Maintenance Surveyor

Job Summary:

The Maintenance Surveyor will be responsible for ensuring that all temporary accommodation owned and managed properties are maintained to the highest possible standards. This includes ensuring that all statutory and regulatory requirements are met, and providing a high standard of service to staff, residents, and property owners.

The ideal candidate will have a good working knowledge of the private sector housing and be proactive, flexible, and able to work on their own initiative. They will be expected to manage their own caseload and be confident in applying relevant legislation.

The Maintenance Surveyor will be responsible for carrying out site investigations of technical matters, preparing specifications, works programmes, detailed reports, and appropriate correspondence to address problems. They will also be responsible for ensuring that all inspections are carried out in accordance with the Housing Health & Safety Rating and System (HHSRS).

Key Responsibilities:

• Seeks, listens to, and responds to the views and ideas of staff and customers.
• Encourages and actively engages in positive cross-directorate communications and teamworking.
• Ensures communication and the sharing of data between internal and external teams, organisations, and networks.
• Achieves the best possible outcomes in all undertakings.
• Provides accurate technical advice and information as necessary on one or more areas of expertise within the service area.
• Ensures that own technical knowledge is effectively transferred to team members and colleagues with limited technical knowledge.
• Contributes to the development of the wider Service area and other relevant workforce plans and strategies in line with Council priorities.
• Contributes to a highly motivated team that works together to achieve performance goals.
• Builts strong working relationships between the team, other teams within the service area, and all services.
• Supervises repairs & maintenance work to ensure all site operations are undertaken professionally.
• Provides technical advice and expertise to non-technical staff, clients, and residents.
• Strong diagnostic skills for the correct identification of the causes of damp and mould, including the use of diagnostic equipment.
• Able to write technical reports associated with damp & mould diagnosis.
• Raises work orders as required.
• Ensures that the quality of work under their control meets the required technical standards and secures customer satisfaction.
• Ensures that all inspections are carried out in accordance with the Housing Health & Safety Rating and System (HHSRS).
• Undertakes pre-inspection of repair issues ordered through the customer contact centre directly by clients or reference from contractors.
• Ensures that appointments for this work are met.
• Produces clear specifications of work (and where necessary written reports) utilising the agreed pricing mechanism for the contract or service level agreement in sufficient detail to avoid the need for further pre-work visits.
• Undertakes surveys of void properties at various stages according to current procedure.
• Ensures that void properties are repaired and maintained in accordance with the voids standard.
• Ensures that void turnaround is completed within or better than target.
• Implements processes that improve the voids turnaround times within repairs.
• Completes final inspections of voids and produces RBK's Habitable Certificate document.
• Where jobs will require a multi-trade/task input, provides the contractor with appropriate information to ensure a seamless service for the resident and manages the works through to satisfactory completion, ensuring that residents are advised of all aspects of the process.
• Reviews cost and time variations in accordance with current procedure.
• Completes post-inspections as per RBK's current procedure.
• Ensures statutory obligations are met by ensuring specifications for work take into account the Council's statutory obligations in relation to fire risk control of legionella, asbestos, gas, electrics, lifts, fire protection, CDM, and estate safety.
• Makes full and appropriate use of IT to ensure best use of time, achieve best value outcomes, ensuring they are familiar and competent with using the systems and programmes in place.
• Provides support and guidance to operatives during the course of work, so that correct outcomes are achieved first time. This may entail on-site inspections as well as telephone and electronic communications.
• Responds to queries from tenants, landlords, internal and external clients within prescribed timescales.
• Briefs and notifies senior staff of any contractual disputes occurring involving building contracts, property leases, land ownership, and disrepair in rented accommodation.
• Assists with the investigation and preparation of responses to formal and informal complaints, Councillor Enquiries, MP Enquiries, and Freedom of Information requests.
• Reports to the management team on the performance of supply chain contractors, consultants, and suppliers of goods and services.
• Ensures repairs & maintenance costs are controlled and any significant item values are reported to the management team.
• Ensures works are procured in accordance with standing orders and financial regulations and contract documents for all projects meet professional standards.
• Ensures that the damp, structural, and disrepair investigation process is implemented such that the Council's liability is minimised.
• Ensures that applicable H&S regulations are applied in all aspects of the responsibilities held.
• Challenges conventional local government approaches to enable the organisation to drive greater efficiency and effectiveness through the development of best practices and innovative commissioning, contracting, market development, and resource management.
• Undertakes any other duties consistent with the purpose of the post.
• Continually monitors performance against targets and communicates this to others.
• Develops a continuous improvement ethos and implements tasks and actions that deliver such improvements.
• Develops, updates, and acts on own personal development plan and shares learning with others.
• Works in accordance with RBK's Equal Opportunities, Health & Safety, and all relevant policies and legislation.
• Undertakes any other duties commensurate with the grade of the post as may be required from time to time, including attending meetings outside of normal working hours.
• As well as any other tasks which help support the team to provide a service which will be relevant to their skillset.

