CAPITAL PROJECTS RECRUITMENT CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACK Senior Operations Manager Candidate Information Pack
About Us We’re Student Roost. An owner and operator of purpose-built student accommodation across the UK.
We’re not quite the new kids on the block, having already created a portfolio of over 17,000 beds, in 48 buildings; but we’re at the very beginning of building our brand, our culture and our DNA. That makes it an exciting time to join us. Already, we’re made up of really good people and we’re a business who will endeavour, always, to do the right thing, in the right way – truly putting students’ experience, welfare and safety at the top of our agenda. We’ve all heard ‘if you build it…they will come’; we believe if you build it right, they will stay: that goes for both our customers and our people. We want to be a stable, welcoming and safe backdrop for our customer’s entire time at University, giving them one less thing to worry about. And for our people, we all spend more time at work than we do with our loved ones, we think it’s only right that you do that in an organisation, environment and a team that you love being a part of.
As a business built largely on acquisition, we have an array of properties and people, whilst many of our teams didn’t choose to come and work here, they do choose whether or not to stay and we’re confident we’re building a business that attracts talent from a variety of sectors and backgrounds, further diversifying the team in place. In little more than 12 months, we’ve built a complete HQ team, armed with little more than a Job Description and we think that’s testament to the experience candidates received when meeting with our team; a team of passionate, talented, like-minded individuals, who embrace the culture we’re seeking to build. Whether our properties were acquired from others or developed by ourselves, we’re excited about the positive changes we can bring to both the physical aspects of the property and the experience within it for our residents. We have, and continue to, invest in exciting, capital programmes, driving value for our residents, the people who work there and our investors. We look to our residents and property Team Members to help us better our understanding of the use of space; recognising those closest to the customer often know best. And for our people; providing welcoming work environments, interesting roles, competitive pay and benefits that matter to the individual. We’re starting to build out our Learning & Development framework too, so whilst the rewards should be there for everyone today, the real riches are in the long-term careers we can eventually offer. We’re putting major efforts into building a brand and an organisation that people want to work for and we think our greatest days are still ahead of us.
Jessica Gallop Director of People
Our Locations:
Liverpool Nottingham Newcastle Aberdeen Southampton
Wrexham Sheffield Glasgow Swansea Leicester Bath
Birmingham
York
Edinburgh Bournemouth
Chester Belfast London
Durham
*image for illustrative purposes only
WHAT WE OFFER
• Flexible tenancy lengths • Each site’s facilities have been tailored to their environment • Our rooms range from ensuite to studio and apartments • Excellent Customer Service • A home from home
Culture, Values & Behaviours You won’t find our values plastered across our walls, or our Team Members reciting them like a morning call; you won’t find a 100-page booklet detailing how we expect our Team Members to behave and you most certainly won’t find carbon-copy Team Members. Culture is how we work together to deliver a service to our customers, a meaningful career for our people and returns for our investors. It’s every single conversation we have internally and with our customers, parents, universities; it’s every piece of work we deliver, every person we hire, every supplier we pay, every room we sell, every new property we develop. Our values are delivered and not just displayed - It’s one thing to put our values on show; we’d rather put our people on show – that’s how we best demonstrate the values and behaviours here.
High Support – High Challenge
Reward what’s right
Freedom in a Framework
Lift
People over Policy
Base Camp
MORE ON VALUES
Let’s start with what they’re not…
They’re not a vinyl or fancy artwork on the wall. They’re not a banner on a website, nor a stick to beat Team Members with. They’re not delivered for you or handed over and they’re never an excuse.
Our values are the things we value here. The things that are important to us and the things we pursue and protect.
Authenticity
Decency
Integrity
Humility
Curiosity
Perceptive
Communication
Courage
Influence
Job Description Post title:
Senior Operations Manager
ROLE DESCRIPTION: We’re Student Roost. And we’re on the look out for a Senior Operations Manager to join our growing team. We’ve all heard ‘if you build it…they will come’; we believe if you build it right, they will stay: that goes for both our customers and our people. We want to be a stable, welcoming and safe backdrop to our customer’s entire time at University, giving them one less thing to worry about. And for our people, we all spend more time at work than we do with our loved ones, we think it’s only right that you do that in an organisation, environment and a team that you love being a part of. This is where our Senior Operations Managers step in. Placed on assignment across various areas of the business; they heed the call for help and step in to assist the running of a property or multiple properties in one city. When our property teams are stabilised, they move onto the next task, perhaps supporting Heads of Department or Directors with discreet pieces of work. We want to avoid internal consultants, so we anchor these roles to a dedicated line manager. The Director of People takes leadership of these roles, to ensure their longer-term development needs are understood and cared for and that conflicting requests and priorities can be unblocked. The role has a solid grounding in Operations and can confidently lead both a local property team and operations managers. It’s a role requiring a great deal of mobility and flexibility. The working hours are 37.5 per week with shift being 5 days out of 7 days. Weekend work will be required on a rota basis. The key accountabilities of the role can be expressed through the Operations Manager Job Description (below), in addition to the following capabilities: • An exceptional ability to build relationships with peers and team members • Able to identify discord in teams and remedy appropriately • Ability to quickly and succinctly assess the needs of a particular scenario and articulate the programme of works to address • Excellent time management skills • Ability to lead on People development, performance management and recruitment of Manager roles and below. KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES: SAFETY, WELFARE & COMPLIANCE • Top of your agenda at all times; practice an unrelenting approach to safety and welfare by adherence to any and all safety policies and processes in our organisation. • Develop an understanding within your respective property for all statutory and legal
accountabilities we hold; furthermore, ensure that your teams understand why we perform such duties and encourage an environment where safety and welfare is never overlooked. • Create an environment whereby all team members feel confident and comfortable in raising any concerns about our properties or our practices. • Responsible for the completion of any and all Health & Safety routine checks and Planned Preventative Maintenance schedules. CUSTOMERS • Champion always, the needs of our customers, leading by example and demonstrating a personal desire for high levels of service in all interactions. • Manage the provision of a service in your property that is constantly pursuing customer retention and recommendation. • Represent the voice of the customer at all levels in the business, ensuring that the decisions you make are done so with the customer at the forefront. • Know your customer – ensure you lead by example in getting to know each of your customers; learning about their life at University, the courses they study, how they want events to be run in the property and maintain a solid database of these findings. • Deliver an excellent social calendar in your property throughout the year, making sure our efforts are spread consistently throughout a customer’s entire time with us. • Take regular time to understand the shifting shape of the University landscape in your city, the demographic of customers it serves and develop and showcase a strong understanding of what life is like for our customers. PEOPLE • Working with the People policies and practices of our company, take responsibility for the end to end journey of people in our business; from the recruitment of new team members, through their development, to their departure from our business, as a direct line manager or in support of others in the team. • Recruit, develop and lead exceptional team members, who conduct themselves consistently, fairly and are respected by their peers and colleagues. • Ensure every employee within your team has a consistent and effective induction to the business, giving everyone a platform to succeed. • Set clear objectives for your teams, aligned to the business plan and ensure a routine is in place to regularly review performance and behaviours for each team member.
