Director of Disrepair Social Housing

Dunstable, Bedfordshire
Gilmartins

We are seeking a senior, experienced Director of Disrepair to lead and own the organisations legal disrepair function across social housing contracts.

This is a critical leadership role with full accountability for strategy, governance, performance, and delivery of disrepair cases ensuring matters are progressed efficiently from instruction to resolution, legal exposure is controlled, and outcomes meet contractual, statutory, and client expectations.

You will sit at a senior level within the business, working closely with the Executive Team, Clients, Legal Representatives, and Operational Leaders to ensure disrepair is managed proactively, transparently, and commercially.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for all legal disrepair activity across the business
• Own end-to-end disrepair governance, including policy, process, and performance frameworks
• Act as senior point of contact for clients on disrepair strategy, performance, and escalation
• Oversee liaison with solicitors, surveyors, expert witnesses, and internal legal advisors
• Ensure disrepair works are correctly scoped, prioritised, instructed, and delivered at pace
• Drive early intervention and resolution to minimise litigation, compensation, and legal costs
• Maintain robust reporting, dashboards, and MI for internal leadership and clients
• Ensure strong resident engagement throughout the disrepair journey
• Identify systemic issues within contracts and drive corrective and preventative action
• Lead, mentor, and develop Disrepair Managers and supporting teams
• Ensure full compliance with housing legislation, health & safety, safeguarding, and regulatory standards
• Support tendering, mobilisation, and client negotiations where disrepair risk is a key consideration

What Were Looking For

• Proven senior leadership experience managing legal disrepair within social housing
• Background working for a main contractor, housing association, or local authority
• Strong understanding of housing law, disrepair litigation processes, and risk management
• Demonstrable experience reducing legal exposure and driving cases to resolution
• Confident operating at board, client, and legal stakeholder level
• Commercially astute with the ability to balance compliance, cost, and resident outcomes
• Strategic thinker who remains operationally grounded

Desirable

• Experience shaping disrepair strategy across multiple contracts or regions
• Exposure to expert witness processes or complex litigation portfolios
• Track record of influencing client policy or contract frameworks

Why Join Us

• Shape and lead a core function within a growing social housing contractor
• Influence business-wide strategy and client relationships
• Drive meaningful outcomes for residents while protecting commercial performance
• Competitive executive-level salary and benefits package

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