Area Operations Manager

Information

for

Applicants

Contents

Letter to Applicants Job Advertisement Job Description and Person Specification Principal Terms and Conditions About Watmos Community Homes Organisational Chart

Letter to Applicants

September / October 2013

Dear Applicant,

Re: Area Operations Manager Based at Watmos Community Homes’ office located near to Oval Tube Station, South London.

Thank you for responding to our recent advertisement for the post of Area Operations Manager. Please find enclosed:

An application form (including Criminal Records Disclosure Form and Equal Opportunities Monitoring form).

The job description.

The person specification.

Principal terms and conditions of employment.

Organisational Chart.

Further information about Watmos can be found on our web site www.watmos.org.uk

Before completing your application, please read the job description and the person specification carefully. The selection panel will only short list applicants who have demonstrated on their application form that they meet the criteria on the person specification. Consider how all your education, training, skills and experience relate to your application. You may refer to not only your paid work but also any voluntary work and your personal activities. Please do not send a C.V. or any other documents apart from the application and monitoring forms, as these cannot be taken into consideration. Completed application forms should be returned by e-mail to sharmin.choudhury@watmos.org.uk or sent by post, marked ‘Area Operations Manager – Confidential’ to Sharmin Choudhury, Human Resources Assistant, Watmos Community Homes, 116-120 Lichfield Street, Walsall, WS1 1SZ.

The closing date for receipt of applications is Sunday 20th October 2013.

Shortlisting will take place on 24th October 2013.

Interviews will be held on 14th November 2013.

We regret that we will not be able to contact applicants who have not been shortlisted. Therefore, please assume that you have not been successful if you do not hear from us before the interview date.

Should you have any questions regarding the application process please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

M. Anderson Michael Anderson Group Human Resources Manager

Advertisement:

Area Operations Manager

AREA OPERATIONS MANAGER £51,000 plus benefits. Location: Oval, London This exciting and challenging role involves leading, supporting and monitoring the effective delivery of resident-led housing/operational services in line with management agreements. You will have appropriate qualifications in housing, experience of leading resident-led services for a housing provider, commitment to driving through performance improvements and strong leadership, communication and interpersonal skills.

To download/obtain recruitment information and an application form: Visit: www.watmos.org.uk and click on job vacancies e-mail: michael.anderson@watmos.org.uk Write to: Michael Anderson, Group Human Resources Manager,

Watmos Community Homes, 116-120 Lichfield Street, Walsall, West Midlands, WS1 1SZ

Closing Date: Sunday 20th October 2013 Watmos is seeking to achieve a workforce representative of our diverse society and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.

Leading the way in resident managed housing Watmos' unique approach has put it at the forefront of transforming communities and exceeding expectations. We are seeking an outstanding and dedicated individual who shares our passion for improving people's lives.

Job Description:

Area Operations Manager Department: London Operations Team

Responsible to: Executive Director of Housing

Responsible For: Leasehold and Operations Officer, Administration Assistant. Significant Watmos Group Staff. Relationships: TMO staff London Area Board Members TMO Committee Members. Tenants, Leaseholders and members of the public Suppliers and other contractors Location: Oval, London

Special Conditions: Some weekend and evening work will be required. Context: Watmos Community Homes is a unique charitable housing

association, which provides accommodation for people in housing need in the Walsall and London areas. The organisation is based around eleven Tenant Management Organisations (TMOs) who successfully manage their own estates, through a management agreement. Our aim is to create strong, stable communities within safe and pleasant neighbourhoods through resident control and locally accountable tenant management.

Job Purpose

To ensure the provision of a high quality, consistent and flexible operational service providing value for money to all Watmos Group residents in the London area.

Creating the conditions which enable operational staff to support a resident-led service.

To oversee and monitor the effective delivery of housing services in line with management agreements between Watmos and TMOs within the Watmos Group.

