Fancy taking charge of a lettings department that actually moves?
Abbey Sales and Lettings Ltd, trading externally as Shires Estate & Letting Agents, are looking for a commercially minded, highly organised and slightly unstoppable Head of Lettings to lead our central lettings operation.
This is not a property management role.
This is the sales, performance and growth side of lettings.
You will be responsible for driving new business, maximising our substantial existing landlord database, leading a busy team and making sure properties move efficiently from valuation opportunity all the way through to move-in.
No endless meetings about meetings. No standing still. And definitely no waiting for the phone to ring.
The Job
Our lettings operation is managed centrally from our Head Office in Risby and supports the lettings activity of seven offices.
You will lead a team of around seven people, including lettings negotiators, lettings progressors, viewing assistants and lettings valuers.
Together, the department is aiming to deliver approximately 80 move-ins every month.
It is busy.
Very busy.
And we need someone who genuinely enjoys that.
You will take overall responsibility for the lettings journey from valuation generation and winning the instruction, through marketing, viewings, negotiation, referencing and progression, right through to the tenant moving in.
At that point, the property is either handed back to the landlord for self-management or transferred across to our dedicated Tenancy Management department, which is led separately by another senior manager.
That means your focus can remain firmly where it should be:
Winning business. Letting properties. Leading people. Driving revenue. And growing the department.
What You'll Be Responsible ForLeading the Central Lettings Team
You will lead, support and develop a busy multidisciplinary lettings team.
That means setting expectations, maintaining standards, keeping people focused and making sure everyone understands exactly what needs to happen each day.
You will be expected to create an environment where performance matters, but where people are supported to improve and succeed.
This is a hands-on leadership role.
You will not be managing the department from behind a spreadsheet.
You will know what is on the market, what needs attention, where deals are sitting, which landlords need contacting and what the team needs to do next.
New Business
A major part of this role is generating and winning new business.
You will be responsible for driving valuation opportunities, converting instructions and making sure we continue to grow our lettings portfolio across all seven offices.
You will work closely with valuers, branches and the wider business to identify opportunities and make sure we are not leaving business on the table.
You will need to be comfortable speaking with landlords, handling objections, negotiating fees and ultimately winning instructions.
Re-Let Business
We have a significant existing landlord database and a very strong re-let business.
You will be responsible for making sure we maximise it.
That means maintaining strong landlord relationships, acting quickly when properties become available, advising on pricing and presentation and making sure we retain the instruction wherever possible.
Our existing landlord portfolio represents a major source of repeat business, and we expect the Head of Lettings to treat it accordingly.
Lettings Performance
You will take ownership of the overall performance of the department.
Our realistic target is around 80 move-ins per month, and your commission will be heavily linked to team performance against achievable move-in levels.
You will also be responsible for ensuring the department performs commercially across a broader range of measures, including overall income, conversion of landlords onto our managed service and additional services such as utility and inventory products.
There will be KPIs.
We just do not believe in writing an advert that looks like an Excel spreadsheet.
The important bit is that you will understand the numbers, know what drives them and take action when something needs improving.
Standards, Compliance & Organisation
High performance cannot come at the expense of doing things properly.
You will be responsible for maintaining strong standards throughout the lettings process, ensuring the team remains organised, compliant and consistent even when volumes are high.
You will oversee the process from valuation through to move-in, including the standards around marketing, negotiations, referencing, Right to Rent, documentation, deposits, tenancy setup and the wider compliance requirements of a modern lettings department.
You do not need to personally process every file.
But you do need to know that everything is being done properly.
You Will
- Take overall responsibility for our central lettings operation covering seven offices
- Lead, motivate and develop a team of around seven people
- Drive approximately 80 successful move-ins per month
- Take ownership of the lettings journey from valuation generation through to move-in
- Generate and win new landlord business
- Maximise opportunities from our substantial existing landlord database
- Drive and retain our strong re-let business
- Support and challenge lettings valuers to improve instruction levels and conversion
- Ensure properties are marketed quickly, accurately and effectively
- Maintain a strong overview of available stock, applicant demand and ongoing negotiations
- Ensure deals progress efficiently through referencing and tenancy preparation
- Drive departmental revenue and commercial performance
- Improve the conversion of suitable landlords onto our managed service
- Maximise appropriate inventory, utility and additional service opportunities
- Monitor performance and identify where action is needed
- Maintain high standards of compliance and file quality
- Keep a high-volume department organised and moving
- Recruit, train, coach and develop team members as the department grows
- Work closely with branch teams, directors and other senior managers
- Hand completed managed tenancies smoothly into our dedicated Tenancy Management department
- Identify opportunities to improve systems, processes, conversion and customer experience
- Help shape the future growth of our lettings business
- Bring energy, ideas and a healthy amount of commercial ambition to the role
And, most importantly, keep things moving.
