Head of Gas Water and Asbestos

Salary up to £90,970 Per Annum (London) up to £89,430 Per Annum (Kent)

Croydon or Sittingbourne

Optivo is a growing organisation that is customer and colleague focussed. We are preparing for our forthcoming merger with Southern Housing Group. We are planning the merger to take place in January 2023.

We are currently recruiting for a Head of Gas, Water and Asbestos to work within our Asset Compliance team. The role will ensure that Optivo meets all its legislative, regulatory, and policy requirements in a variety of compliance areas including asbestos, gas, oil, water hygiene, domestic alarms, height safety, heat networks, and renewables. The post holder will help to achieve this via effective management of service providers and robust processes.

The successful candidate will report directly to our Director of Asset Compliance. You will be required to support the Director of Asset Compliance in operating corporate risk controls. You will ensure that risks are reported to the Director of Asset Compliance as they emerge. You will review the risk against agreed timescales and implement appropriate mitigation plans and strategies. You will also work closely with various departments throughout the organisation to be able to deliver your role.

Within this role you will be responsible for an annual budget of up to £20 million per financial year. You will oversee a team of 15-20 staff. And provide line management to a variety of posts including: -

• Asbestos Compliance Manager
• Domestic Alarm Compliance Manager
• Gas Compliance Managers
• Water Hygiene Compliance Manager
• Renewables Compliance Manager

The Head of Gas Water and Asbestos will: -

• Prepare the team for internal and external audit processes. Work closely with auditors to enable them to complete their work. Provide rigorous challenge to final reports are reflective of current situation. Plan and execute audit recommendations within specified timescales.
• Strategically procure and manage compliance contracts ensuring the Optivo Contract Management Framework is properly operated and the required outcomes generated.
• Work with others to ensure the design and set up of our databases supports effective operations. Maximise the use of interface operations and automatic upkeep of our systems where possible. Implement and maintain system to ensure the accuracy of the information we hold.
• Design and initiate policy implementation plans. Regularly review them to ensure they keep up to date with statutory, regulatory requirements and emerging best practice. Designing and developing compliance services informed by our residents and in accordance with our strategic asset compliance objectives.
• Ensure appropriate systems are in place to ensure the compliance position with regards to new and sold properties is covered. This includes all property tenure, covering all the various management arrangements we operate.
• Initiate checks and balances to ensure all reported compliance results have a sufficient degree of validity. Implement suitable lines of defence and monitor the outputs taking corrective action where necessary.
• Work with Head of Strategic Asset Management to ensure short, medium and long-term investment plans for the compliance area, Manage the processes involved in delivering reinvestment work programmes associated with compliance related assets. Examples of this would be replacement and upgrade of heating and hot water boilers, photovoltaic system upgrades, etc.

What you'll need

• A track record of successfully managing a Compliance Team at a senior level within a comparable organisation.
• The possession of a relevant academic qualification or professional qualification in relation to health and safety, building, engineering, maintenance, or surveying services.
• A comprehensive understanding of compliance areas and requirements on housing associations including:
• Asbestos
• Water Hygiene
• Gas Safety
• Domestic Alarms
• Renewables
• Heat Networks
• Strong commercial/financial track record developed at a senior level within a Contracts Management environment. Experience of setting and managing large property related budgets.
• A track record in creating and managing a planned investment programme for compliance assets based on stock data to maximise performance of the organisations assets and to meet all statutory requirements and service standards
• Possession of excellent communication and interpersonal abilities; well-developed, ambassadorial, influencing, networking, promotional and negotiating skills.
• Has the ability to create, implement and monitor effective management tools to maximise and improve performance, and to effectively manage risks within the compliance function
• Has the ability to establish and manage robust processes and controls to manage the compliance function, including managing large amounts of data, and to audit these processes and controls to provide assurance.
• Has the ability to lead by example demonstrating excellent leadership skills to create a culture adopting Optivo’s values, to inspire, motivate and develop staff at all levels; building cohesive and motivated teams who are committed to the organisation’s vision and goals and willing to provide discretionary effort.

Closing date for applications: 25th September 2022 at 23:59

Interviews will be conducted via Microsoft Teams video link

*In the event of a high volume of strong applications Optivo reserve the right to close the application deadline early.

What's in it for you

• Pension
• Life assurance
• Healthcare cash plan
• Eyecare & dental
• Birthday leave
• Retailers discounts
• Cycle to work
• Buy & sell annual leave
• Season ticket loan
• In-house academy & career development
• Flexible working

Inclusion and Diversity

At Optivo we work hard to create a diverse and inclusive culture and environment where people are respected for who they are. Encouraging inclusion is not just about protected characteristics, it’s about celebrating differences of thought, opinion, experience and perspective of each individual. We’re all different in our own way and we want our colleagues to feel comfortable, that they belong, and are safe to be themselves at work, without fear of being judged or excluded, but valued for their contribution to our One Team approach.