To support the continuous development of the knowledge and expertise of the London Central Support Services Team and TMO staff and the delivery of a cohesive service across all operational functions.

To work closely with the Watmos Executive team and Watmos Senior Managers to develop a seamless approach to service management across the Group.

To promote active resident engagement in line with the Watmos Group ethos and philosophy.

To provide effective leadership, management direction and support to the London Central Support Services Team.

To work with the Executive Director of Resources on negotiating ongoing management allowances with TMOs.

To oversee and monitor the effective delivery of leasehold services in line with policies and legislation.

To champion the London Area Board throughout the organisation and act as a link between the London Area Board and Walsall and London offices.

Key Responsibilities

General Management and Service Delivery

1. Monitor and ensure that all services provided to residents via TMOs are responsive to customer need and meet required performance standards (e.g. repairs completions and quality, void turnaround and arrears performance).

2. Oversee and monitor the effective delivery of housing services in line with management agreements between Watmos and TMOs within the Watmos Group.

3. Enforce all parts of the management agreement.

4. Develop and implement Watmos Group policies with support from the Executive Directors and Group Managers.

5. Proactively seek residents’ views in order to improve service delivery and increase customer satisfaction.

6. Involve residents directly in policy and service development and in monitoring performance.

7. Empower the London Central Team to develop successful customer relations and provide support in ensuring that the quality of service provided to residents via TMOs is of a high quality and brings to life the Watmos vision and values. Act as a role model and inspire staff to live the ethos of Watmos.

8. Ensure residents have the opportunity to be at the heart of decision-making for their homes and communities.

9. Provide expertise in housing, tenancy, estate management, leasehold services and supportive housing.

10. Ensure compliance with regulatory and statutory requirements.

11. Set up and monitor agreements with external contractors.

12. Participate as a member of the Watmos Management Team.

13. Prepare and present regular reports for the London TMOs, the Area Board and the Watmos Board and its committees.

14. Ensure effective relationships are maintained with users of services, Local Authorities, regulatory bodies, public sector organisations, local businesses and voluntary sector organisations.

15. Develop partnerships and new business opportunities consistent with the organisation’s objectives.

16. Represent the Group at court proceedings as required.

17. Contribute to the general running of services provided by the London Operations Team.

18. Champion the London Area Board throughout the organisation and act as a link between the London Area Board and Walsall and London offices.

19. Provide the highest quality services to the London Area Board including effective co-ordination of all meetings.

Performance

1. Contribute to the formulation of the business plans and ensure the fulfilment of associated objectives/targets.

2. Ensure continuous improvement and increasing customer satisfaction.

3. Proactively drive forward future business change.

4. Review, in conjunction with the Executive Director of Housing, targets against which performance will be measured.

5. Monitor performance of TMOs in relation to Key Performance Indicators and other specified indicators.

Budgeting & Financial Control

1. Prepare and monitor budgets for operational activities and control expenditure and effectiveness of area operational budgets.

2. Comply with all financial and in-house procedures and relevant good practice.

3. Negotiate management allowance with TMOs in line with business plan parameters.

4. Undertake value for money and continuous improvement reviews in relation to London operations.

Complaints

1. Take ownership of complaints.

2. Manage the expectations of residents, keeping them informed of progress, agreeing a timetable and action necessary for resolution.

3. Ensure that the recording of information and data is accurate and effective and clearly identifies areas of service failure for the Watmos Group to learn from and improve.

Staff Management

1. Provide effective leadership, motivation, development and support to staff.

2. Ensure compliance with employment law and the Watmos HR Policies through liaising with the Watmos Group HR Manager.

3. Manage the performance of staff including conducting regular one-to-one reviews and annual performance appraisals.

4. Proactively promote a cohesive team environment.

Risk Management

1. Actively assess and manage risk in areas associated with the post, utilising the risk management framework and develop actions to mitigate the risk. Regularly monitor and review accordingly.

