Director of property support jobs in Manchester

Direct Reports and span of control: Head of Property Compliance, Head of Mechanical & Electrical, Head of Specialist Repairs

Dimensions (budget holder, level of contract/systems etc responsibility):

• Responsible for delivery of compliance related services of over 30,000 homes, 90,000 customers
• Controls budget >£20m per annum
• Responsible for headcount of circa 200 colleagues including managers and trades
• Member of the Property Services Senior Leadership Team
• Representation at operational panels to support Compliance Delivery
• Organisation leader

Created/Reviewed date: October 2025

Role Purpose

Oversee a blended model of in-house direct labour teams and external supply chain partners, lead and empower your teams to successfully deliver effective building, mechanical, electrical and regulated compliance related works and services across the organisation's property portfolio to ensure our homes are safe and well maintained. Delivering against challenging KPI's, ensure continuous improvement and customer safety across gas, fire, water, electrical, lifts, M&E and asbestos.

Working with the Property Services Director and Assistant Directors to shape and implement the Property Compliance Delivery strategies to deliver effective building/property regulatory compliance in line with statutory, regulatory and policy requirements. Instrumental in leading change and embedding a positive, enthusiastic, and empowered culture that enables colleagues to deliver good performance and great customer service.

Lead on new ways of working including the use of modern digital solutions to make our business more effective, agile, and responsive, requiring a forward and outward looking approach as well as an open mind and applying Lean principles in decision making.

Key Accountabilities

• Shape and contribute to the organisation's long-term compliance strategy, ensuring alignment with national housing policy and emerging legislation.
• Lead on the effective management of statutory compliance, ensuring all regulatory and legislative responsibilities for gas, electrical, asbestos, fire safety, legionella, water, and lifts are delivered.
• Oversee the delivery of regulatory repairs within the required timelines such as Damp, Mould and Condensation, Disrepair cases, and HHSRS related complex repairs, oversee escalated complaints that require additional attention to de-escalate and resolve.
• Responsibility for preparing and presenting detailed assurance, risk and performance reports to the senior leadership teams and relevant committees / boards.
• Ensure services delivered have customers at the heart of decision making, proving excellent customer service which prioritises keeping them safe.
• Accountable for performance targets, budgets and work programmes, agreeing and monitoring these and ensuring team managers align and set objectives that deliver the strategic and directorate plan.
• Manage critical relationships with stakeholders both internally and externally including but not limited to, in-house colleagues and external contractors, senior stakeholders, governing bodies, external auditors and consultants and legal representatives.
• Lead a team which is capable of delivering all current and new regulated delivery, such as Awaab's Law, HHSRS, and disrepair cases.
• Lead on external audits, inspections and regulatory reviews.
• Ensure effective property compliance 1st line assurance is in place for all areas of service and works delivery.
• Lead on the development of the compliance schedule, creating programmes on a pre-emptive cycle to ensure that the business remains compliant.
• Recruit, manage, coach, motivate, and develop colleagues within your team in line with organisational policies.
• Critically evaluate compliance information and KPIs, producing regular assurance reports covering all areas of compliance performance, processes, procedures, and statutory responsibilities.
• Oversee the development and on-going review of compliance related policies and procedures, in line with legislation and industry best practice.
• Ensure a sustainable suite of competent specialist Supply Chain partners is in place.
• Ensure that business compliance responsibilities are complied with in respect of properties where there is no maintenance responsibility.
• Responsible for a responsive aspect of repairs and maintenance in respect of Gas/Heating b

Are you passionate about making a real impact through safer, high‑quality environments? Do you want to use your estates, health & safety and compliance expertise to help drive meaningful change across a national charity? If so, Life Charity would love to hear from you.

We are looking for an experienced, proactive, and values‑driven Estates Manager to lead our Estates function and ensure our services, properties, and environments consistently meet the highest standards.

The Role:

As Estates Manager, you will be the driving force behind the quality, compliance and safety of Life’s estate. This role combines strategic oversight with hands‑on management of our property portfolio, ensuring all sites are safe, secure and operating to required standards.

You will:

• Lead Health & Safety and Premises/Facilities Management across the charity
• Ensure compliance with relevant legislation, regulatory requirements and internal standards
• Oversee risk management, audits, inspections and safety monitoring
• Manage the Estates Coordinator and foster a culture of continuous improvement
• Work with external partners to ensure checks are carried out (Gas, Fire Safety, Legionella, Asbestos, etc.)
• Manage property acquisition, disposal, leases, maintenance and contracts
• Develop and maintain estates policies and reporting systems
• Drive a positive, proactive health & safety culture across Life

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone wanting to lead meaningful change within an organisation that truly makes a difference.

