Job Title: Planner
Head Office Location: Brindleyplace, Birmingham
Job Location: Brindleyplace, Birmingham, B1 2JB, Hybrid working
Salary: £27,000 - £30,800pa
Contract type: Permanent
Working hours: Full Time
Closing Date: Friday 28th August
Interview Date: Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd September
About the role
GreenSquareAccord is looking for organised, proactive and customer-focused Planners to join our Repair Operations Planning service.
This is an opportunity to play an important role in making sure repairs, maintenance, voids, servicing and compliance work is planned effectively and completed within the required timescales.
You will coordinate work for operatives, engineers, contractors and other resources, balancing customer needs, appointment commitments, geographical location, available skills, service priorities and operational capacity.
Planning is a fast-moving environment. Priorities can change throughout the day as emergencies arise, appointments are cancelled, resources become unavailable or urgent customer needs are identified. You will use information, judgement and initiative to adjust plans, resolve problems and keep work moving.
You will ordinarily support one or more particular workstreams, geographical areas or operational teams. However, flexibility is important, and you may be required to support different parts of the wider Planning service in response to demand and business priorities.
This could include:
- Responsive repairs.
- Voids and empty homes.
- Gas and heating repairs.
- Gas servicing and compliance.
- Electrical repairs and compliance.
- Planned and cyclical works.
- Follow-on works.
- Complaint-related repairs.
You do not need to be a technical repairs expert. Appropriate training and guidance will be provided, and you will be supported to build the knowledge and confidence needed to work across the wider Planning service.
Please note that if you are successful in this role, we may require a DBS check to be completed. Further details will be provided following offer.
What You`ll Be Doing
You will help coordinate the effective delivery of repairs, maintenance and compliance work across our homes and communities.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Planning, scheduling and allocating work to appropriate operatives, engineers, contractors or other resources.
- Balancing workloads based on priority, target dates, compliance requirements, geographical location, available skills and capacity.
- Monitoring appointment commitments and current and outstanding workloads.
- Identifying work that is at risk of delay, missed appointments, missed completion dates or non-compliance.
- Adjusting appointments and work programmes in response to emergencies, cancellations, absences and changing operational priorities.
- Coordinating follow-on work involving different trades, teams, contractors or service providers.
- Arranging, confirming and amending appointments and ensuring customers are kept appropriately informed.
- Considering customer vulnerabilities, access requirements and communication needs when planning work.
- Working closely with operatives, engineers, operational managers, contractors and customer-facing teams.
- Maintaining accurate and timely information on relevant repairs, housing, scheduling, compliance and customer-management systems.
- Taking appropriate action to progress work and escalating risks relating to capacity, safety, quality, resources or performance.
- Supporting the resolution of customer enquiries, complaints, missed appointments and service failures.
- Helping to reduce avoidable travel, scheduling gaps, repeat visits and inefficient working.
- Identifying recurring problems and suggesting improvements to processes, systems and ways of working.
- Working flexibly across different workstreams, services and geographical areas when reasonably required.
The role requires you to make timely and proportionate decisions while recognising when an issue needs to be escalated to a Planning Team Leader, operational manager or technical specialist.
The core planning and scheduling responsibilities include balancing demand, priority, compliance dates, customer needs and available capacity, while taking action where work is at risk.
What We`re Looking For
We are looking for someone who enjoys organising work, solving problems and working with different people to achieve the best possible outcome for customers.
You will have:
- Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple and changing priorities.
- The ability to work calmly and effectively in a busy operational environment.
- Good judgement and the confidence to make appropriate day-to-day decisions.
- Strong attention to detail and a commitment to maintaining accurate records.
- Clear and professional written and verbal communication skills.
- The confidence to challenge inaccurate information and escalate concerns appropriately.
- A collaborative and flexible approach to working with colleagues and service partners.
- A customer-focused and solution-oriented mindset.
- Good IT skills, including the ability to use databases, spreadsheets, email and Microsoft Office.
