Communities Manager - Maternity Cover | Cheshire

Location: Site-based

Contract: Fixed-term

Hours: Full-time, site-based 4 days a week with 1 day working from home (core hours 9am-5pm, with flexibility to work 8am-4pm)

I'm working on behalf of my client, a well-known and highly regarded housing association, to find an experienced Communities Manager to lead resident and community liaison across two of their regeneration sites in Cheshire.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a people-focused, customer-driven professional to step into a busy, hands-on role covering maternity leave, with the current post-holder keen to offer a handover period before she leaves at the end of August.

About the role

You'll take the reins of an established programme of remediation works - covering both new-build snagging/making good and a wider programme of external works, which is currently around the halfway point. You'll be the driving force behind resident communication throughout this journey, overseeing home health checks and providing genuine hand-holding support to residents as they move through the works - effectively delivering a Resident Liaison Officer (RLO)-style service at a management level.

Customer service sits at the heart of this role. You'll need to be confident, empathetic and resilient - comfortable managing difficult conversations and supporting residents (and your team) through moments of frustration, while keeping the customer experience front and centre.

You'll line manage two Communities Coordinators, one based on each site, and will report into the Senior Communities Manager, who oversees the wider Communities function from the London office.

What you'll be doing

• Leading and supporting two Communities Coordinators (one per site), providing day-to-day management, motivation and development
• Managing resident and community liaison across an active programme of remediation and external works
• Coordinating home health checks and acting as an escalation point for resident concerns, complaints and queries
• Building strong relationships with residents, contractors, consultants and internal stakeholders
• Monitoring budgets and reporting on progress against the programme
• Managing risk and ensuring compliance across all site activities
• Deputising for the Senior Communities Manager where required

What we're looking for

• Proven experience managing resident/community liaison on regeneration, remediation or redevelopment projects
• Strong people management experience, ideally with experience supervising site-based staff
• Excellent customer service skills, with the ability to manage challenging conversations calmly and professionally
• Strong organisational, budgeting and reporting skills
• A confident communicator, able to build relationships with a wide range of stakeholders
• Knowledge of relevant statutory processes (e.g. S20 consultation) is desirable

Why apply?

This is a great chance to make a real, visible difference to residents' experience during a live programme of works, working within a supportive and values-driven organisation. With overlap and handover offered before the current post-holder leaves, you'll be well set up to hit the ground running.