Executive Director of Housing & Property

MMP Consultancy are delighted to be working with a Registered Social Housing Provider to recruit an Executive Director of Housing & Property on a permanent basis. This is a significant executive-level appointment, offering the successful candidate the opportunity to take strategic responsibility for housing, property services, asset management, building safety, compliance and health & safety across the organisation.

Sitting as a key member of the Executive Management Team and reporting directly to the Chief Executive, you will provide senior leadership and assurance across the organisation's existing homes and property portfolio. You will ensure homes remain safe, compliant, well-maintained and managed to a consistently high standard for residents.

The role will also act as the organisation's senior lead for property-related regulatory matters, with responsibility for ensuring continued readiness against the expectations of the Regulator of Social Housing, Building Safety Regulator and Housing Ombudsman.

Key Responsibilities

• Regulatory Leadership & Assurance
  • Provide executive leadership across the Regulator of Social Housing framework and Consumer Standards.
  • Lead regulatory engagement, inspections, returns, statutory notifications and ongoing regulatory dialogue.
  • Hold senior accountability for building safety and compliance with relevant landlord, fire and health & safety legislation.
  • Ensure the organisation remains prepared for emerging regulatory and sector changes, including Awaab's Law, professional standards, decarbonisation requirements and changes to the Decent Homes Standard.
  • Provide clear assurance to the Chief Executive, Executive Team and Board regarding regulatory and statutory compliance.
• Asset Management
  • Lead the organisation's long-term asset management strategy.
  • Oversee stock condition, planned investment, lifecycle planning and decarbonisation programmes.
  • Maintain strategic oversight of repairs, voids, damp and mould and property-related complaints.
  • Use asset information, performance data and resident feedback to inform investment priorities.
  • Contribute to strategic decisions regarding property disposals, remodelling and portfolio optimisation.
• Repairs, Maintenance & Facilities
  • Ensure responsive and planned maintenance services provide high-quality services and value for money.
  • Drive a strong resident experience with an emphasis on effective, right-first-time service delivery.
  • Provide strategic oversight of facilities management across the organisation's property portfolio.
  • Ensure internal teams, external contractors and service partners deliver consistently against agreed standards.
• Health, Safety & Compliance
  • Hold executive-level accountability across key areas of property compliance, including: Building safety, Fire safety, Gas safety, Electrical safety, Water hygiene, Asbestos, Lifts, Lone working.
  • Ensure robust systems are in place for monitoring, evidencing and continually improving health and safety performance.
  • Provide effective assurance reporting to senior leadership and Board.
  • Lead the organisational response to serious incidents, reportable events and significant property-related complaints.
• Resident Experience & Service Quality
  • Champion the resident voice within property and asset management services.
  • Embed resident feedback and lived experience into service development and continuous improvement.
  • Maintain strategic oversight of property-related complaint handling.
  • Ensure alignment with the Housing Ombudsman's Complaints Handling Code.
  • Use Tenant Satisfaction Measures, complaints intelligence, surveys and resident feedback to improve service quality.
• Development & Growth
  • Work collaboratively with the executive lead responsible for development and growth.
  • Advise on the organisation's operational capacity to successfully take on new homes.
  • Provide executive challenge around lifecycle costs, compliance requirements, maintainability and operational viability.
  • Contribute to design standards and provide appropriate property and compliance assurance on new developments.
  • Maintain oversight of developments from an operational and future compliance perspective.
  • Support the effective handover of completed schemes into operational management.
• Leadership & People Management
  • Lead and develop a multidisciplinary property, asset and compliance function.
  • Create a high-performing, accountable and values-led culture.
  • Develop senior leaders within the function through coaching, succession planning and performance management.
  • Promote effective collaboration across Operations, Finance, HR, Communications and Development.
  • Set clear expectations around service quality, regulatory assurance and resident outcomes.
• Financial & Commercial Management
  • Maintain strategic oversight of property, repairs, planned maintenance and compliance budgets.
  • Lead the development of the long-term asset investment programme.
  • Ensure value for money across contracts, procurement and contractor management.
  • Provide strong commercial challenge while ensuring investment decisions support long-term asset quality and compliance.

About You

MMP Consultancy are particularly interested in hearing from established senior housing and property professionals who can demonstrate:

• Significant senior leadership experience within social housing, supported housing or another highly regulated property environment.
• Strong knowledge of the Regulator of Social Housing framework and Consumer Standards.
• Detailed working knowledge of building safety, fire safety and landlord health & safety responsibilities.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary property, asset management, repairs and compliance functions.
• Experience engaging at a senior level with regulators and responding to regulatory scrutiny.
• Strong knowledge of asset management and long-term investment planning.
• Experience managing significant property, maintenance or capital budgets.
• Strong understanding of emerging housing regulation and sector reform.
• Excellent analytical skills with the ability to use asset, compliance and performance information to inform executive decision-making.
• The confidence and credibility to provide constructive challenge at Executive and Board level.
• Strong commercial, contractual and financial judgement.
• Experience managing both internal teams and external contractors or service providers.

Qualifications

Candidates should ideally hold:

• A degree or equivalent professional qualification within housing, surveying, construction, building safety or a related discipline.
• Chartered membership, or be working towards membership, of an appropriate professional body such as CIH, RICS, IWFM or IOSH.
• Evidence of continued professional development within areas such as regulatory leadership, asset management, compliance and building safety.

Leadership Style

This opportunity will suit a senior leader who combines strong technical and regulatory knowledge with a genuine commitment to delivering high-quality services for residents.

You will need to be:

• Calm and credible within high-pressure and regulatory environments.
• Comfortable holding senior teams and contractors to account.
• Able to communicate complex property and regulatory matters clearly.
• Collaborative while remaining prepared to provide constructive challenge.
• Strongly focused on resident safety, service quality and continuous improvement.
• An effective people leader who can develop, motivate and empower teams.
• Confident operating with Chief Executives, Boards, regulators and senior external stakeholders.

The Opportunity

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Director of Property, Director of Asset Management, Director of Housing & Property, Director of Property Services or senior housing executive looking to take on a broad executive leadership brief.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to influence the organisation's long-term approach to asset management, property investment, repairs, compliance, building safety and resident experience, while playing an important part in wider corporate strategy.

For further information or a confidential discussion regarding the opportunity, please contact MMP Consultancy.