Head of Repairs & Maintenance
Location: Cornwall | Hybrid working
Salary: £80,729
Closing date: Midday 24 November 2026
Interviews (in person): 10 December 2026
Visible leadership. Strong operational grip. Better services for residents.
About this opportunity
Cornwall Housing manages and maintains around 10,200 council homes on behalf of Cornwall Council. On 1st October 2026, the Council announced a C2 grading following an inspection by the Regulator of Social Housing. Cornwall Housing’s services formed a significant part of that inspection, which recognised progress in resident safety, engagement and investment in homes, while identifying repairs performance as an area for continued improvement.
We are looking for a Head of Repairs & Maintenance to play a central role in this next phase: building on the progress already made, strengthening operational delivery and ensuring residents receive consistently safe, timely and responsive repairs and maintenance services.
You will lead the operational delivery of three locality-based repairs and maintenance partnerships. Your remit spans responsive and void repairs, larger planned repairs, component replacement programmes and adaptations. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, you will also help shape Cornwall Housing’s wider priorities.
This is a role for someone who can see the bigger picture while staying close to what residents, teams and contractors experience day to day. You will bring clear performance oversight, sound financial judgement and a commitment to safe, timely and customer-focused services. Just as importantly, you will build the relationships needed to make improvements stick.
You may have developed your experience in social housing, property services, maintenance, construction, large estates or another comparable environment. We are interested in your ability to lead a complex service, manage delivery partners and large budgets, and turn evidence and resident feedback into practical improvements.
This role requires someone to be based in Cornwall as you will be visiting teams, contractors, homes and sites.
Full job brief
Equal opportunities
As part of Public Leaders Appointments’ commitment to inclusive recruitment, we invite candidates to complete a short, confidential equality monitoring questionnaire. Participation is voluntary and the information is kept separate from the selection process. It is used only for anonymised reporting and to help us evaluate the reach and inclusivity of our recruitment work.
Please use code CHL-REPAIRS-26
How to Apply
If you are interested in this opportunity, we strongly encourage a confidential conversation with Public Leaders Appointments before submitting your application. This is an opportunity to explore the role, Cornwall Housing’s context and the practical expectations in more detail.
Contact Melissa Stewart, Consultant – melissa@publicleadersappointments.com
What to do next:
- Your application should consist of a CV and covering letter, each of no more than three sides of A4. Your covering letter should explain your motivation for applying and demonstrate how your skills, knowledge and experience meet the requirements of the role.
- Please also provide contact details for two professional referees who can comment authoritatively on you as a person and as an employee. Referees will not be contacted without your prior consent.
- Remember to fill in the Equal Opportunities form at the top right section of this page upon application.
- Applications should be sent to: applications@publicleadersappointments.com using the reference “CHL Repairs”.
Following consideration of applications and shortlisting, selected candidates will be invited to the final assessment process.