Other

1. Carry out other duties commensurate with the post and to provide cover for other staff as requested from time to time.

Person Specification:

Area Operations Manager

ASSESSED

ON APPLICATION

FORM

AT INTERVIEW / PRESENTATION

Qualifications 1. Relevant Degree or Chartered Institute of Housing membership (or qualified by experience to equivalent level).

Professional Knowledge and Experience

1. Experience of supporting resident-led services for a housing provider.

2. In-depth knowledge of social housing and leasehold legislation and its practical application.

3. Proven experience of managing a property portfolio.

4. Experience of leading effective innovation and change in a regulated business environment.

5. Experience of creating, managing and monitoring complex budgets.

6. A proven track record of achievement and experience of performance based management in a resident/customer- focused environment.

7. Experience of working effectively with Boards and Committees.

8. In-depth knowledge of tenant/resident management organisations.

Skills and Abilities 1. Commitment to resident management, involvement and empowerment.

2. Ability to lead, empower,

inspire, motivate and develop employees at all levels building teams committed to corporate vision, values and goals.

ASSESSED

ON APPLICATION

FORM

AT INTERVIEW / PRESENTATION

3. Strong interpersonal skills at

all levels with an ability to negotiate effectively across organisational boundaries

4. Sense of diplomacy with sound

political awareness / sensitivity.

5. Ability to network and build

positive working relationships and partnerships.

6. Demonstrate drive,

determination and commitment to the organisation’s aims and ethos.

7. Commitment to fairness, equality

and diversity.

8. Strong verbal and written

communication skills. Strong report writing skills.

9. Proven ability to deliver

presentations to wide range of audiences in a confident and persuasive manner.

Flexibility and Commitment

1. Commitment to attending evening and weekend meetings and events as required.

2. Willingness to contribute to and be actively involved in Watmos tenant involvement and community empowerment activities and events.

3. Willingness to travel efficiently around London and the UK as required.

Terms & Conditions:

Area Operations Manager Details of full terms and conditions of employment will be provided in a formal offer to the successful applicant. The following outlines the main aspects of the employment package:

Salary: The annual salary is £51,000.

Expenses: The post holder will receive the appropriate mileage allowance where a car is used for business purposes. All reasonable business expenditure will be reimbursed on production of receipts.

Pension

Watmos operates a final salary pension scheme with the West Midlands Pension Fund. Contributions to this are made by you as the employee and Watmos as the employer if you choose to join the scheme.

Your contribution rate depends on how much you are paid but it will be between 5.5 and 7.5% of your pay (7.2% for this post). As a member of the pension scheme, your contributions will attract tax relief at the time they are deducted from your pay.

Watmos pays the balance of the cost of providing your benefits in the pension scheme. Every three years, an independent review is undertaken to calculate how much your employer should contribute to the Scheme.

Hours of Work: The post is offered on the basis of a 37 hour week. Evening and weekend work may be required, for which time off in lieu will be given. Watmos operates a flexible working scheme, offering employees the opportunity to build credit to take up to one day off every 4 weeks depending on work commitments and cover.

Annual Leave: Annual leave entitlement is 25 days rising to 30 over a five year period pro-rata as appropriate for part-time or fixed-term posts.

Bank Holidays and Additional Days: Watmos’ staff are entitled to 12 additional days leave that fall under the categories of Bank Holidays and additional concessionary days.

Professional Subscriptions: Watmos will reimburse the cost of one annual subscription to a relevant professional institution.

Probationary Period: The post will be subject to a six months probationary period.

Notice Period: The post holder may terminate their employment with Watmos by giving one

month’s written notice. The minimum period of notice to which the post holder is entitled to receive from Watmos during the probationary period is two weeks and then four weeks for up to five years’ service. Thereafter, notice entitlement increases by one week for each year of continuous employment, up to a maximum of 12 weeks’ notice. Notwithstanding the anticipated date of termination indicated in the contract, Watmos reserves the absolute right to terminate the contract at any time by giving notice.

Health Screening: All employees joining the organisation are asked to complete a ‘Health Declaration’ form.

About Watmos Community Homes

INTRODUCTION

WATMOS Community Homes is a unique landlord owning just over 2700 homes for rent in the Walsall area of the West Midlands and Lambeth in London. There are also 300 leaseholder properties. As a charitable housing provider, our main role is to provide accommodation for people in need of housing. We are founded on the principles of inclusion and resident empowerment in a culture which values people’s individual and collective contribution to their community. Watmos Community Homes (WCH) is based around eleven Tenant Management Organisations (TMOs) who have successfully managed their own estates for many years and who provide local housing services on behalf of the WCH Group. The TMOs are run by elected resident committees who employ their own staff providing housing services and looking after their estates.

OUR MISSION

Our mission is:

“To create strong, sustainable communities, within safe and pleasant neighbourhoods through resident control and locally accountable tenant management.”

KEY PRINCIPLES

WATMOS was set up to build on the success of tenant management in Walsall and as a landlord we are proud to offer something a bit different.

Our approach is based on four key principles:

1. Tenants and residents should be in the driving seat, empowered, encouraged and supported to manage their own estates.

2. Housing services should be organised locally with accessible staff based in offices within walking distance on every estate. Service standards should be agreed within each locality that reflect the priorities set by the tenants.

3. Our estates should be attractive, desirable and offer a high level of security.

4. We shouldn’t just be managing housing; we should be building a real sense of community where people look after one another.

These principles are important to us and through them we aim to provide tenants and residents with good housing conditions that meet their needs and exceed their expectations within communities that encourage people to reach their potential and improve the quality of life for themselves and others.

We aim to be one of the best housing associations in the country and demonstrate that tenant management and local community control really works.

OUR CORPORATE DIRECTION

Our corporate direction is decided through tenant consultation. Tenants and residents are encouraged to participate in setting the aims, objectives and priorities of our organisation, driving WATMOS in the direction that our tenants are passionate about. Our tenant satisfaction is high and our people are able to witness the shaping of the organisation through their priorities.

OUR VISION AND VALUES

Democratic local resident control and service delivery through tenant management organisations

We recognise that, first and foremost, the success of a landlord is based on getting the basics right. We believe that our tenants and residents are best placed to work with us to set, scrutinise and deliver the services we provide and to ensure we maintain an effective and efficient approach to managing our business.

Providing a secure and pleasant residential environment

We know that many tenants and residents have chosen to live on a TMO-managed area because of the attractive estate environment and feeling of security that has been created. We intend to protect and extend this feature of our neighbourhoods by maintaining our homes in good condition, effective tenancy management, control of nuisance and investment in environmental improvements.

Working with others to provide strong sustainable community controlled housing

We aim to promote the values of community-controlled housing and demonstrate the benefits of tenant and resident management. We are convinced that services under the democratic control of their users are more likely to be in tune with their genuine needs and requirements.

We will work with like-minded organisations locally, regionally and nationally to promote and raise the profile of community-controlled housing and strengthen the sector within the wider housing world.

Offering social and personal development opportunities

Being involved in the WCH Group provides tenants and residents with personal development opportunities. We value the contribution made by our people and we will ensure we provide them with the training and support to enable them to effectively participate.

OUR CORPORATE PRIORITIES 2010 – 2015

Investing in Communities

We understand that our tenants and residents value being part of a community. Their neighbourhood matters to them and we want to work with them in improving their environment enabling them to feel proud of where they live.

We will achieve this by:-

Providing high quality homes

Providing excellent services shaped to meet their local area priorities

Achieving real tenant satisfaction in all areas of our work.

