General Manager

About the role

Role Summary

Responsible For:
As a General Manager with Town & Country Repairs (TCHR), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Town and Country Housing (TCH), you will direct, manage and control all operations cost effectively and efficiently.

Purpose:
You will maximise the use of resources and utilise a highly motivated and empowered team to achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction with services provided. You will drive cultural change working closely with TCH colleagues, TCHR Board and external Stakeholders

Salary:

£81,149

Hours of Work:

40

Contract:

Permanent

Probation Period:

6 months

Notice Period:

1 month

Who are we?

We provide more than 13,000 homes across Kent, Sussex and Surrey. Over the years we have invested heavily in our homes and continue to do so as part of the Peabody Group. We promote hybrid working and have more than 300 employees based in various locations across our operating area.

Meet your Manager

I’ve been here at TCH only since September 2024 but have been really lucky to inherit a great team with a strong ethos on doing the right thing.
There are many challenges in the Housing Sector at the moment in general, but as a team we all share the burden and with it the wins that are possible for us and the residents in our homes.
We would love for you to come and be part of our team and bring your energy. We have lots of experiences to share.

I’ve been in housing pretty much most of my working life, in the private and social sector, but one thing I’ve learnt, is there’s never a dull moment!

Rachel Bancroft, Head of Repairs and Compliance

What will you be doing?

Role Specific Responsibilities

Core accountabilities
•Have overall responsibility for compliance and timely delivery of Health & Safety, financial and operational requirements in line with best practice and legal framework
•Strategically plan, organise and manage the business resources to maximise performance and resident satisfaction levels, meeting TCH’s targets.
•Develop and maintain processes for continual improvement
•Maintain and promote effective relationships at all levels within TCHR and TCH focusing staff on performance, better services for residents; with a focus on delivering a great customer experience, best value and established best operating practices.
•Recruit, motivate and retain the best people, creating complimentary teams with development and succession plans and a culture of employee empowerment
•Encouraging a workplace with a strong sense of ownership and where people go the extra mile, focused on continual improvement and providing a great customer experience.
•Provide optimum levels of leadership, encouragement and training in order to support and help others achieve results and meet their targets.
•Creating a network of contracts across various disciplines.
•Maintaining and developing effective relationships, an effective communicator at all levels
•Have overall responsibility for the delivery of contract KPI’s and continually seek improvement in operational delivery, working closely with TCH colleagues to listen to and understand resident feedback and how we can learn from it to improve services.
•To be proactive and energetic, seeking to get things done and at the same time deal with a variety of tasks and wide ranging responsibilities and accountability.
•Promote social responsibility and community engagement working closely with TCH colleagues to understand resident and community priorities.
•Provide solutions in situations involving the new and unexpected - overcome problems as well as prove direction for others.
•Actively engage with and support TCH’s resident engagement framework, working with TCH colleagues and residents to review and continuously improve services. This will include attending a range of resident meetings/events.
•Ensure that TCHR works to mitigate any issues before they become complaints. Where complaints do arise ensure the team responds in line with Housing Ombudsman requirements and TCH policy, ensuring the focus is on empathy, good communication, prompt resolution and effective delivery of outcomes.
•Ensure the team is focused on delivering a great customer experience and adheres to the key principles of our customer experience approach: listening and learning, information and communication, always improving and the right tools for the job.

Other Key responsibilities
•Financial responsibility for approximately £11.5m. Skills in analysing trends, building forecasts, and ensuring financial efficiency within the repairs service.
•Ensuring value for money
•Reviewing sub contractors contracts to ensure retain, manage and ensure compliance
•Be innovative and work with others across the business to promote TCHR

General

•To adhere to the equality, diversity and inclusion policy and actively promote equality of opportunity wherever possible.
•Recognise, respect, and promote the different roles and diversity of individuals.
•To actively contribute towards the key performance indicators and professional standards.
•Work in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and Data Protection Law and be responsible for the integrity of personal information you process. This may include identifying anomalies in data and investigating and correcting them where appropriate. Ensure you attend training on data protection regularly.
•To be responsible for your own health and safety and that of your colleagues, in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) and relevant EC directives.
•To participate in training, attend other meetings, and staff events as required.
•Be an effective leader of your team, presenting a positive impression of your section and the Group.
•Take responsibility for recognising and recording customer complaints, however made, and ensure that any complaints allocated to you are responded to within policy requirements.
•Maintain professional curiosity in all interactions with residents, be aware of and report and record any potential safeguarding issues promptly and appropriately.
•Maintain awareness of budget requirements and value for money while delivering your role.
•Consider and highlight any risk to the organisation or individuals whilst delivering your role.
•Consider resident feedback (the resident voice) in all service delivery, using data and insight and actively engaging with residents to understand their needs, views and priorities and tailor services accordingly.
•This role will involve visiting other offices and stock and you will be required to have your own car and full driving licence.

