions you make, close to the Board and senior leadership team, and able to directly influence how compliance and building safety services develop.

The role also participates in an out-of-hours escalation rota and may be required to provide senior support during significant incidents. If you are an experienced compliance and building safety leader who combines technical knowledge with strong leadership and a genuine commitment to resident safety, we would be very interested in hearing from you.