Purpose

The current Assistant Director of Property is
a key member of the Housing Leadership Team, who, in addition to
significant operational responsibilities, is overseeing a number of
key strategic projects, including the property related aspects of
the Housing Transformation Improvement Programme (HTIP) and the
re-procurement of the Council’s Repairs and Maintenance
contract. This is a key strategic contract for the Council, which
will need to ensure we have the right contractors in place to
deliver the repairs and maintenance service and the right client
function to support and oversee the new contracts.
He is also a key strategic lead for work streams which sit within
the Strategic Asset Review Programme.
These projects will have a significant impact on the service the
Council provide to our residents and tenants for years to
come.
We ran a recruitment campaign during September and October via
Solace to permanently recruit to this role. Following longlisting
interviews, we had to cancel the AD Property recruitment due to
lack of appointable candidates.
We received 44 applications following wide advertising and an
executive search, but the quality of the applications was poor. No
candidates had experience of both corporate and HRA property work.
Candidates were step up applications but failed to demonstrate
sufficient competency in critical areas, such as contract
management and compliance. Following long listing interviews, there
were no candidates that were recommended to go forward, including
no candidates that had demonstrated sufficiently that they could be
supported to develop into the role.
The outcome of the unsuccessful recruitment exercise was reported
to SLT on 4th December 2024.
SLT supported the proposal for the AD Property role to be split to
form two roles: AD Housing Property Services and AD Corporate
Property for Commercial and Community Assets. The aim is to
re-advertise the revised AD Housing Property Services role in early
2025 and permanently recruit to the post. Long-term arrangements
for permanently covering the AD Corporate Property role will be
reviewed once recruitment has been completed to the AD Housing
Property Services role and the interim Corporate Strategic Asset
Management Plan is in place.
These timescales would also enable key work with the Strategic
Assets Review to be progressed and allow time to consider the
resources required to support this work going forward.
Importantly, this extension would also maintain this critical
service’s stability during a key period the recommissioning
of the Repairs and Maintenance contract takes place.

Decision

To extend the contract for the current
Assistant Director of Property through to August 2025 with Tile
Hill.