About us

L&Q is one of the UK’s leading housing associations and developers. We house around 250,000 people in more than 100,000 homes, primarily across London and the South East, and more recently in the West Midlands and North West of England. We are proud to be delivering on our ambition to provide thousands of new homes every year. Our roots date back nearly 60 years and we believe passionately that people's health, security and happiness depend on where they live.

Our vision is that everyone deserves a quality home that provides them with the opportunity to live a better life and our purpose is to provide homes and neighbourhoods that everyone can be proud of. In April 2021, we published a new five year corporate plan setting out how we will provide safe, high quality homes, services and support for all of our residents. At the heart of this plan is a commitment to deliver change that will improve the quality of our service to residents, with the voice of the resident front and centre of this commitment.

The role

We’re looking for a dynamic Director of Maintenance who can help us to transform the maintenance service to our residents across the whole of our operating area. Responsible for day-to-day reactive repairs and void management, we need a leader with a passion for housing, who is creative and driven to deliver a sector-leading service to the very highest standards for our residents. With a budget of c£100 million annually, this role is integral in making sure that our Maintenance Service meets its business and budgetary plans and targets, whilst considering opportunities for expansion and growth as well as setting out strategic improvements.

You will maximise productivity through developing a strong people strategy, leading and motivating people to deliver a service which puts residents first, ensures value for money and increases resident satisfaction.  You will instil a strong performance management culture, one that robustly monitors sub-contractors and strives towards continuous improvement. Our Director of Maintenance will deliver a resident focused approach and develop a culture where there is an absolute focus on turnaround and first-time fix. In addition, you are responsible for managing a range of stakeholders, internal and external. You will work closely with members of the Customer Service senior leadership team to improve the overall quality of the repairs service to residents and effective empty property management.

The person

You will have proven leadership skills in property/building maintenance along with the drive to deliver better and speedy outcomes for residents. This role requires a strong and collaborative leader who can deliver successful change and improve our services. We are looking for someone who is genuinely driven by delivering a great service, keeping residents at the heart of what we do and who can inspire their teams to do the same. Working with your colleagues across L&Q, you will create a culture which puts residents first, is proactive, responsive and inclusive.  Using your influencing and communication skills, you’ll work with stakeholders to deliver quality outcomes against demanding objectives.

This is a demanding role which will require strong leadership, demonstrable commercial and financial acumen, determination, motivation, resilience and creativity.  If you think that you have the knowledge, skills and resolve to lead our maintenance directorate, we would love to hear from you.

How to apply

If you would like to know more about this exceptional opportunity to join one of the largest and most dynamic social housing providers in the UK, please contact our partners at Gatenby Sanderson, Rosie Gunn on 07964 841 007 or Tim Hills on 07393 011 130.  To apply please click here.

Our commitments:

At L&Q, people are at the heart of our business and our success depends on employing the best people and getting the best from them.  This is why we are committed to developing our people. It's only by investing in a well-trained and motivated workforce that we can continue to prosper and sustain business success.

In addition to our support and training, the successful candidate will have access to our full suite of benefits including 26 days of holiday rising with length of service, an excellent Pension scheme, an employee assistance programme and non-contributory life assurance.

We are committed to supporting your work-life balance and recognise the changing demands and circumstances in life.  Please let us know during the recruitment process if you’re interested in part-time work or job sharing.  In addition, should your circumstances change once you have joined L&Q, you can also request flexible working arrangements, e.g., a change to working hours - if it’s feasible then we’ll make it happen.

We are recognised externally for our commitment to inclusion.  We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion, a Disability Confident (Committed) employer and have signed the Time to Change Employer Pledge to demonstrate our commitment to ending mental health discrimination in the workplace.

We value diversity in all its facets, including gender, disability, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation and identity. When it comes to finding a diverse balance for our senior positions, we have decided to address gender and ethnicity first. As such we are committed to offering an interview to at least one ethnic minority candidate and one female candidate for all senior leadership positions if they fulfil the role criteria.

We expect all our employees to support our environmental policy and social responsibility work. We are an employer committed to environmental and social responsibility.

L&Q is a regulated charitable housing association and one of the UK’s most successful independent social businesses. The L&Q Group houses around 250,000 people in more than 100,000 homes, primarily across London and the Southeast.