Director, Repairs and Maintenance Service

Stoke on Trent City Council

Director, Repairs and Maintenance Service

Salary to £112,908

Stoke-on-Trent is a unique place – forged through its industrial past, built on layers of enterprise and craftsmanship, and with a strong sense of personal and collective identity. It is also a city of parks, open spaces and waterways, with excellent connectivity to the West Midlands and the North West.

The council is a stock holding authority with close to 17,000 residential housing units across the city. Maintaining good quality and accessible social housing is a key part of our approach and our values; we know how vital it is for residents to have a safe and warm home environment, and the positive impact this can have on reducing inequalities and improving health and wellbeing.

We are proud that tenant satisfaction surveys put the authority in the top 25 per cent of registered social landlords in England – but we know that the repairs service and how complaints are handled are areas where we need to improve. We have therefore recently taken the decision to move the repairs and maintenance function back ‘in house’, and we are seeking a new Director to lead the service, which has circa 480 staff and a budget of £40m. The service also covers around 400 buildings which are part of our corporate estate, including repairs and maintenance and facilities management.

This is an exciting moment for the council and for our housing service, and we will need our new Director to develop their team, drive culture change, seek efficiencies and ensure that tenants and clients get the best possible service. Candidates will need experience of leading high performing housing repairs and maintenance teams, as well as the leadership skills to forge a new service and deliver the ambitions of Members.

For more information please see https://starfishsearch.com/jobs/stoke-dir-repairs-maintenance/ or contact Luke Judd on 07435 270659 or luke.judd@starfishsearch.com, or Tim Farr on 07756 293292 or tim.farr@starfishsearch.com.

Closing date 13 April 2025