Chief Operating Officer

Candidate information

HorizonOne is partnering with Community Housing Canberra (CHC) to recruit their Chief Operating Officer who will play a crucial role within their leadership team.

This is an opportunity to join the premier affordable and social housing provider and make a real difference within the community by enabling more Canberrans to live in quality homes.

If you are experienced in community housing and looking to be part of an exciting period of growth, this could be the role you are looking for.

About Community Housing Canberra

CHC is an award-winning, Tier-1 registered community housing provider.

Over the past 25 years, they have delivered innovative, market-leading homes and programs, including the development of over 1000 new residential dwellings. CHC currently provides homes to over 2000 people throughout the Capital region.

CHC offers a range of services that help enable strong, diverse, and thriving communities. These include tenancy management, property management, client services, community development and affordable home ownership.

Uniquely structured, CHC is a registered not-for-profit, an accredited provider of specialist disability accommodation and a registered real estate agency with licenses to operate in ACT and NSW through their HomeGround Real Estate Canberra brand.

Recent projects

The opportunity

This is an opportunity to work closely with the Chief Executive Officer to steer Community Housing Canberra through a significant period of growth.

CHC has a strong pipeline of development and acquisition projects with secured government funding, offering you a rare chance to step in and lead the company’s operations to achieve the goals outlined in the recently delivered FY24-28 Strategic Plan.

The level and scale of these projects are among the biggest in the business, providing a platform to elevate your leadership acumen to new heights.

By joining CHC, you’ll be a part of, and contribute to the growth of the largest not-for-profit community housing provider in the ACT.

Highlights

Work closely with a down-to-earth and personable CEO and robust board

Be at the front line of addressing the housing crisis in the Capital region

Assimilate into a diverse not-for-profit business structure

Make a real impact in this C-suite opportunity

Be part of a passionate team invested in the company’s purpose and mission

The role

As the Chief Operating Officer (COO), you will lead the core operations of community housing service delivery as the sector expert for CHC. Unlike a typical COO position, the traditional corporate functions of the organisation (Finance, HR, IT) are not included in this role.

Reporting to and collaborating with the CEO and working as a key member of the Executive Team, you will lead the Operations function, comprising tenancy management, property management, community development, and marketing teams.

You will provide operational input relating to design and through-life-support considerations into new CHC property developments.

Engaging with a broad range of stakeholders, you will represent the organisation to regulators, government agencies, peak bodies and service delivery partners.

Your key duties and responsibilities will include:

Leadership & Operations Management

Support the achievement of CHC’s vision through effective management and leadership practices that attract and retain high quality staff

Manage performance and develop employee capability in a supportive and collaborative team– based environment

Ensure the long-term sustainability of the organisation by contributing to the development and implementation of the Strategic Plan, service delivery and relevant risk management plans

Ensure the Operation’s area (including HomeGround Real Estate Canberra) meets its corporate governance and regulatory obligations through timely and accurate reporting to the Board, funding and regulatory bodies, while maintaining adherence to relevant laws and regulations

Ensuring that safety and risk frameworks are implemented and maintained throughout the Operations area

Contribute to the core functions of the CHC Senior Leadership Team, including a commitment to driving innovation, change, and continuous improvement strategies

Support the financial viability of the operations by embedding a culture of value for money, effective contract management, and ensuring adherence to the Assets and Tenancy budgets

Tenancy Management

Develop and implement customer-focused tenant engagement strategies and services to meet the evolving needs of the customer base and ensuring equal access to housing and support services for all customer groups

Support the organisation to provide sustainable and cohesive communities by developing and implementing a community development (tenant engagement) strategy that addresses vulnerable clients while raising staff awareness and building partnerships with other agencies

Asset Management

Ensure the delivery of quality homes that meet CHC’s customers’ needs by developing and ensuring adherence to the Strategic Asset Management Plan and responsive and cyclical maintenance programs

Drive the growth of housing and services provided by CHC by working closely with the Head of Development to grow the Asset base

Salary and benefits

As the Chief Operating Officer, you will be offered a competitive salary plus superannuation, PBI and parking at CHC’s office located 10 minutes from Canberra’s CBD in Bruce.

The right person

We are looking for an accomplished COO that is passionate about the Canberra community. You will likely currently be working in, or have a background in the social or community housing sector and have proven substantial senior leadership experience within the sector. You will understand tenancy and property management and have experience managing multi-disciplinary teams.

Characteristics

You will have:

Well-developed leadership skills and ability to manage, lead and train staff

Demonstrated experience in identifying key stakeholders and establishing effective relationships and rapport at all levels

Strong problem-solving and negotiation skills

Sensitivity to the needs of clients from highly diverse backgrounds, with a flexible worldview and emotional maturity

Effective written and verbal communication skills with the ability to share specialist knowledge and technical skills

Professional Background

You will be a COO with demonstrated business acumen and financial management with sound commercial awareness

Ideally, you will:

Hold a class 1 real estate licence, or a willingness to secure once in the role

Have experience in the facilities and maintenance side of community housing

In addition, you will:

Be willing to undertake a fit and proper person assessment that includes a Police Records check

Have, or be willing to obtain a Working With Vulnerable Person clearance

Recruitment process

Your application will be reviewed by Andy Batstone, General Manager of Recruitment and Oliver Hall, Recruitment Consultant at HorizonOne.

If found suitable for the next stage of the process, you will be invited to attend an interview with Andy. A reference check will also be completed at this stage.

The second round of interviews will be with Andrew Hannan, CEO and the CHC Executive Team.

We anticipate the meetings with CHC to take place in early September, on site in Bruce, ACT. Currently it is expected to be a one or maximum two stage interview process with CHC.

A second reference check will take place prior to an offer being made.

Andy Batstone
General Manager
HorizonOne Recruitment

02 6108 4878
andy@horizonone.com.au

Oliver Hall
Recruitment Consultant
HorizonOne Recruitment

02 6108 4878
oliver@horizonone.com.au

Apply

Applications for this role are now closed.

Please reach out to Andy or Oliver if you’re interested in similar opportunities.

HorizonOne is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce and we encourage applications from people of all cultures, capabilities and backgrounds.

Contact

Andy Batstone
General Manager – Recruitment
HorizonOne Recruitment

02 6108 4878
andy@horizonone.com.au

Oliver Hall
Recruitment Consultant
HorizonOne Recruitment

02 6108 4878
oliver@horizonone.com.au

02 6108 4878

29 Torrens Street, Braddon ACT 2612
horizonone.com.au

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