Requirements:

• Evidence of continued professional and personal development.
• Determination to provide a high-quality service.
• Ability to make a major contribution to key projects.
• Good level of professional knowledge and expertise in planned and responsive maintenance.
• Strong technical ability and knowledge of housing.
• Proven track record in the diagnosis of causes of damp and mould and specifying remedial works.
• Ability to play a key role in contributing to the annual plans and improvements in service delivery.
• Understanding of housing repairs and construction, party wall, and health and safety legislation.
• Knowledge of best practice and innovation in the housing maintenance, particularly in the social housing sector.
• Experience of dealing with people in a customer-facing environment.
• Understanding of the details within Landlord statutory duties for compliance relating to housing.
• Experience of monitoring work undertaken by external contractors.
• Able to think clearly and strategically and find solutions to problems and make decisions based on sound judgements.
• Systematic in approach to work, able to plan and consistently complete many site inspections.
• Able to chair meetings effectively: plans, prepares, listens, encourages participation, and ensures clear decisions taken, clearly recorded with action allocated.
• Able to manage budgets.
• Able to analyse, evaluate, revise, develop, and apply schedules of rates.
• Understanding of efficiency and value for money, and an ability to secure these outcomes while delivering service improvement.
• Able and enthusiastic at using information technology to develop and manage the service (including an ability to utilise response maintenance IT software and applications) and an ability to participate in further IT maintenance developments and support others in its use.
• Excellent knowledge of domestic building technology with the ability to use this to identify problems and their causes and develop innovative solutions in a cost-efficient and effective manner.
• Able to undertake site investigations of complex technical matters (as listed below but not limited to) and prepare specifications, works programmes, detailed reports, and appropriate correspondence to address the problems.
• Possesses a clean driving licence and has access to a vehicle as travelling throughout the borough will be a requirement.
• Be able to ascend ladders and access scaffolding.
• Understanding of the role and purpose of the service within a local authority.
• Understanding of the external influences on the organisation and how they relate to the role.
• Knowledge of the vision and strategic goals of the organisation and relevant service areas.
• Knowledge of building contracts including TPC 2005 and other contract iterations.
• Recognises the need to continually learn and adapt.
• Willingly shares knowledge and learning with others.
• Works collaboratively across teams, services, and partner organisations.
• Looks for ways of improving what we do and how we do it.
• Comfortable with new technology and modern methods of working.
• Determined to make a difference to our customers.
• Go out of your way to get it right first time.
• Listen, understand, and deliver.
• Respond positively and politely.
• Respect each customer as an individual.
• Takes responsibility for the customer's issue or problem.
• Works as a team to deliver the solution.
• Works flexibly and be prepared to take on other appropriate reasonable duties should the Asset Management service require it.

Additional Information:

• The closing date: 06/09/2024 @ 09:30.
• A recognised building-related qualification to a minimum of HND/HNC level.
• Qualified in HHSRS.