What You’ll Bring:

We’re looking for someone who is:

• Highly organised, proactive, and able to take initiative
• A strong communicator with excellent written and verbal skills
• Confident managing estates compliance, risk, safety and property-related functions
• Experienced in managing a portfolio of properties (minimum 3 years)
• Able to lead others and support their development
• Skilled in identifying improvements and driving change

Qualifications/Experience:
✔ NEBOSH (or equivalent) in Occupational Health & Safety
✔ Evidence of continuous professional development
✔ Experience in data analysis or financial management (desirable)
✔ HND or equivalent in business/charity administration (desirable)

Information about the role: 

For further information, please see the attached job description. 

Please note, there is a requirement to drive for this role.

Salary: £38,000 per annum

Hours: 35 hours per week

Location: Home Based with travel to Leamington Spa and sites around the UK

Benefits:  

At Life we are passionate about providing our employees with a supportive and engaging environment. As well as ongoing development and training, we offer our:  

• Generous holiday allowance, starting at 25 days per year, plus 8 Bank Holidays (pro rata for part time hours) 
• Birthday Leave  (applicable after 1 years service)
• Additional annual leave for long term service  
• Company Pension Scheme  
• Signed member of the Menopause Workplace Pledge 

Safeguarding and Equality: 

Life is committed to protecting all staff, volunteers and service users from harm of any kind. Life expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our code of conduct.   

We are committed to ensuring diversity and equality within our organisation by encouraging applications from all backgrounds.  

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks. Life takes its obligation to protect the rights of children and vulnerable people very seriously; therefore, the successful candidate for this post will be also subject to extensive background checking, including an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS) which is paid for by the Charity.  

We’re recruiting an experienced, creative and hands-on communications specialist to work with Platform Places and Footwork over the next 10 months – to develop our bold narratives and inspiring content that help drive locally-led neighbourhood transformation.

• Target start date: 11th May 2026 
• Time input: 3 days per week (0.6 full-time equivalent), with flexibility for up to 4 days per week in certain busy periods, by mutual agreement
• Remuneration: £55,000-£61,500 per year (pro rata) depending on experience
• Flexible working: Work hours can be flexible as long as role objectives are met
• Location: Hybrid, remote or in-person (option to work from our London office). Monthly in-person team days in London, plus occasional trips to partners in Newcastle, Sheffield, Liverpool, Bristol and London and learning gatherings (expenses covered). 
• Contract type: PAYE employment contract. 10 months fixed term.
• Eligibility: Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK.

About us

In 2025, Platform Places integrated with Footwork Trust, becoming what we call ‘civic partners’. Together we facilitate locally-led neighbourhood transformation – so people have the power to live affordably, sustainably and together. 

About Platform Places

Platform Places is a national cross-sector collaboration and not-for-profit social enterprise with a mission to unlock town centre buildings for amazing ideas that help us live affordably, sustainably and together. We convene councils, community leaders and asset owners around the country to build powerful partnerships, to unlock buildings for local benefit. We support these Partnerships with access to funding, technical expertise and networks.

Our deeper intention is to localise and democratise who owns, controls and transforms town centre and neighbourhood buildings, so that communities can:

• design spaces to meet local needs – whether affordable space for arts, music, healthcare, local food, housing, nature connection, reuse & repair, childcare etc
• retain and reinvest the wealth generated by these buildings.

We’re inspired by pioneers like Hastings Commons, Stour Trust, SAFE Regen, Civic Square, Nudge Community Builders, Makespace Oxford and other members of the Mycelial Network.

About Footwork Trust 

Footwork (UK charity Footwork Trust) supports local people to transform their neighbourhoods for the better and builds alliances to make this possible.

Since 2022, Footwork’s ‘People and Place’ programme has supported over 50 community innovators to turn their bold ideas into lasting positive change, in response to a local social or environmental challenge. Often reviving land and buildings for community use, they are part of a growing force for fairer, locally-led regeneration, making the places they call home more resilient and equitable. 

Through national and local events, Footwork creates spaces for peer support and shared learning, showcases inspiring examples, and convenes built environment practitioners to enable true collaboration with community partners. 

Together, Footwork and Platform Places co-facilitate the Mycelial Network for Community Asset Developers.

About the Local Property Partnerships pilot, 2024-2027

Thanks to National Lottery players, Platform Places and partners have received almost £2.5 million over three years from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK. The funding is being used to enable communities to come together and secure long-term spaces for the activities and services that they need the most.

