Our aim is for everyone in the National Church Institutions (NCIs) to feel that they belong and are valued for who they are and what they contribute. Together, our people contribute in different ways towards our common purpose, whichever NCI they work in and whatever their background.

The Church of England Pensions Board is a statutory charitable body, which looks after the welfare of those who retire from the stipendiary ministry of the Church of England, and their widow/er(s) and dependants by the provision of pensions grants and retirement accommodation.

The Board’s large Housing Department administers the provision of retirement housing for eligible clergy and their spouses in the form of mortgage loans, rented property, shared ownership, and supported Housing.

The Church of England Pensions Board makes sure that those who have served or worked for the Church of England have a secure retirement. It currently runs 3 separate pension schemes with over 30,000 members for over 250 employers.

We also provide and maintain housing a range of housing options for retired clergy and eligible family members on both a rented and a shared ownership basis. Housing is primarily provided through;

• Rented properties located around England and Wales
• Supported living homes located in 7 schemes around England
• Shared ownership homes

Our core objective is to provide quality retirement housing while demonstrating good value for money.

As Complex Case and Voids Property Manager, you will deliver a customer focused and effective property and asset management service that meets the diverse needs of our residents across the rental portfolio.

You will work collaboratively with business partners and other professionals including maintenance partners, to ensure value for money and quality accommodation that meets decent homes standards, managing works within an annual budget of around £1.5m to £2m

To be successful, you will need a good and clear understanding of customer service and property maintenance with experience of managing works within occupied housing. An innovator and a problem solver, you will have strong technical knowledge of construction and maintenance works. Along with an engaging and collaborative approach and the ability and motivation to achieve priorities on time and on budget.

Our properties are located throughout England, and Wales. You will be expected to visit residents in their homes, undertake inspections of properties (including occupied, void and those being considered for purchase) and supervise the works of contractors and consultants. In order to undertake visits, you will need to work flexibly and on occasion, may need to stay overnight away from home.

You will be assigned a regional area based upon your location. There are currently 4 patches covering the whole of England and Wales. Each patch contains around 300 – 350 homes.

On occasion it may be necessary for you to undertake works in regions other than your allocated region in order to balance workload between staff or to cover for leave.

Our main office is located in Westminster and on occasion you will need to attend the office for meetings, training courses and other events, unless this is deemed as your place of work.

Our day to day repairs (up to a value of £1,500 inc. VAT) along with gas servicing and heating system replacement are undertaken by a single provider who operate a contact centre on our behalf. Queries arising from these works are managed by our Property Officers. Major works are arranged by directly us using local contractors. Major works may occur as a follow on from repairs (and be referred to us from our provider) or from queries received directly from customers.

The majority of void works are undertaken though a single provider, but if more specialised works are required then we appoint a consultant to design and specify the works and to procure and manage a works contractor.

The main responsibilities for this role are:

The post holder will be required to work within both the Property Services Team and Housing Operations Team.

• The post holder will be responsible for the delivery of major works to our homes. The post holder will need to determine what works are required and seek to appoint a suitable contractor (and if required consultant) to undertake the works. When necessary, the post holder will need to visit the property to investigate the matter and to develop a scope of works. The post holder should work with our compliance team to obtain any relevant information (such as asbestos surveys, electrical reports, EPCs). Following determination of the scope of works the post holder will then seek quotations for the works and upon completion of the works undertake a post works inspection.
• For complex or multi-part building defects or disrepair matters the post holder will be required to liaise with the current resident to understand the matters, visit the resident in their home to investigate the matters and to understand more fully the needs of the resident. The post holder will instruct and supervise as required specialist consultants to undertake investigations and to appoint relevant contractors to deliver the works. During the course of the works the post holder will oversee the works and update residents as to the progress of the works and provide support during the works. Working with specialist consultants the post holder should ensure works meet the relevant quality standards
• To inspect all empty properties at the point the keys are returned (unless the property has already been earmarked for disposal) to recommend its retention or disposal against the needs of the portfolio and to identify key works that is likely to be required prior to reletting.
• The post holder will support the management of refurbishment of our empty properties through our third party maintenance provider to ensure they meet our lettable standards on time and within agreed budget as set down in the relevant policies and processes agreed. It is anticipated that this will be undertaken primarily as an office-based function through the review of survey data provided by external consultants with some onsite inspections being undertaken for more complex matters to enable the scope of works to be developed and confirmed and visiting properties as part of the handover process.
• Working in conjunction with residents, other staff members, surveyors and contractors as required to investigate and resolve complex repair or major works related queries or complaints within occupied homes. Respond to and provide updates to residents as applicable on matters being investigated.
• Instruct as applicable relevant consultants/surveys. As applicable ensure the consultant has sufficient background information and is fully briefed as to the term of their appointment including relevant timescales.
• Manage, direct and work with external consultants to determine scope of works and to enable instruction of the appropriate works contractor(s). Work with external consultants as appropriate to ensure compliance with relevant health and safety regulations including asbestos and the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations.
• For works within occupied homes, work with the residents (or their nominated representative) and other relevant Pension Board officers to agree how works are to be undertaken and that appropriate support is provided during the works. On some occasions this may include temporary or permanent rehousing.
• Review cases to identify relevant risk attached to the case. Risks may include (but not be limited to); Health and Safety, disruption to residents, financial, reputation or noncompliance with the law/good practice.
• Work in partnership with appointed works service providers to deliver a first class, quality service to customers whilst maintaining best practice and value within both void and occupied homes.
• Review preliminary documents and schedules of works and photographs provided the appointed surveyor to ensure that works identified reflect our lettable standard and include OT recommendations, or address the matters being considered within complex cases as relevant and provide relevant parties with feedback.
• When applicable apply for Building control consent for works
• Agree and sign off applications for payment having checked costs, variation orders and extra works orders submitted by service providers in accordance with the pre-agreed schedule of rates costs, or tender rates as applicable.
• Track and maintain records of expenditure incurred, costs committed and forecast costs to be incurred against budgets. Provide regular reports.
• To support the active management and monitoring of value for money, performance and quality standards reviewing the effectiveness of refurbishment works in order to promote continuous improvement
• Contribute to contract management with service providers to build effective partnering relationships, raising issues and concerns in a constructive manner. For some works the post holder may be required to act as the client representative (or similar) under the terms of the contract.
• Attend site to take handover of properties from surveyors and contractors as required, checking items against the schedule of work and to arrange for defects to be remedied in good time and to ensure the issue of relevant contract documents (such as certificate of practical completion).
• Maintain accurate records on our empty property programme ensuring this is always kept up to date and accessible and when applicable relevant performance indicators are maintained and complied with.
• Ensure information on works completed is uploaded to relevant record systems within the organisation to inform future compliance related inspections and future planned maintenance requirements.
• Assist, as required, with the general works of the Property team, to manage seasonal peaks in workload, such as responding to emergency matters.
• Undertake viewings of properties being considered for purchase to determine their suitability against the needs of our portfolio.
• The post holder may be required to provide some assistance to our Supported Housing Schemes though the provision of technical advice or assistance procuring specialist consultants/contractors.
• The post holder will be required to visit occupied properties to investigate matters and to work with and support residents before and during works. Properties are located around England and Wales. The post holder will also be required to visit void properties and to undertake quality checks of the works.

