Head of Maintenance

About us

Loungers is a substantial and growing operator in the UK hospitality sector, operating over 270+ sites in England and Wales across three distinct but complementary brands, Lounges, Cosy Club, and Brightside. Founded in 2002 by three friends who wanted to create a neighbourhood caf-bar that they would want to go to, the Group is now the only growing all-day operator of scale in the UK and has consistently outperformed the wider UK hospitality sector over the past three years. Despite being the fastest growing caf/restaurant group in the Country, Loungers has retained its entrepreneurial spirit and quirky 'Loungey' local community atmosphere.

The role in a nutshell

You will be accountable for the leadership of the Regional Maintenance Managers and Maintenance Helpdesk Function, delivering effective provision of £8m of Scheduled and Unscheduled Maintenance across 270+ sites. You will provide highly effective support to our Site and Operations teams, keeping sites trading and well maintained, while delivering an efficient service and excellent value for money.

You will lead the team from the front, owning contractor relationships and their performance, and partnering our Senior Operations Team. You will ensure the Maintenance function supports Loungers' estate growth, adding 35+ sites per year, with ambitious plans for 600+ sites across the Lounge, Cosy Club and Brightside brands.

The role has the capacity to significantly impact Loungers cash flow and site performance. The individual will need to have strong personal impact, superb attention to detail/levels of curiosity, be unafraid to speak up/challenge, prioritise effectively to deliver maximum impact, and be able to land change well.

Reporting directly to the Head of Risk & Compliance, this role has a total of 9 direct reports which consist of 7 Regional Maintenance Managers, 1 Helpdesk Manager and 1 Regional Decorator.

Getting into the detail

1. Own the Maintenance service level and cost of service to the business, working with the Head of Risk & Compliance to set clear expectations and responsibilities for the team.
2. Work with the Head of Risk & Compliance, Ops Directors and Finance to deliver Scheduled and Unscheduled Maintenance to budget, leading the team to create a culture of cost control and efficiency across maintenance spend.
3. Manage the weekly team rotas, including out of hours and weekend cover, to provide effective support to our Operations Team 7 days a week.
4. Manage, develop and coach the RMM's through diary planning, weekly team calls, joint site visits, the P&L review process and how to deal with escalations and investigations.
5. Develop, own and operate the RMM audit and visit structure, ensuring sites are well maintained through effective job management, team coaching and clear Ops communication.
6. Lead the Helpdesk Function and Helpdesk Manager to ensure the Helpdesk effectively interacts with the RMM's on job status, job audit, data, and reporting.
7. Manage the Regional Maintenance Decorator, and work closely with the Look and Feel Team to ensure sites are well maintained and looking their best at all times.
8. Proactively engage with our Regional Operations Managers and Directors, to include face to face meetings, training, P&L support, and acting as a key point of escalation at all times.
9. Where required, provide technical support on complex site issues, attending sites when required, and ensuring key stakeholders are fully informed on critical issues.
10. Ownership of contractor performance, including commercials and KPI's/SLA, through day to day service delivery and periodic reviews, where necessary challenging contractor competitiveness.
11. Support New Site Openings, working with the Build Team through the various phases of the post-opening snagging review.
12. Prepare Capex requests with the RMMs and attend the periodic Capex review meeting with the Group MD, Property Director and Head of Risk & Compliance.

What good looks like

1. Detailed - knows what's going on in the business across all Regions at all times.
2. Prioritisation - cuts through the noise and determines what's important.
3. Commercial - find balance between delivering speed of service and value for money.
4. Cost Control - leads a team that applies scrutiny to every job, challenging contractors.
5. Communication - communicates and builds strong relationships across the business.
6. Structured - delivers a consistent service across the team through effective process.

Experience (Preferred) In

1. Multi-site Hospitality Management in Hospitality or Retail, either in the Maintenance or Operations functions.
2. The technical aspects of Maintenance.
3. CAFM Systems.
4. Contractor Management.

What's in it for you?

1. Competitive salary.
2. 20% bonus.
3. Annual share awards.
4. Private medical cover.
5. Company pension contribution.
6. 50% off food at all Lounges, Cosy Clubs and Brightsides.
7. Fun office in the centre of Bristol.
8. A culture that appreciates ideas and celebrates individuality.
9. Founder-led business - we might have 270+ sites, but we still maintain an entrepreneurial spirit through everything we do.
10. 24/7 mental health support.
11. Amazing events including LoungeFest - our annual company festival - Christmas parties and more.
12. We want to work with nice people so if you want to work hard, have fun and be part of the Loungers ride, we'd love to have you.