This fund and programme resources local leaders in neighbourhoods in Newcastle, Sheffield, Liverpool City Region, Bristol and London – working towards shifting multiple buildings into long-term local ownership. We’re also supported by our national partner organisations Architectural Heritage Fund, Power to Change and Social Investment Business. Our intention is that this work will lay the groundwork for a larger follow-on funding programme, which catalyses England-wide adoption of this approach.

The role

We’re looking for an experienced, creative and hands-on communications specialist to join our small team and network of local and national partners.

The Communications Lead will focus on our key programmes, with the below time distribution. The challenge and opportunity is to hit the ground running and drive communications across our key channels – to help attract allies, funding and support, and inspire replication of these approaches in neighbourhoods around England.

2 days per week, ‘Local Property Partnerships’: 

• You’ll lead on promoting, and sharing learnings from, Platform Places’ exciting pilot programme (funded by National Lottery Community Fund) – which is localising and democratising who owns, controls and transforms town centre buildings in five neighbourhoods across England. 

0.75 days per week, ‘People and Place’: 

• You’ll promote, and share learnings from, Footwork Trust’s ‘People and Place’ programme – which supports community innovators to turn their bold ideas into lasting positive change for their place. 

0.25 days per week, Wider movement building: 

• You’ll work on ad hoc broader communications opportunities that support our mission and the programmes – for example, creating a content piece with local or national partners from our wider network, or pitching a media story that cuts across all our programmes.

This involves the following areas of responsibility: 

1. Build on our working communications strategy
2. Work with co-directors to develop our bold, inspiring core messaging, and update our boilerplate narratives
3. Manage digital channels for Platform Places and Footwork: a) plan and create regular social media content; b) write newsletters (approx. quarterly); c) upload and edit website content, on Squarespace (drag-and-drop editor) and occasionally Wix (guidance available).
4. Strategic media relations: build journalist relationships and pitch stories (local or national), op-eds and comments
5. Work with local and national partners to share inspiring and compelling stories
6. Develop practical how-tos and templates, together with partners (you'll have support initiating partner relationships)
7. Provide comms guidance to local programme partners
8. Support co-directors and partners with speaking engagements and event opportunities

You’ll start from a strong foundation of communications activities, along with our established tone, visual identity and branded templates – with lots of freedom for new ideas. 

About you

• You’re as comfortable with creative storytelling as you are with practical resources
• You’re a campaigner for systems change – experienced in attracting allies and creating communications for diverse audiences
• You make it sing – you turn dense or complicated materials into clear and effective narratives to shift opinion and action
• You’re a collaborator – you can effectively hold relationships with local and national partners to plan and deliver coordinated communications 
• You can ‘wear all the hats’: you get stuck in on strategy and roll up your sleeves on delivery; you know when to pitch to media and when the tactic is digital; you can knock up great copy or quick Canva graphics without aiming for perfection
• You’re efficient and resourceful, comfortable leading on comms in a small (and collaborative) team, and know how to make things happen on a small budget (and when to seek external specialists)
• You’re passionate about community-led places and social and environmental justice – and you’re knowledgeable about at least one of: high streets, property, retrofit, community business, heritage buildings, cultural venues, town planning, neighbourhood governance

We know you likely have a particular comms specialism, with more strengths and experience in some areas than others. We’d love to hear about this, and about your approach to getting stuck into the rest. 

Our team & culture 

You’ll be joining our small, agile team of six people across Platform Places and Footwork. We meet in-person on a monthly basis to have lunch together and plan ahead, and have weekly online huddles to check-in and discuss priorities.

We work flexibly around our needs, whether a caring responsibility or otherwise.

Our culture is driven by our values: generous sharing, diverse perspectives, active listening and curiosity, staying networked and joy.

For nearly thirty years, Green Pastures has been partnering with churches and Christian charities seeking to tackle homelessness. It has supported thousands of people facing this risk through careful stewardship of a growing portfolio of residential property across the country.

Green Pastures is seeking a relational and strategic CFO who will help catalyse further growth by unlocking sources of investment. This is a part-time role on a prayerful senior leadership team, which will involve shaping strategy, building high-trust relationships, and guiding the organisation forward through a period of growth. It will be filled by a candidate who shares our love for Jesus, has a heart to tackle homelessness, a knack for relationship-building and can provide the financial leadership and oversight to an organisation which is well-positioned for further expansion. 

If this description matches you, please get in touch with your CV.