Job Description LEASING • Responsible for the successful lease-up of your property. • Accountable for delivering on a solid customer retention and recommendation performance in the property • Assess the rebooking eligibility in your property on a routine basis, to ensure you and your team are clear on the potential retention you can achieve. • Process and manage any and all booking administration efficiently and with care and attention to detail, in particular ensuring the data of our customers is treated with the utmost respect at all times. • Develop a solid understanding of the local University picture, competitors and where your assets rank relative to the comp set. • Be expert in your knowledge of the leasing performance of your property; attending the routine calls/meetings well prepared to discuss performance. • Be agile and quick to respond to the shift in leasing performance, seeking support or approval as necessary for any changes to marketing strategy of customer offer. Trust that we know those on the ground are often best placed to make decisions about their markets. • Encourage and reward the input and ideas of your team to develop the leasing plan for your markets. • Ensure every member of your team, regardless of their discipline understands how their role contributes to the leasing performance of your property. • Develop strong, meaningful relationships with institutions in your cities; in particular, the Accommodation Office, International Office, Student Union and Welfare teams. • Ensure your teams are compliant with all data protection requirements as it relates to customer data; that the fundamentals of Tenancy law are understood by you and your teams and that handling of deposits is done so within the legislative requirements. FINANCE • Accountability for the financial performance of the property, conducting monthly reviews of P&L performance and being prepared to narrate on the variances • Procure goods and services in line with the policies and procedures of the business • Alongside your line manager, be capable of input to the annual budget-setting process and routine reforecasting, based on a sound knowledge of the activity at your property
• Identify and share cost effective opportunities PROPERTY
• Ensure, with your team, that the physical appearance of properties is of the highest standard. • Walk your property on a daily basis, as a minimum and ensure issues are resolved swiftly and to a high standard. • Manage the Maintenance and Housekeeping services in your property ensuring they understand their obligations around Health & Safety • Operate a routine inspection and audit processes across your property and resolve issues swiftly • Ensure customer maintenance requests are being addressed in line with or ahead of agreed service levels. • Conduct a Management check of every room ahead of new arrivals. • Ensure the summer turnaround is conducted per the agreed process, in line with the property budget and to a standard that ensures clean, functional rooms are presented to every customer.
Person Specification
WHAT YOU’VE DONE BEFORE • Worked in a customer-facing business, offering goods and/or services. • Experience working in residential real estate ideal, but not essential. • Management or supervision of others on a regular, routine basis. • Accountability for financial performance in one or more previous roles. WHAT YOU’RE GOOD AT/KNOWN FOR • Building and sustaining high-quality relationships with your people, customers, clients and colleagues. • Commercially savvy. • Inclusive of others, non-judgmental, fair. • Presence and credibility to work with a wide range of groups and individuals. • Highly organised, on time, well-presented. WHAT WILL IT TAKE? Physical Effort • This is a highly flexible and highly mobile role, extensive travel and time away from home will be required. • Operations Managers spend a great deal of time moving around their property, this may involve flights of stairs and an ability to respond to Fire Alarms or emergency situations where lifts may not be in use. • You will be working in front of a screen for a good proportion of your time. In line with the DSE assessment, we encourage time away from your workstation, fresh air throughout the day and a good balance between systems and human beings! • Operations Managers are present for annual check-in weekends, which can involve lifting and
carrying of items. MENTAL EFFORT
• This is a role of competing priorities and as a seasonal operation, there are times of year when workloads may spike or unplanned incidents will take over. The role requires someone highly organised, but someone who is calm and pragmatic in their response to changes.
• Despite solid planning, short-notice work may be required of you. • Unpredictable pattern of activity, no two days are the same and this role would be more suited to someone who can operate effectively in a highly-varied environment. EMOTIONAL EFFORT • Frequent exposure to difficult circumstances involving customers and/or people. There is a known increase in mental health challenges for the student population and whilst we will provide all the tools, training and support necessary, we recognise everyone is different and there may be a more profound or lasting effect on some of our people. • As this role works on assignment, parachuting into properties and cities with a need, there may be times when your presence is unwelcome and building relationships may take longer than usual for you.
To arrange a confidential conversation to discuss the opportunity in more depth, please contact Hannah Searle of The Management Recruitment Group on 020 3962 9900.
Applications should be sent to; hannah.searle@mrgpeople.co.uk.
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog