Sales & Lettings Assistant — Blackshaw Homes
Location: Southend-on-Sea
Hours: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 10am–2pm (12 hours per week), with flexibility to cover additional hours, days, or occasional Saturdays when colleagues are on holiday.
Blackshaw Homes is an established independent estate and lettings agency in Southend. We’re looking for a sharp, capable and organised person to support both our sales and lettings departments.
This is a varied, hands-on role combining compliance, administration, viewings and general office support. We’re looking for someone who takes pride in getting things right, is happy to muck in wherever needed, and understands that in a small business everybody helps make things happen.
We’re not looking for someone to simply “help out” a few hours a week. We’re looking for someone dependable who becomes an important part of the team and takes real ownership of their work.
Your day-to-day will include:
- Compliance support — monitoring upcoming renewals (gas safety, EICRs, EPCs and selective licensing), chasing landlords and contractors, identifying gaps and keeping records up to date.
- CRM administration — maintaining accurate records, notes, tasks and data across our systems. Full training provided.
- Conducting sales and lettings viewings — meeting prospective buyers and tenants and recording feedback promptly on our systems.
- General administration and office support — references, deposit registrations, contractor coordination, paperwork and general office duties.
- Supporting the team with property inspections when required.
- Ad hoc support — collecting keys, delivering paperwork, helping with marketing, updating window displays, dealing with unexpected jobs and generally pitching in wherever needed. In a small agency there’s always something to do.
- Front desk and telephone cover when required.
You will report to our Lettings Manager and work closely with the wider team.
The right person will be:
- Switched on — quick to learn, able to use initiative and ask sensible questions.
- Highly organised and detail-focused — accuracy matters. Small mistakes can have real consequences.
- Naturally good with systems — confident using CRMs, databases and software, able to learn new systems quickly, and the sort of person who notices when something isn’t recorded correctly.
- Active and energetic — happy spending part of the day at a desk and part of the day out attending viewings, running errands and helping wherever needed. This isn’t a role where you’ll be sitting behind a screen all day.
- Flexible when needed — willing to pick up additional hours, extra weekdays or occasional Saturdays to help cover holidays and busy periods.
- Comfortable dealing with people — professional with landlords, tenants, buyers, sellers and contractors, both in person and on the phone.
- Reliable and hard-working — this isn’t a role for someone looking for an easy few hours. There are deadlines, responsibilities and plenty to keep on top of, but it’s rewarding work for someone who enjoys being busy and getting things done.
- A driver with access to their own vehicle — viewings and occasional inspections are a key part of the role.
Property experience would be a bonus but isn’t essential. We’ll provide training on the property side of the role. The right attitude, organisation and work ethic are more important than direct industry experience.
Backgrounds we’d particularly welcome include:
- Lettings or property administration
- Legal administration or conveyancing support
- Mortgage or insurance administration
- Council, housing association or social housing administration
- PA, office management or finance administration
- Any regulated, compliance-focused or detail-heavy administrative environment
Why this role might suit you:
- A small, well-established local business with a strong reputation
- A genuinely varied role where no two days are the same
- Real responsibility and trust from day one
- A friendly and supportive team
- Long-term opportunity with room to grow into the role
- Proper pay for the level of responsibility and capability we’re looking for
This role would suit someone who enjoys being busy, organised and involved in lots of different tasks. It probably won’t suit someone looking for a quiet, predictable admin role where every day looks the same.
Essential requirements:
- Full UK driving licence
- Access to your own vehicle
- Living within a reasonable commuting distance of Southend-on-Sea
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Professional manner in person, on the phone and in writing
To apply:
Please email your CV along with a brief covering note telling us about your background, why this role appeals to you, and confirming that you drive and have access to a vehicle.
If you have property experience, please tell us about it. If not, we’d like to hear what other relevant skills and experience you would bring to the role.
Pay: From £13.00 per hour
Application question(s):
- Why does this role appeal to you?
- Tell us about a time you spotted a mistake, missing information or a problem that others had missed. What did you do?
- We use several software systems every day. Tell us about a new system, CRM or database you’ve had to learn. How did you get comfortable using it?
- This role sometimes involves juggling several tasks at once. How do you keep yourself organised when multiple deadlines are competing for your attention?
- Are you willing to occasionally cover additional hours, weekdays or Saturdays when colleagues are on holiday?
- This role involves compliance administration, CRM systems, viewings, errands and general office support. Which part of the role do you think you’d find most challenging, and why?
- Tell us about a time you had to chase someone who wasn’t responding — what did you do and what was the outcome?
- Which town do you currently live in?
Work Location: In person
