Contract & Commercial Manager
Repairs, Maintenance and Asset Compliance
About Karibu
Karibu Community Homes provides safe, well-maintained homes and reliable services that improve residents’ lives. Repairs, maintenance and asset compliance are central to how we deliver quality homes, meet regulatory responsibilities and provide a responsive, transparent service.
About the Role
This role leads the commercial, procurement and contract management of repairs, maintenance, planned works, compliance and asset-related services. The postholder will manage high-value and high-risk contracts that directly affect residents’ homes, including responsive repairs, voids, cyclical maintenance, disrepair, compliance services, contractor performance and capital programme support.
The role will ensure contractors deliver safe, timely, cost-effective and resident-focused services. It will strengthen contract governance, improve repairs and maintenance performance, support cost assurance and help ensure services meet Karibu’s asset priorities and regulatory expectations.
Key Responsibilities
Repairs, Maintenance and Asset Contracts
- Lead the commercial management of repairs, maintenance and asset-related contracts.
- Oversee responsive repairs, voids, planned works, cyclical maintenance, compliance services, component replacement and wider asset investment activity.
- Ensure contracts support strong performance, resident satisfaction, safety, compliance and value for money.
- Develop contract management frameworks for high-volume and high-risk services, particularly responsive repairs and statutory compliance.
- Ensure contractors deliver against specifications, service standards, communication requirements and quality expectations.
Procurement and Commercial Strategy
- Develop and deliver a repairs and maintenance-focused procurement and commercial strategy.
- Lead procurement for repairs, maintenance, compliance and asset-related services in line with the Procurement Act 2023 and associated regulations.
- Design transparent, proportionate and auditable tender processes that secure quality, value for money and effective contractor performance.
- Embed contract criteria covering quality, cost, resident outcomes, social value, safety, accessibility and compliance.
- Provide commercial advice on service delivery models, contract options, investment planning and procurement routes.
Contractor Performance and Service Improvement
- Own contractor performance frameworks across repairs, maintenance and compliance contracts.
- Monitor KPIs including repairs completion, right-first-time performance, appointments kept, resident satisfaction, complaints, work quality, safety compliance and cost control.
- Chair contract and performance meetings, ensuring clear governance, actions, escalation and accountability.
- Use performance data, resident feedback and complaints insight to identify service failures, trends and improvement opportunities.
- Manage contractor underperformance, disputes, variations and service improvement plans.
Financial Control and Value for Money
- Monitor contract spend across repairs, maintenance, compliance and asset budgets.
- Identify cost efficiencies while maintaining quality, safety, compliance and resident satisfaction.
- Lead benchmarking, cost analysis and financial assurance across repairs and maintenance contracts.
- Validate contractor charges, applications for payment, variations and invoices.
- Identify cost anomalies, poor value, repeat failures and trends that may indicate performance or specification issues.
Compliance, Regulation and Resident Outcomes
- Ensure repairs, maintenance and compliance contracts support regulatory responsibilities, including safety, quality, transparency, fairness and resident involvement.
- Embed resident-focused measures including tenant satisfaction, complaints handling, communication standards, accessibility and quality assurance.
- Ensure contracts support safe homes, timely repairs, effective maintenance and clear communication with residents.
- Support audits, inspections and regulatory reviews through accurate and auditable contract documentation.
- Ensure contractor reporting supports assurance around service quality, resident safety, compliance and risk management.
Disrepair, Risk and Assurance
- Lead monitoring and commercial management of disrepair-related contractor performance.
- Work with internal teams and legal representatives to ensure contractors complete works within required timescales and provide accurate supporting information.
- Analyse disrepair trends to identify root causes, repeat failures, contractor issues and service improvements.
- Help reduce disrepair risk through timely repairs, effective records, contractor accountability and proactive maintenance.
Contract Governance and Documentation
- Maintain an accurate contract register for repairs, maintenance, compliance and asset-related services.
- Keep clear audit trails for procurement decisions, variations, performance reviews, payment validation and contractor management.
- Ensure contract documents reflect service standards, specifications, pricing, performance requirements and governance arrangements.
- Report to senior managers and governance groups on contract performance, risk, spend and improvement activity.
Planned Works, Capital Programme and ESG
- Provide commercial oversight for planned works, component replacement and capital investment activity.
- Monitor contractor performance, cost control and delivery progress across planned maintenance and investment programmes.
- Ensure planned works contracts deliver quality, value for money, resident satisfaction and compliance.
- Embed social value, sustainability and ESG commitments within procurement and contract management.
- Monitor contractor delivery of social value and community benefits where appropriate.
Advice and Cross-Team Working
- Provide advice to managers on procurement, contract management, contractor performance and commercial assurance.
- Support teams with contract monitoring, performance evidence, cost validation and contractor accountability.
- Work collaboratively with Asset Management, Repairs, Housing, Finance, Customer Services, Governance and Legal teams.
- Use internal feedback to strengthen contractor performance and service delivery.
General Responsibilities
- Comply with Karibu’s values, policies, procedures and regulatory frameworks.
- Follow requirements relating to conduct, health and safety, data protection, IT use, probity, risk management and internal controls.
- Promote equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Contribute to a culture of accountability, resident focus, continuous improvement and high-quality service delivery.
Qualifications
Relevant qualification or equivalent experience in procurement, contract management, commercial management, construction, repairs, maintenance, asset management or a related discipline. A professional procurement or contract management qualification, or willingness to work towards one, is desirable.
Required Skills and Experience
- Experience managing repairs, maintenance, compliance, construction or asset-related contracts in a housing, property, public sector or regulated environment.
- Strong knowledge of procurement and contract management, including tendering, mobilisation, performance monitoring and governance.
- Ability to manage high-value, high-volume and high-risk contracts focused on quality, cost, compliance and resident outcomes.
- Strong commercial awareness, including spend analysis, cost challenge, invoice validation, benchmarking and budget monitoring.
- Experience monitoring contractor performance through KPIs, service standards, resident feedback and management information.
- Ability to manage contractor underperformance, disputes, variations and service improvement plans.
- Excellent communication, stakeholder management and organisational skills.
- Knowledge of legislation and good practice relating to procurement, housing, repairs, maintenance and compliance.
- Ability to use data and insight to improve service delivery, manage risk and support decision-making.
Preferred Skills and Experience
- Experience in housing, property services, repairs and maintenance, asset management or the public sector.
- Knowledge of social housing regulatory expectations, particularly repairs, safety, complaints, transparency and resident satisfaction.
- Experience supporting disrepair cases, legal claims or complex repairs-related service failures.
- Experience of planned works, capital programmes, component replacement or compliance contracts.
- Familiarity with ESG principles and social value delivery through contracts.
- Strong negotiation skills and experience improving contractor performance.
- Experience using contract management, asset management, finance or performance reporting systems.
Pay Range and Compensation Package
Circa £70,000 per annum.
Equal Opportunity Statement
Karibu is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to an inclusive environment for all employees. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to fair, inclusive and accessible recruitment.
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