General Manager – Build to Rent

Rushmoor, Surrey
FPMR Ltd

PMR are seeking a General Manager for a brand new Build to Rent development in Leeds launching early next year.
This role will provide critical hands-on leadership in a large residential rental development with communal facilities that include a co-working lounge, gym, gardens, movie room and car park.

The General Manager is responsible for the overall performance of the rental units at the estate by maximizing profitability and maintaining brand standards within established operational and budgetary objectives. This includes effective marketing and leasing, efficient administration, expense control, income maximisation, daily management, and training of support staff to always deliver excellent customer service. With the assistance of the Facilities Manager and Lettings Manager, the General Manager will ensure the effective delivery of planned preventative maintenance, security, cleaning, lease management, sub-contractor management, and liaison with the property landlord and stakeholders. This is a customer facing onsite role, responsible for leading the property team to deliver the brand’s vision & values in an innovative, operationally efficient manner, providing an excellent quality and high value residential environment for a wide mix of residents, occupiers, and visitors.

Responsibilities:

Customer Service

• Represent the brand by providing exceptional service to residents, prospective tenants, contractors, and visitors.
• Communicate effectively and courteously, whether face to face, via telephone or in writing, with residents and colleagues, clearly understanding and responding to their needs.
• Organise and implement a resident events programme to promote community and drive resident engagement within the building.
• Seek ways to exceed service expectations, driving NPS and building reviews on Customer Service platforms such as Google reviews, Trustpilot and Home Views
• Be the escalation for resident complaints to ensure speedy and efficient resolution.
• Share communications via the Marketing Team to keep residents informed and react to changing circumstances.

Leasing & Administration

• Oversee the monthly market surveys and have a thorough understanding of competition and current market conditions.
• Remain on-the-pulse to contribute to a dynamic marketing & leasing strategy; providing feedback to the Asset & Operations team to recommend rental rates.
• Work with the Leasing Manager to lead the team to conduct viewings to prospective residents.
• Liaise regularly with external agents to understand market conditions; ensure they promote the brand and drive best performance; ensure mystery shopping feedback is acted on.
• Ensure enquiries are recorded and responded to in a timely manner, and actively promote referral programs.
• Oversee the referencing process to ensure prospective tenant documents are correctly processed, in accordance with company best practice and GDPR regulations.
• Communicate with applicants in a professional manner and review file applications through contract, deposit registration and ensure move ins are well-managed.
• Oversee the arrears process, ensuring that rents are collected in a timely manner.
• Oversee the negotiation of tenancy renewals in accordance with centralised targets and take responsibility for the serving of statutory documents such as (but not limited to) Section 8 and Section 21 notices.
• Become expert at the localized council HMO regulations and ensure compliance, taking responsibility for the application of new licenses and liaising with the Council to provide appropriate documentation.
• Utilize property management software to record transactions and run various operating reports.

Team Management and Development

• Inspire and motivate the team to deliver the business plan and embody the company’s vision and values.
• Support new members of the team, providing a warm welcome and supporting their development through training, guidance, and mentorship.
• Follow the company hiring process including liaising with recruiters and candidates, interviewing and providing administrative support to the HR team.
• Attend and constructively contribute to Group Residence Managers meetings, sharing knowledge, insight, developing and supporting new initiatives and improved process.
• Manage the team rota to ensure appropriate cover for the building and keeping HR platforms up to date with approval of staff holidays and management of absence.
• Manage staff including resolving conflicts and disciplinary action, with the support of the group VP of HR.

Facilities Management

• Work with the Facilities Manager to ensure compliance with current Fire and Health & Safety regulations.
• Support the Facilities Manager on handling the Defect Process with the Developer, lasting for 2 years post-Practical Completion of each phase.
• Oversee scheduled flat inspections and recording, completing all resultant actions in a timely manner.
• Create a system for property turn arounds at the end of tenancy and manage this with the support of the Facilities Manager.
• Continual oversight and monitoring of the planned preventative maintenance programs using the facilities management software platform.
• Work with the Facilities Manager to manage the activities of the sub-contractors that provide hard & soft services.

Property Management

• Drive continuous improvement across the building, implementing new policy as required.
• Be the point of contact for local authorities, property consultants, solicitors, professional bodies, and others.
• Proactively address lease breaches, managing the remediation process to completion or escalation as required.
• Be accountable for the Property’s performance, compiling a monthly business review and attending a meeting with the Area Operations Manager to review.
• Reconciling the monthly credit card statement and liaison with the Finance team and accountant to assign relevant cost codes.
• Approval of invoices and providing these to Accounts Payable for processing.