Investing in environmental improvements

Supporting social interaction/activities

Supporting social enterprise

Empowerment, Involvement and Tenant Scrutiny

We know the value and benefits of involving our tenants and residents. Effective tenant and resident empowerment and involvement throughout the organisation, from governance level through to service delivery, ensures we continue to focus on meeting the needs and expectations of our customers. We can already demonstrate the positive impact that community-controlled housing has had on our estates and the improvements made to service delivery. We aim to continue to provide and build on our involvement opportunities to further enhance the benefits to our communities and the organisation. We aim to achieve this by:-

Enhancing our current empowerment and engagement arrangements.

Building on the strong and effective support mechanisms in place for our TMOs.

Enhancing our tenant scrutiny role.

Actively publishing the results of tenant involvement. Continuing to support personal development.

Organisational Prosperity

We are a unique organisation that offers its tenants more than just housing. We know the difference our approach has made to improving quality of life. We want to ensure that the organisation prospers to enable more people to benefit now and in the future. We aim to achieve this by:-

Developing new housing.

Building productive relationships and partnerships.

Maintaining financial strength.

Improving our communication.

Supporting and encouraging like-minded organisations.

Investing in Our People

We know our organisations success is due to the dedication of our volunteers and our staff. We value the contribution made by each and every person in helping us set and meet our corporate priorities. We want to continue that success by ensuring that we can identify and provide the support needed to enable our people to continue to effectively contribute to the organisation. We aim to achieve this by:-

Continuing to help people to shape their destiny and realise their potential

Reviewing our current support mechanisms.

Maintaining maximum involvement in the decision making process

Celebrating and communicating our success.

DEPARTMENT KEY

Executive Department

ICT

Vacant

Chief

Executive

Kul Bains

Executive Director of Resources

Yusef Masih

Executive Director of Housing

Meeta Bhagwan

Group

Finance

Manager

Tania Worrall

Group

ICT

Manager

Nigel Gratton

Area

Operations

Director (Secondment)

Michael Anderson

Group

Human Resources

Manager

Sam Farrell

Group

Asset

Manager

Marie Smith

Area Operations

Manager

Katherine Flood /

Rachel Watts

Senior Finance

Officer

Yvonne Jefferies

Senior Finance

Officer

Michelle Sterling

Finance Officer

Jenny Massey

Finance Officer

Marje Bridle

Learning and

Development

Officer

Sharmin

Choudhury

Human

Resources

Assistant

Bharat Patel

Infrastructure

Support

Engineer

Gus Hussain

ICT Support

Officer

(managed by BP)

Sue Adams

Assistant ICT

Support Officer

Steve Webster

Building

Surveyor

Chris Tunstall

Building

Surveyor

Rehman Akhtar

Building

Surveyor / Senior

Procurement

Officer

Zobea Raza

Technical

Administrator

Peter Matthews

Asset Manager

Su Pekoz,

Chris Rodgers

Vacant

3 x Building

Surveyors (managed by PM)

Vacant

Resident

Liaison Officer (managed by PM)

Holly Morris

Property

Administrator (managed by PM)

Faye Potter

Senior

Administration

Officer

Mukesh Patel

and Matthew

Morris

Clerical

Assistants (managed by FP)

Louise Walker

Quality

Assurance and

Performance

Officer

Joanne Griffiths

Quality

Assurance

Assistant (managed by LW)

Bryan Smith &

John Banks

Environmental

Operatives

(managed by

TMO Staff)

Helen Zatte

Business

Support

&

Communicat

ions Officer

Please note this is the

organisational chart for the

Central Support Services

Team only. In addition to

the Central Team, the

eleven WATMOS TMOs

have 80 staff.

There are also 140

volunteer TMO Committee

Members, 11 of whom are

WATMOS Board Members

and 4 Independent

WATMOS Board Members.

DEPARTMENT KEY

Executive

Finance

Human Resources and Organisational Development

ICT

Asset Management

London Operations

Housing Management and Administration

Johnson

Adekunle

Leasehold and

Operations

Officer (Temporary)

Vacant

Office

Administrator