You Will Have
We are looking for someone with significant experience in residential lettings and a proven ability to lead people and deliver results.
You will ideally have:
- Strong experience within residential lettings
- Previous experience as a Lettings Manager, Senior Lettings Manager, Area Lettings Manager, Head of Lettings or similar
- A strong track record of winning new landlord instructions
- Excellent understanding of the lettings process from valuation through to move-in
- Strong knowledge of lettings legislation and compliance
- Experience managing and motivating a busy team
- Strong commercial awareness
- Confidence managing performance through KPIs and financial targets
- Experience working in a high-volume lettings environment
- Excellent organisation and attention to detail
- The ability to manage multiple priorities without losing control of the bigger picture
- The confidence to challenge poor performance and recognise strong performance
- Excellent communication and negotiation skills
- The ability to build strong relationships with landlords and clients
- A proactive approach to generating business rather than simply servicing incoming enquiries
- A genuine desire to grow a department rather than simply maintain one
Most importantly, you will need to be dynamic, resilient and seriously organised.
This is a fast-paced department with a lot happening at the same time.
On any given day you could be discussing a valuation opportunity, helping negotiate a difficult let, reviewing team performance, speaking with a landlord about a re-let, checking progression numbers and working with the directors on the next stage of the department's growth.
If that sounds exciting rather than terrifying, we are probably getting somewhere.
You'll Get
£40,000 basic salary
Realistic OTE of £75,000, with commission primarily driven by the performance of the lettings department against achievable move-in targets.
You will also get:
- A senior leadership role within a growing independent property business
- Responsibility for one of the busiest departments in the company
- The opportunity to lead and develop an established team
- Genuine influence over how our lettings operation develops
- A large existing landlord database to work with
- Strong levels of repeat and re-let business
- The backing of seven offices generating opportunities
- A dedicated Tenancy Management department handling ongoing property management after move-in
- Direct access to the directors and senior leadership team
- Genuine opportunities for further progression as the business grows
- Workplace pension
- Discounted fees for sales, lettings and related services
- Room to bring ideas, improve processes and make your mark
Working Hours
The role is based at our Head Office in Risby, Suffolk.
Standard working hours are:
Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:30pm
There may occasionally be a requirement to support on a Saturday where the team is short staffed, but this is not intended to be the normal working pattern.
Us
Abbey Sales and Lettings Ltd trades externally as Shires Estate & Letting Agents.
We are an ambitious, independently owned property business with seven offices and plans to continue growing.
Our lettings operation is deliberately structured differently to many traditional agencies.
Rather than every branch trying to do everything, our central Head Office team brings together the people, systems and expertise needed to run a high-performing lettings department across the wider business.
This creates scale, consistency and, importantly, opportunity.
We are big enough to offer genuine progression, established systems and significant volumes of business, but independent enough that a good idea does not need to go through seven committees before anything happens.
We care about:
- Developing our people
- Doing things properly
- Winning business
- Delivering excellent service
- Building long-term landlord relationships
- Holding ourselves accountable for results
- Learning, improving and not standing still
- Creating opportunities for ambitious people
- Being professional without being painfully boring
Why You'll Love It Here
Because you will actually be able to lead.
You will have a team, a substantial landlord database, seven offices feeding opportunities into the department and a business that wants to grow.
You will also have the benefit of a separate senior-led Tenancy Management function, meaning your attention does not constantly get dragged into ongoing maintenance and property management issues.
Your world is the front end of lettings.
New business. Valuations. Instructions. Marketing. Negotiation. Move-ins. Revenue. People. Growth.
If you are commercially driven, love the pace of lettings and get genuine satisfaction from seeing a department perform, this could be a very exciting opportunity.
Sound Like You?
Lovely. We should probably talk then.
Send us your CV and tell us why you think you are the person to lead the next stage of our lettings growth.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: £40,000.00-£75,000.00 per year
Benefits:
Experience:
- Lettings: 4 years (required)
Licence/Certification:
- Driving Licence (required)
Work Location: In person