- The ability to interpret workload and system information and use it to identify priorities and risks.
- A good standard of literacy and numeracy.
Previous experience of planning and scheduling work would be beneficial, but we are also interested in candidates with relevant transferable experience from areas such as:
- Resource planning or workforce coordination.
- Repairs and maintenance.
- Logistics or transport planning.
- Contact centres or customer service.
- Housing or property services.
- Contractor coordination.
- Appointment management.
- Compliance or servicing environments.
Experience of social housing repairs or systems such as MRI, Service Connect, TotalMobile or an equivalent scheduling system would be advantageous but is not essential.
The Values That Matter
Curiosity
You will ask questions and look beyond the immediate issue to understand what is causing delays, repeat work or inefficient processes. You will be encouraged to suggest improvements and help us find better ways of working.
Passion
You will care about providing a reliable service and understand that every appointment and repair affects a customer and their home. You will take pride in getting the details right and helping work progress successfully.
Adaptability
Planning is a fast-moving environment where priorities, resources and customer needs can change quickly. You will remain calm, adjust plans and respond positively when circumstances change.
Teamwork
Effective planning depends on good communication and collaboration. You will share information, support colleagues and work closely with operational teams to achieve the best possible outcome for customers.
Our purpose
We are proud to support tens of thousands of people across England by providing affordable housing and care to help people live independently.
Our focus is on building better lives. Everything we do is about people?"whether that is providing a good-quality, safe home or providing care that helps someone live an independent life.
Our colleagues live and breathe this social purpose, and we need great people with skills across a range of disciplines to make this happen.
Working for GreenSquareAccord gives you the opportunity to bring your skills and experience and make a real difference. Whatever role you are considering, your work will help thousands of people build a better life.
Why Join Us?
This is an opportunity to join a busy and evolving Planning and Scheduling service where your work will have a direct impact on customers and operational delivery.
You will benefit from:
- A varied role where no two days are the same.
- The opportunity to develop valuable planning, scheduling and operational skills.
- Exposure to a range of repairs, maintenance, servicing and compliance workstreams.
- Training and support to help you build your knowledge and confidence.
- The chance to influence processes and suggest service improvements.
- A supportive team environment where workloads and knowledge are shared.
- Opportunities for ongoing development and career progression.
- The opportunity to make a genuine difference to customers and communities.
If you are organised, customer-focused and enjoy solving problems in a busy environment, we would love to hear from you.
Benefits
In support and recognition of the colleagues who help us deliver our employer strategy, we offer a fantastic benefits package. This includes:
- Trust-based flexible working and supportive, friendly teams.
- 25 days` annual holiday entitlement, increasing to 30 days.
- One day off for your birthday.
- The opportunity to buy or sell annual leave.
- A defined contribution pension scheme, with GSA matching contributions up to 6%.
- Access to 24/7 online GP appointments, second medical opinions, health checks and mental health support.
- A 24/7 medical health helpline, wellbeing app, nutrition advice, fitness plans and legal and financial support.
- Access to Blue Light Card membership.
- A confidential Employee Assistance Programme.
- Cycle to Work Scheme.
- Occupational sick pay for eligible colleagues.
How to apply
If this sounds like the exciting new challenge you have been waiting for, we would love to hear from you.
For an informal conversation about the role, please contact Natasha Greenfield.
To apply, please email a copy of your up-to-date CV to:
[email protected]
It is also recommended that you make your current Line Manager aware of any roles you are applying for within the organisation.
All individuals who apply to work at GreenSquareAccord are considered on their merits in line with our Diversity and Inclusion strategy and policy.
GreenSquareAccord is a Disability Confident Employer. We actively encourage applications from individuals with disabilities and aim to provide access, adjustments, equipment or other practical support where required. Applicants with a disability who meet the essential eligibility criteria detailed in the job description are guaranteed an interview.
Please let us know if you need any assistance, adjustments or adaptations during our selection process.
