Response Trade Manager

Full Time, Permanent

We are seeking an exceptional and experienced Trade Manager to join Bristol City Council's Housing Repairs Service at a pivotal time of transformation.

This is a high-profile leadership role with responsibility for leading our Response Repairs Trade Teams and ensuring the successful repairs delivery, supporting Awaab's Law compliance, including Phase 1 and preparation for the forthcoming Phase 2 requirements.

Managing a housing portfolio of approximately 27,500 homes, you will play a vital role in protecting residents, improving housing standards, strengthening regulatory compliance, and driving a proactive, customer-focused repairs service.

About the Role

As Trade Manager, you will provide strategic and operational leadership to your team of Trade Supervisors, Trade Operatives and Technical Officers responsible for ensuring high quality works within target times, maximising first time fixes and delivering timely interventions that ensure residents live in safe and healthy homes.

A key priority of the role will be leading the team’s response to damp, mould, condensation, and wider housing health hazards within the scope of Awaab's Law and the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). You will ensure the service remains compliant with current legislation and is fully prepared for future regulatory requirements as Awaab's Law expands.

You will be responsible for embedding robust governance arrangements, managing service performance, and ensuring inspections and remedial works are completed within statutory timescales. Working closely with Housing Management, Compliance, Planned Works, Legal Services, and contractors, you will ensure a coordinated approach that places residents at the centre of service delivery.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Response Trade Teams, ensuring high levels of performance, accountability, and customer focus.
• Oversee the trade response to damp and mould cases, housing hazards, and disrepair-related repairs.
• Ensure compliance with Awaab's Law, HHSRS requirements, regulatory standards, and internal governance expectations.
• Drive service improvement initiatives aimed at reducing repair times, improving quality, and enhancing resident satisfaction.
• Ensure inspections accurately identify root causes and result in sustainable, long-term solutions rather than temporary fixes.
• Develop and maintain effective performance management frameworks, using data and insight to drive continuous improvement.
• Manage operative and contractor performance, ensuring quality standards, contractual obligations, and value for money requirements are consistently achieved.
• Provide leadership during regulatory inspections, audits, and assurance activities, ensuring clear evidence of compliance and performance.
• Build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to deliver a responsive and integrated service.
• Support the strategic development of the Housing Repairs Service as it responds to evolving legislation and regulatory expectations.

About You

We are looking for a confident and experienced leader with significant technical knowledge and a passion for delivering excellent housing services.

You will have:

• Extensive experience of managing trades and technically qualified staff with the ability to performance manage and develop your team to continuously improve the customer’s experience.
• Strong knowledge of responsive repairs, building defects, building pathology, damp and mould diagnosis, and housing health hazards.
• Experience leading and motivating multidisciplinary teams to achieve demanding performance targets.
• A sound understanding of Awaab's Law, HHSRS, regulatory compliance, risk management, and governance.
• Experience managing contractors and holding external partners accountable for performance and quality standards.
• Excellent communication, organisational, and stakeholder management skills.
• The ability to analyse performance information and implement improvement strategies that deliver measurable outcomes.
• A commitment to delivering exceptional services for residents and improving housing conditions across Bristol.

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.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact: Laura Pilkington, Response Repairs Service Manager on e-mail: laura.pilkington@bristol.gov.uk

Join us and help ensure every resident has a safe, healthy, and well-maintained home.

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.