Senior Program Manager - Building Safety in Manchester

We are seeking an experienced and resilient Senior Program Manager Building Safety to provide strategic leadership and end-to-end management of our Building Safety Remediation Programme. This high-profile role is accountable for ensuring full compliance with the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS), the Building Safety Act 2022, and all associated regulatory, technical and funding requirements. You will lead a complex portfolio of high-risk residential remediation projects, ensuring resident safety, regulatory compliance, value for money and timely delivery. Acting as the organisation’s subject-matter expert, you will advise the Executive Team and Board, and represent the organisation with regulators, funders and key external stakeholders. This is a demanding and influential role requiring strong personal resilience, sound judgement and confidence operating with significant accountability in a highly regulated and politically sensitive environment.

The role - What You'll be doing?

• Strategic Leadership & Governance
  • Lead the development and delivery of a comprehensive Building Safety Remediation Programme aligned with organisational strategy, regulatory expectations and CSS requirements.
  • Act as the organisation’s senior expert on cladding and building safety remediation, advising the Executive Team and Board.
  • Establish clear programme governance, decision-making routes and escalation processes.
  • Embed robust assurance arrangements, including audits and gateway reviews, across the programme lifecycle.
• Regulatory Compliance & Funding
  • Ensure full compliance with the Building Safety Act 2022, Fire Safety Act, Building Regulations and relevant British Standards.
  • Oversee all CSS funding applications, variations, claims and reconciliations, ensuring audit readiness and compliance with grant conditions.
  • Maintain alignment with emerging guidance from DLUHC, the Building Safety Regulator, Homes England and other relevant bodies.
  • Act as the senior point of contact with Homes England, DLUHC and funding partners.
  • Oversee the safe, timely and cost-effective delivery of multiple high-value, technically complex remediation projects.
  • Establish and maintain robust programme controls, including schedules, cost plans, risk registers, change control and reporting.
  • Ensure procurement strategies comply with public procurement regulations and organisational standing orders.
  • Maintain overall programme budgets, forecasts and value-for-money assessments.
• Risk, Assurance & Recovery
  • Identify, manage and mitigate programme-level risks, including safety, financial, legal, reputational and resident risks.
  • Oversee recovery routes where applicable, including warranties, insurance claims and third-party recoveries.
• Stakeholder & Resident Engagement
  • Lead resident engagement strategies, ensuring transparent, timely and sensitive communication throughout remediation works.
  • Manage complex relationships with residents, leaseholders, managing agents, local authorities, fire and rescue services and contractors.
  • Lead responses to complaints, enquiries and any political or media interest relating to building safety works.
• Leadership & Culture
  • Provide strong leadership, coaching and professional development to programme and project teams.
  • Promote a positive safety culture and collaborative, outcomes-focused ways of working.
  • Champion equality, diversity and inclusion across programme delivery.

Person Specification

• Knowledge & Qualifications
  • Strong knowledge of the Cladding Safety Scheme, the Building Safety Act 2022 and related regulatory frameworks.
  • Degree (or equivalent) in construction, engineering, surveying, programme management, or significant relevant professional experience.
  • Exceptional programme management, governance and risk management capability.
  • Strategic thinker with the ability to anticipate future challenges and translate strategy into effective delivery plans.
  • Highly effective stakeholder manager, including experience of resident engagement in sensitive environments.
  • Confident, resilient leader who is decisive, positive and able to challenge constructively when required.
  • Strong influencing and negotiation skills, with the ability to work collaboratively across organisational and sector boundaries.
  • High levels of political awareness and diplomacy, with the ability to operate effectively in complex and high-profile environments.
  • Analytical and evidence-based decision-maker, comfortable evaluating alternative strategies and delivery models.
  • Demonstrable commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
  • Flexible and adaptable approach to work.
• Experience
  • Significant experience leading large-scale construction or remediation programmes in social housing, local authority or similarly regulated environments.
  • Proven experience delivering cladding and/or fire safety remediation projects.
  • Demonstrable success in securing and managing government grant funding.
  • Experience of working effectively with Boards and senior committees.
  • Proven track record of managing multiple complex projects concurrently within organisations of comparable scale and complexity.
  • Experience leading and developing multi-disciplinary teams.
  • Strong experience of contractor and consultant management within a customer-focused environment.
  • Proven ability to build and maintain effective relationships with key strategic stakeholders.
  • Demonstrable experience of managing significant budgets and undertaking financial and risk appraisals linked to business strategy.

Key Stakeholders

• Board and Executive Team
• Building Safety Regulator
• Homes England and DLUHC
• Fire and Rescue Service
• Residents and Leaseholders
• Local Authorities
• Consultants, Contractors and Employer’s Agents

What we offer as a company

• Annual Salary of up to £54,495 plus a salary supplement with overall remuneration of £65,496
• Up to 34 days’ holiday
• Hybrid working, flexible working and family friendly policies
• Opportunities for training and development
• Generous Defined Contribution Pension Scheme
• Life Assurance worth 3 x annual salary
• Health Cash Plan which also provides a range of discounts including discounted gym membership
• An inclusive and positive colleague culture
• Advocate of the Greater Manchester Employment Charter

About our company

At Salix Homes, we’re passionate about creating a brighter future for our customers, our communities, and our people. Since becoming a stand-alone housing association in 2015, we’ve invested significantly in our homes and services. Over the past decade, we’ve grown, evolved, and made a lasting impact in Salford. We’ve worked hard to ensure all our properties are safe, modern, desirable, and energy efficient, continually investing in our customers, their homes and communities through an ambitious and ongoing programme of improvement work. We’re also incredibly proud to be one of the first housing associations in the country to achieve a C1 grading under the new Consumer Standards a testament to the quality of the homes we provide and the services we deliver. If you share our vision of driving positive change, this is your opportunity to be part of something meaningful. Salix Homes is an Equal Opportunities Employer and opposes all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination. Our customers come from all walks of life, and so should we. As we are interested in expanding our workforce diversity, we welcome all applications. We are proud members of the Armed Forces Covenant and Disability Confident scheme; we will therefore invite to interview any disabled candidates who demonstrate the minimum standards for the role. If you wish to be considered under as part of this scheme, please let us know by emailing us at recruitment@salixhomes.co.uk. We want everyone to be able to perform to their best throughout the recruitment process so please let us know if you have any concerns or need any assistance or adjustments at any stage.