Repairs Contracts Manager

Company Overview

RP Slight & Sons is an established, employee-owned property maintenance, joinery and construction business based in Wallyford, East Lothian.

We provide a range of building, repair and maintenance services to public sector and private clients, including local authorities and housing associations across Edinburgh and the Lothians.

Following recent business growth and the award of additional contracts, we are looking to appoint a Repairs Contracts Manager to support the delivery of our social housing repairs and maintenance work.

Role Overview

The Repairs Contracts Manager will be responsible for managing the day-to-day delivery of social housing repairs and maintenance contracts, ensuring work is planned, allocated and completed efficiently, to the required standard and within agreed timescales.

This is a busy and varied role, involving the coordination of a high volume of individual repair jobs across occupied and empty properties. Working closely with tradespeople, clients and tenants, you will be responsible for organising workloads, responding to enquiries, resolving problems and ensuring jobs progress from initial instruction through to completion.

We are looking for someone with a sound understanding of building trades and property maintenance who can combine practical knowledge with strong organisational and planning skills.

The role is primarily office based at Wallyford, although occasional visits to properties and work sites may be required.

Responsibilities
The key responsibilities of the Repairs Contracts Manager will include, but are not limited to, the following:

Repairs Planning and Contract Delivery

• Oversee the day-to-day delivery of social housing repairs and maintenance work, ensuring client requirements and agreed timescales are understood and met.
• Review incoming repair requests, assess priorities and allocate jobs to the appropriate tradespeople.
• Plan and coordinate daily and weekly workloads, taking account of the nature of the work, trade availability, locations, materials and access arrangements.
• Manage a high volume of individual repair jobs, ensuring work is scheduled efficiently and completed within agreed timescales.
• Monitor progress, follow up on outstanding work and adjust schedules to accommodate urgent repairs, changing priorities or unexpected delays.
• Coordinate work across different trades, including arranging follow-on work or additional visits where required.
• Use the company's job management systems to schedule work, track progress and maintain accurate records.

Coordination and Support

• Act as a key point of contact for tradespeople, responding to queries and providing practical advice and guidance on allocated work.
• Use trade knowledge and experience to understand repair requirements, assess problems and identify practical solutions.
• Ensure tradespeople have the information and instructions required to complete their jobs.
• Resolve day-to-day issues that arise during repairs, including changes to the scope of work, material requirements or access difficulties.
• Maintain regular communication with tradespeople to monitor progress and ensure work is completed to the required standard.
• Identify opportunities to improve the planning and coordination of work, making effective use of available resources.

Client and Tenant Communication

• Liaise with housing associations, local authorities and other clients regarding repair requests, job progress and completion timescales.
• Contact tenants to arrange appointments, coordinate access and provide updates on planned repairs.
• Respond to enquiries and complaints, resolving issues professionally and constructively.
• Manage challenging conversations with confidence, balancing tenant needs, client expectations and operational requirements.
• Maintain positive working relationships with clients, tenants, tradespeople and colleagues.
• Keep clients informed of delays, changes or issues that may affect the delivery of work.

Quotations, Invoicing and Administration

• Prepare quotations and estimates for repairs and maintenance work, ensuring labour, materials and other costs are appropriately considered.
• Review completed jobs and ensure all relevant information is recorded accurately.
• Prepare and process invoices for completed work in line with company procedures.
• Maintain accurate records of job instructions, progress, costs and completion.
• Monitor outstanding jobs and ensure completed work is closed off promptly.
• Support the delivery of work in accordance with client contract requirements, agreed service standards and financial procedures.

Quality and Continuous Improvement

• Ensure work is coordinated and delivered in accordance with the company's quality standards and health and safety requirements.
• Identify and address recurring problems, delays or inefficiencies in the delivery of repairs.
• Take a proactive approach to planning and problem-solving, anticipating issues wherever possible.
• Contribute ideas and improvements to support the continued growth and effective operation of the business.
• Undertake any other reasonable duties appropriate to the role.

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

To be successful in this role, applicants should be able to demonstrate the following skills, knowledge and experience:

Essential

• Experience working within property repairs and maintenance, construction or a multi-trade environment, with a good practical understanding of building trades and domestic property repairs.
• Experience planning, scheduling and coordinating multiple repair and maintenance jobs, including allocating work to tradespeople and monitoring progress through to completion.
• Strong organisational and planning skills, with the ability to prioritise workloads, manage competing demands and respond to changing circumstances.
• Experience using job scheduling, repairs management or similar systems to allocate work, monitor progress and maintain accurate records.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills, with the confidence to liaise with tradespeople, clients and tenants, including handling challenging conversations and complaints professionally.
• Ability to understand technical aspects of repair work, provide practical guidance to tradespeople and identify appropriate solutions when problems arise.
• A proactive and solutions-focused approach, with the confidence to use initiative, make decisions and take responsibility for ensuring work progresses.
• Ability to remain calm and organised under pressure, adapting plans and priorities to meet operational and client requirements.
• Good attention to detail, with the ability to maintain accurate job records and follow through on outstanding work.
• A positive and flexible approach to teamwork, with a willingness to contribute to the wider needs of a small, growing business.

Desirable

The following skills and experience would be advantageous, although they are not essential for consideration for this role:

• Previous experience delivering repairs and maintenance services within social housing, either for a contractor, local authority or housing association.
• A background working in a building trade, ideally with hands-on experience before progressing into a supervisory or management role.
• Experience or qualifications in plumbing.
• Experience coordinating void property maintenance and refurbishment works.
• Experience preparing quotations, estimates and invoices for repairs and maintenance work.
• Understanding of service level agreements, contractual performance requirements and repair completion targets.

Place of Work
The role will be based at RP Slight & Sons' office in Wallyford, East Lothian.

This is primarily an office-based role, with occasional visits to properties or sites as required. Work is generally undertaken across Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and West Lothian, with travel to other locations as necessary.

Salary and Benefits
We offer an initial salary of £38,000–£44,000 per annum, depending on skills and experience.

In addition, as an employee-owned business, we offer the opportunity to share in the company’s success through an annual tax-free bonus, subject to company performance and applicable eligibility requirements.

How to Apply
To apply, please submit your CV and a covering letter outlining your interest in the role and the skills and experience you would bring to RP Slight & Sons.

Pay: £38,000.00-£44,000.00 per year

Work Location: In person