Th ideal candidate should have:

Essential

Knowledge and Experience:

• Knowledge and experience of managing work within occupied housing (essential) and a knowledge and understanding of older persons/Retirement Housing (desirable)
• Strong technical knowledge of construction and maintenance works within a housing setting and the ability to make informed decisions based upon specialist information provided by others
• Good understanding of building defects and remedies
• Experience of delivering a customer focused service
• Experience of engaging with residents and providing support to during the delivery of works
• Genuine skills in engagement and communication including negotiation and persuasion.
• Knowledge and ability to write reports and develop schedules of works.
• IT Literate with previous knowledge in Microsoft products and database systems (essential).
• Strong understanding of Health and Safety and Compliance regulations within a construction and housing setting including an understanding of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)
• Experience of void refurbishment works

Personal Attributes:

• Ability to work with minimal supervision, whilst being organised and self-disciplined.
• Excellent people skills
• Flexible and approachable with an attention to detail
• Confident and responsible, making decisions and being accountable
• Ability to cope with competing deadlines, to prioritise and set targets, work in a structured manner
• Be self-motivated, have initiative, and a record of achieving agreed objectives within time and resource constraints.
• Adaptable and innovative and a problem solver
• Ability to relate well to a variety of people and create, maintain, and enhance working relationships.
• Willing to learn new concepts and open to change
• Travel and flexible working
• Our properties are distributed throughout England and Wales distributed into four regions. The post holder will be assigned to one geographical region. The post holder will be expected to visit properties within their region on a frequent basis. On the occasion to balance workload/cover leave etc, the post holder may also need to visit properties in other regions. It is expected that the post holder would be based within or close to their region. The post holder will need to work flexibly to undertake visits and on occasion may need to stay overnight away from home.

Education:

• Intellectual capacity associated with either study to ‘A’ level standard
• An appropriate construction-related qualification (e.g. HND in construction, or degree) or relevant construction-related experience.
• Valid UK driving license

In the National Church Institutions (NCIs), we support the mission and ministries of the Church of England. We work with parishes, dioceses, schools, chaplaincies and other ministries, and with national and international partners including mission agencies, and other denominations and faith groups.-.

Find out more about working for the National Church Institutions at Careers | The Church of England

Our NCI values

• We strive for excellence
• We collaborate
• We act with integrity
• We show compassion
• We respect others

We welcome everyone and we accept and value people for who they are and what they contribute, treating others in the way we would wish to be treated ourselves. We actively listen to and include others, encouraging and enabling everyone’s voice to be heard in discussions and decisions. When we disagree, we aim to disagree well with respect and kindness.

We want to encourage applications from a diverse group of people. Even if you have never thought about working for us before, if you have the skills and experience we’re looking for then we would like to hear from you. If there is anything we can do to support you in your application please get in touch via email to hr.recruitment@churchofengland.org.

• As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively look to attract, recruit and retain those of you who are disabled.
• We are a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and welcome applications from those of you who have served in our Armed Forces and their families.