This job description is a guide to the nature of the work required. It is not comprehensive, and it is expected that other duties will be undertaken as this role develops and as may be reasonably expected.

About You

Education & Qualifications

•CIH qualification in Managing Housing Maintenance or equivalent
•Educated to degree level, or equivalent
•Competent user of Microsoft Office packages (Outlook, Word, and Excel)

Key Skills & Competencies

•In-depth knowledge of health & safety legislation
•Ability to think strategically, imaginatively and develop clear-sighted, concise and well-articulated plans
•Ability to plan, organise and manage resources
•Ability to understand and interpret financial information
•Proven people & stakeholder management skills
•Ability to work under pressure and meet competing and changing deadlines
•IT literate
•Excellent leadership & interpersonal skills
•Good presentation skills
•Demonstrable track record in supply chain & sub-contractor management.

Desirable Experience:
•Experience of change management practices
•Management of operational annual budgets of at least £5M within services industry or in a large repair and maintenance environment
•Operational management experience of working and managing multi-disciplined teams with demonstrable record of excellent achievement
•Understanding of social housing regulation and how the requirements of the consumer standards should inform repairs service delivery
•Proven ability to manage change and drive change

Behaviours

Why Choose Us

• Contributory pension scheme 4% to 10% matched contributions
• Hybrid working
• Free onsite car parking
• Life assurance of 4x annual salary (Terms and Conditions apply)
• 30 days annual leave in addition to bank holidays
• Two volunteer days per year
• Employee assistance programme (24/7 telephone advice, information portal & face to face counselling sessions)
• Corporate eye care scheme providing free eye tests and free VDU glasses or contribution towards VDU glasses
• Extensive annual Staff Wellbeing programme
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave provision
• Flexible annual benefits (for dental, healthcare, shopping vouchers, technology etc.)
• Annual flu vaccinations
• Access to an extensive range of corporate discounts on shopping, travel & days out
• Social events, including lunchtime walking, rounders, festive Fridays
• Travel loan

Our Values

Our culture is about the shared values, beliefs and behaviours that determine how we do things, then the ways and systems of working that help to get those things done.

Our new values, principles and behaviours will put customers at the heart and provide the foundation for the culture of the new organisation. Only by delivering a cohesive and customer-focused culture will we be able to achieve our purpose and priorites.

We have taken an inclusive and collaborative approach to developing the following values, working together with colleagues, customers and the Board:

Equal Opportunities Statement

TCH is an equal opportunities employer committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity or paternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership, or caring responsibilities.

We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join TCH.

We are recognised as a ‘Disability Confident Committed Employer’. As part of this commitment, individuals who disclose at application stage that they have a disability, will be invited to interview provided they demonstrate that they meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy. Candidates will be asked if they require any support or reasonable adjustments to enable them to fully participate in the recruitment process.

Apply

Internal Applications

Please send a letter clearly demonstrating how your skills and experience meet the criteria contained on the job description and person specification to the HR inbox.

For internal staff only: Please note, if you're currently on legacy TCH, Rosebery, InTouch, Family Mosaic etc Terms and Conditions and are successful in your application, you will automatically be transferred to the new Peabody Terms and Conditions.

Additionally, if you move to a TCH role on a secondment basis, your Terms and Conditions will not change.

If you have any questions, or require further clarification, please speak to HR.

External Applications

Please complete our online application form by clicking the Apply button below. We reserve the right to bring the closing date forward, so we strongly encourage early applications.

Please note: As an employer, Town & Country Housing does not provide sponsorship as a licensed UK employer.

Key dates

Applications Close:

Monday, 27 October 2025

Interview Date:

Thursday, 30 October 2025