Do you enjoy bringing order to a busy environment?
Can you make decisions under pressure, lead people, improve standards and keep things moving when everyone else is demanding your attention?
If you're looking for a role where you'll have genuine responsibility, the authority to improve how a department operates and the opportunity to make a visible difference every day, we'd like to hear from you.
About Cornerstone Property Group
Cornerstone Property Group manages more than 220 temporary accommodation properties across Kent, working with over 15 local authorities.
We provide safe, secure accommodation for people at difficult points in their lives and support councils by being reliable, responsive and professional. Our reputation is built on doing the basics well and dealing with issues early.
Since 2015, we've continued to grow by doing the basics well, responding quickly and maintaining high standards across our portfolio.
We're a close-knit business where ideas are welcomed, decisions are made quickly and everyone has the opportunity to make a real impact.
About the Role
This isn’t a “maintenance admin” role.
You will lead the day-to-day operation of our property maintenance and facilities department, ensuring our homes remain safe, compliant and ready for occupation.
You'll directly manage one office-based team member, two employed maintenance engineers and one employed cleaner, while coordinating a trusted network of subcontractors across Kent.
You will report directly to our Operations & Commercial Manager and have genuine authority to shape how the department operates. You'll be expected to make decisions, solve problems, improve systems and ensure work gets completed to the required standard.
Success in this role isn't measured by how many jobs you raise. It's measured by how effectively you lead the department, how quickly properties are turned around, how well engineers perform, how efficiently maintenance budgets are managed and how satisfied our councils, landlords and residents are with the service we provide.
What You'll Be Responsible For
- Leading the day-to-day running of the facilities and maintenance department.
- Managing and supporting maintenance engineers, office support and cleaners.
- Scheduling and prioritising reactive maintenance works.
- Managing void properties from move-out through to occupation.
- Ensuring properties meet Cornerstone's required standards before occupation.
- Reviewing and allocating maintenance jobs through Fixflo.
- Managing subcontractors, suppliers and contractor performance.
- Ordering materials and monitoring stock.
- Carrying out quality inspections on completed works.
- Monitoring maintenance costs and identifying opportunities to reduce unnecessary spend.
- Liaising with local authorities, landlords, residents and internal teams.
- Producing weekly reports on department performance.
- Building clear systems, process guides and procedures that improve efficiency and consistency.
- Holding staff and contractors accountable for quality, productivity and deadlines.
What Success Looks Like
Within Your First 3 Months
- Become confident using Fixflo, Inventory Base and our internal systems.
- Clear the existing maintenance backlog.
- Build strong relationships with engineers, office staff and subcontractors.
- Improve engineer productivity and communication.
- Property standards improved.
- Reduce average void turnaround to below 5.5 days.
- Begin building a reliable subcontractor network.
Within 6 Months
- Reduce average void turnaround to below 4.5 days.
- Implement clear maintenance processes and department structure.
- Introduce maintenance spend tracking and reporting.
- Improve communication across the department.
- Build positive working relationships with local authority housing teams.
Within 12 Months
- Run a well-organised maintenance department that requires minimal day-to-day oversight.
- Reduce average void turnaround to 3 days.
- Reduce complaints relating to property standards at move-in.
- Develop a trusted network of subcontractors across all key trades.
- Keep maintenance spend within agreed budgets.
- Introduce clear process guides covering maintenance, voids, contractor management and engineer workflows.
- Deliver regular performance reviews and development meetings with the maintenance team.
- Continually improve systems and processes that help the department operate more efficiently.
What We're Looking For
Essential
- Experience managing maintenance engineers, tradespeople or a small maintenance team.
- Good understanding of residential property maintenance.
- Experience managing reactive maintenance.
- Excellent organisational and prioritisation skills.
- Confident making decisions under pressure.
- Strong communication skills.
- Comfortable managing strong personalities and holding people accountable.
- High attention to detail.
- A proactive, solutions-focused approach.
Desirable
- Experience within temporary accommodation, social housing, residential lettings or facilities management.
- Experience managing void properties.
- Experience monitoring maintenance budgets.
- Knowledge of Fixflo or similar maintenance software.
You'll Thrive Here If You...
- Enjoy solving problems and improving processes.
- Stay calm when priorities change.
- Like being busy and making decisions.
- Build strong working relationships.
- Hold yourself and others accountable.
- Take pride in high standards.
- Want to make a genuine impact on a growing business.
This Role Won't Suit You If...
- You avoid difficult conversations.
- You need constant supervision.
- You struggle to prioritise competing demands.
- You blame others instead of taking ownership.
- You dislike accountability.
- You prefer talking about problems rather than solving them.
- You allow standards to slip.
Location & Hours
Gravesend, Kent
Full-time | Office based
Monday to Friday 9:00am to 5:30pm
Salary
£30,000 to £33,000 per annum
What You'll Receive
- Full training and support from the Operations & Commercial Manager.
- Genuine responsibility and autonomy.
- The opportunity to shape and improve an important department.
- A supportive and growing business where ideas are encouraged.
- Opportunities to develop your career as the company continues to grow.
Our Recruitment Process
Successful applicants will be invited to complete a short practical exercise based on a real-life maintenance scenario before attending a face-to-face interview.
The exercise takes around 20-30 minutes and helps us understand how you prioritise work, communicate and make decisions.
Interested?
If you're looking for a role where your judgement, leadership and organisation genuinely matter, we'd love to hear from you.
Pay: £30,000.00-£35,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Gravesend, Kent: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
