Response Repairs Manager (Disrepair)

Full Time, Permanent

We are seeking to appoint an experienced Manager to play a key leadership role within the Disrepair team at Bristol City Council. This is a critical position with a strong focus on driving service improvement, strengthening governance, and delivering an excellent customer experience across a diverse housing portfolio of approximately 27,500 homes.

This is a pivotal time to join the service as we respond to sector-wide challenges and raise standards in line with the Regulator of Social Housing’s expectations, particularly in relation to building safety, damp and mould, disrepair, and the reduction of outstanding repairs. A key priority will be strengthening organisational compliance with Awaab’s Law and disrepair legislation, embedding robust, resident-focused processes and ensuring consistent delivery against statutory requirements across the service.

This role provides strategic and operational leadership to a team of Business Support Officers, Access Compliance and Project Officers as well as Surveyors and Supervisors, with primary accountability for leading and overseeing the Council’s Disrepair function and case management. It is responsible for ensuring full compliance with Awaab’s Law, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, and associated regulatory requirements.

This includes establishing robust governance frameworks, ensuring effective management of disrepair claims and pre-action protocol cases, driving performance against statutory and legal timescales, managing risk, and ensuring all cases are progressed with urgency, transparency, and a clear audit trail.

You will be responsible for ensuring that inspections are carried out to a high technical standard, supporting robust, evidence-based responses to disrepair claims and delivering timely, effective, and sustainable outcomes for residents. This includes ensuring that interventions address root causes through sound building pathology knowledge, reducing repeat failures and minimising the risk of legal challenge. The role requires close collaboration with internal teams, including housing management, legal services, complaints handling, and planned maintenance, to ensure a joined-up and compliant approach to service delivery.

A key aspect of the role will be overseeing the effective management of disrepair cases, including early intervention, prevention strategies, and compliance with the Housing Disrepair Pre-Action Protocol.

You will ensure accurate record-keeping, clear communication with residents, and appropriate escalation and resolution of complex or high-risk cases, including those with potential legal or reputational impact.

Contractor management is a critical element of this role. You will be accountable for ensuring that external partners deliver services that meet contractual, legal, and quality standards, while achieving value for money. This includes robust performance monitoring, challenge, and escalation to ensure works associated with disrepair claims are completed within required timescales and to the required standard.

You will bring significant technical expertise, alongside demonstrable experience of managing disrepair within a social housing context and leading multidisciplinary teams in a regulated environment.

You will have a strong understanding of housing law, compliance, risk management, and governance, with the ability to embed clear processes, manage legal risk, monitor performance, and drive continuous improvement. Excellent leadership, organisational, and communication skills will be essential, alongside a strong commitment to delivering positive outcomes for residents.

Why Bristol City Council?

At Bristol City Council, we go that extra mile for our people; we offer a work environment which is fast moving and supportive, giving you the chance to use your skills and develop new ones within a high-profile organisation. For the majority of our roles hybrid working arrangements are available, giving teams the opportunity to work in a way that suits them, balancing service need and individual choice - mixing both home and office working.

Join us and you’ll receive an excellent rewards package including flexible working and flexitime, membership of the Local Government Pension scheme, and a generous annual leave allowance. In addition, you’ll be working in a supportive environment where you’ll have the chance to make Bristol a better place and contribute to its future.

How do I apply?

If you share our values and are ready to be part of our exciting journey please select the apply button below.

To be shortlisted for interview you’ll need to demonstrate how you meet each of the essential criteria in the Person Specification within the Further Information section of your application. On occasion we will receive high numbers of applications, we may then shortlist against the desirable criteria along with the essential criteria, so if you can, please demonstrate how you meet this in your application.

We're a Disability Confident employer which means we value recruiting and retaining disabled people. Any job applicants who consider themselves to be disabled and meet the essential criteria in the Person Specification are guaranteed an interview. We'll make reasonable adjustments throughout the interview process and provide continued workplace support throughout your career.

Shortlisting will take place week commencing 29^th June 2026, with interviews scheduled for week commencing 6th July 2026. The selection process will include a presentation and written assessment.

For further information, please contact Sabrina Jefferies at sabrina.jefferies@bristol.gov.uk 

Bristol City Council strives to have a workforce that reflects the communities it serves, we are therefore committed to ensuring diversity in our hiring process. We welcome, develop and promote people from all sections of the community. We particularly welcome applications from Black and racially minoritised, Disabled, LGBTQ+ and Female candidates who are currently under-represented within this Service of Bristol City Council. Appointments will be made on merit.

The personal information section (including your name) you’ll complete as part of the application form will not be visible to hiring managers, but is used confidentially to make sure that everyone is treated fairly.