Head of Property – Greater Manchester Area, Merseyside, West Yorkshire

The Organisation

Bedspace began life in 1999 providing accommodation to asylum seekers in Lancashire. Since then, they have expanded to provide accommodation and support to a wide cohort of vulnerable people including young people aged 16-18, homeless families, NHS referrals, parent and baby, adults aged 18 plus and asylum seekers.

Bedspace work with local authorities, national charities and organizations like the Home Office and truly care about the tenants they deal with. They offer real care and support to help people thrive, starting with a decent place to call home.

They have the GMAC accreditation for providing semi-independent supported living and have achieved the Supported People accreditation, showing they are a well-managed and financially stable organization. In addition, all Bedspace staff are NVQ (or equivalent) qualified or are currently studying for professional qualifications and operational staff have enhanced DBS certification.

Bedspace have offices in Manchester, Liverpool, Preston, and Leeds in order to provide local support to their tenants. They have an ambitious programme of expansion over the coming years, having already tripled their turnover in the last 5 years.

The Role

Bedspace want to attract a senior property professional to join their senior leadership team to provide structure, support and strategy to their property operations for the next phase of their growth. The Head of Property will report to the MD in managing the portfolio of over 650 properties on behalf of landlords. They will also provide the bandwidth, ideas and structure to develop an asset plan which will move Bedspace to the next phases and future proof their operations.

This will include the development of their reactive and planned maintenance systems, the evaluation of existing landlords and suppliers, assessments of existing procurement procedures and oversight and development of future property acquisitions.

The Head of Property will manage teams responsible for property checks, new property set up, all governance, acquisitions, void management, property disposals, planning and overall property standards. They will also be responsible for managing the rest of Bedspace property portfolio which includes a childrens home and offices across the Northwest and West Yorkshire.

The Ideal Candidate

You will ideally be an MCIOB, MRICS, MCABE or equivalent qualified property professional from a technical background such as building surveyor, quantity surveyor, engineer, contracts management or trades background.

You will have experience in setting up, running and managing successful maintenance and refurbishment programmes, likely in a social housing or residential setting (although a broader maintenance background will be considered).

You will have operated as a head of department, managing a team of property professionals, preferably within a social housing environment. You will be used to operating at SLT level and providing strategic property advice and ensuring all governance requirements are adhered to.

Finally, whilst having a robust commercial and strategic mind to drive the business forward, you will have a strong social aspect and really care about the tenants as Bedspace do.

Morgan Hunt is a multi-award-winning recruitment business for interim, contract and temporary recruitment and acts as an Employment Agency in relation to permanent vacancies. Morgan Hunt is an equal opportunities employer. Job suitability is assessed on merit in accordance with the individual’s skills, qualifications and abilities to perform the relevant duties required in a particular role.