Commercial Operations Manager in Blackburn

The Social Housing Family is seeking a commercially aware, highly organised and proactive Commercial and Operations Manager to support the effective commercial and operational management of our growing Group.

This is a varied and responsible role with ownership of commercial agreements, property and lease arrangements, partner relationships, new-service mobilisation, operational projects, management information and business-process improvement.

Working closely with the Commercial Director, you will take responsibility for assigned workstreams from initial instruction through to completion. You will ensure actions are properly controlled, deadlines are met, risks are identified early and senior leaders receive accurate information to support effective decision-making.

You will work across Housing, Assets, Finance, Income, Support, IT and corporate services, as well as with landlords, Registered Providers, care and support providers, commissioners, local authorities, contractors, suppliers and professional advisers.

The successful candidate will be commercially minded, confident working independently and comfortable managing several priorities at once. You must be willing to take ownership, challenge delays or incomplete information professionally and follow matters through to a clear conclusion.

Key ResponsibilitiesCommercial and Contract Management

• Maintain oversight of contracts, leases, underleases, licences, service-level agreements, management agreements and supplier arrangements.
• Maintain an accurate central contract register, including expiry dates, break clauses, notice periods, rent reviews and key obligations.
• Monitor contractual deadlines and coordinate renewals, variations, reviews, notices and termination activity.
• Review commercial documentation and identify responsibilities, costs, risks, gaps and matters requiring legal, financial or senior management consideration.
• Prepare commercial summaries and briefing information for the Commercial Director.
• Coordinate information and instructions for solicitors and professional advisers.
• Support commercial negotiations with landlords, suppliers and other partners.
• Maintain clear records of approvals, decisions, signed agreements and resulting actions.

Property and Lease Arrangements

• Maintain accurate records of property agreements, lease obligations, landlord responsibilities, incentives and handback provisions.
• Coordinate information for Heads of Terms, lease renewals, assignments, variations and property handbacks.
• Work with the Assets team to identify property, compliance, repair or investment matters with a commercial impact.
• Monitor outstanding landlord, provider and organisational actions.
• Escalate delays, disputes or potential breaches before they result in avoidable cost or service disruption.

Due Diligence and Mobilisation

• Coordinate due diligence for new properties, portfolio transfers, service arrangements and partnerships.
• Obtain and review property, occupancy, tenancy, rent, service-charge, lease, compliance, contractual and operational information.
• Identify missing information, inconsistencies, inherited liabilities and assumptions requiring further investigation.
• Prepare clear due-diligence summaries outlining risks, dependencies, resource requirements and decisions needed.
• Develop and maintain mobilisation plans with named owners, deadlines, dependencies, risks and readiness criteria.
• Coordinate mobilisation meetings and challenge delays or incomplete actions.
• Ensure new services are handed over effectively into business-as-usual operations.
• Support post-mobilisation reviews against the approved business case and agreed outcomes.

Partner and Supplier Management

• Act as a day-to-day commercial and operational contact for assigned landlords, Registered Providers, care and support providers, commissioners, contractors and suppliers.
• Maintain clear records of responsibilities, service expectations, decisions, performance concerns and improvement actions.
• Monitor delivery against contracts and service arrangements.
• Coordinate corrective action where performance falls below the required standard.
• Support procurement exercises, quotation reviews and supplier assessments.
• Analyse costs, challenge unexplained charges and identify opportunities to improve value for money.

Housing Benefit, Rent and Income Information

• Coordinate information required for rent setting, Housing Benefit submissions, reconsiderations, appeals and related enquiries.
• Maintain clear records of rent schedules, occupancy information, eligible services, supporting evidence, correspondence and decisions.
• Quality-check information for completeness and consistency.
• Monitor deadlines and outstanding actions.
• Escalate significant decisions, disputes and financial risks.

The role will not be expected to provide legal advice or independently determine complex Housing Benefit strategy.

Projects, Systems and Process Improvement

• Lead assigned commercial and operational projects from planning through to completion.
• Develop and maintain project plans, action trackers, decision logs and risk controls.
• Coordinate work across departments and external organisations.
• Monitor progress, challenge delays and elevate barriers to delivery.
• Support improvements to operational processes, management information and internal controls.
• Help design and implement digital workflows, registers and dashboards using Microsoft 365 and other approved systems.
• Reduce unnecessary duplication and manual administration.
• Ensure completed projects are properly handed over and responsibilities remain clear.

Management Information and Commercial Assurance

• Maintain reliable commercial dashboards, registers, trackers and management information.
• Verify information received from departments and resolve gaps or inconsistencies.
• Prepare concise reports for the Commercial Director, explaining progress, risks, opportunities, corrective action and decisions required.
• Support Executive and Board reporting with accurate evidence and analysis.
• Maintain an audit trail of reported positions, decisions and agreed actions.
• Support audit and assurance activity and monitor resulting improvement actions.
• 25 days' annual leave plus bank holidays.
• WPA Health Cash Plan
• Four times salary death-in-service benefit.
• Company pension scheme.
• Ongoing training and professional development.
• The opportunity to undertake a varied and influential role within a growing organisation.

The successful candidate must:

• Hold a full UK driving licence.
• Live within reasonable travelling distance of the Blackburn office.
• Be willing to travel regularly across England and Wales.
• Be available for occasional overnight stays.
• Be comfortable visiting residential properties and supported-housing services.
• Maintain confidentiality when handling personal or commercially sensitive information.
• Take a flexible approach to working hours where mobilisation, urgent commercial matters or significant operational priorities require it.

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