General Manager - CoLiving

PMR are seeking a General Manager to lead our client's flagship CoLiving building in North West London, opening Q2 2022. You will be responsible for the day to day management of the onsite team and ensuring that there is a thriving community within the building. You will be integral to the mobilisation period through: detailed product and service specification, marketing & sales strategy, furnishing and preparation of the building, recruiting and training the operations team, engaging with the local community and partners.

We are looking for a General Manager that can deliver on our client's brand pillars;

• HOME: we want people to feel at home as soon as they walk through the door.
• CONVENIENCE: We've designed an experience to make members lives easier so they can focus on what matters.
• CREATIVITY: We want our members to be inspired in our spaces.
• COMMUNITY: We want members to feel part of something bigger than themselves.
• INDIVIDUALITY: Our members are unique in their own way and our buildings should reflect their differing needs/ personalities.
• IMPACT: We're passionate about net zero carbon, biodiversity net gain, circular economy and social value principles.

We are looking for a General Manager with the following qualities:

• Experience as a leader customer facing roles essential, ideally from hospitality, retail, student accommodation, build to rent or residential sectors
• Warm and welcoming personality, passionate about community (inside and outside of the building).
• Great communication skills with strong commercial development focus
• Competent with Microsoft Office, can write well and is capable in learning new systems.
• Passionate about process development, management and seeing tasks through to their conclusion.
• Highly self-motivated and ambitious in achieving goals

Key Accountabilities:

People Management

• Able to identify and recruit the best people with the right skills for the team.
• Organise both initial and refresher training with their team as required.
• Conduct regular 1-2-1 and appraisals , ensuring clear, concise and achievable targets are set.
• Manage employees in line with policy and ensure each team member has a proactive improvement or development plan.

Building Management

• Compile management information reports for presentation to senior management.
• Conduct regular visual inspections of the property both internally and externally to identify areas for improvement and/or repairs needed
• Manage in house maintenance and external contractors to deliver timely repairs
• Ensure Building Systems are operational and testing is completed in line with statutory requirements
• Assist with the renewal of maintenance contracts and sourcing of new contractors.
• Ensure all H&S issues are investigated, taking appropriate action as necessary.

Marketing & Lettings

• Work closely with marketing colleagues to develop and implement a strategy to let the building.
• Set the tone for upbeat and informative tours being provided across the building by your onsite team.
• Regularly review marketing material to ensure compliance with brand standards, relevance and up-to date content.
• Deliver a best-in-class onboarding and check-in process for new residents
• Actively manage enquiries through the in house CRM system
• Drive new and relevant content across internal and external social channels including the Resident App

Community Engagement & Satisfaction

• Deliver best-in-class service to ensure resident satisfaction and retention.
• Coordinate branded programme of events led by HQ team, whilst also encouraging residents to run their own events.
• Maintain systems with up to date customer feedback and personal preferences.
• Review results of annual customer satisfaction survey and develop an action plan to produce year on year improvements.
• Connect with local charities through the Community Investment Programme and encourage residents to get involved and volunteer
• Establish and continually review customer proposition via offers, partnerships for residents etc.
• Ensure the app is maintained with events and information for residents.
• Promote community engagement amongst residents with similar interests, backgrounds or connections.

Budget Control

• Responsibility for all operational aspects of the annual budget setting process, ensuring costs provide an accurate forecast of expenditure.
• Accountable for maintaining expenditure in line with the approved Monthly review of expenditure against budget, ensuring commentary is provided for significant variances.
• Liaison with internal accounts team for processing of invoices, production of P&L and general account
• Responsible for driving efficiency of spend across the business and for highlighting areas where evolving operations require additional spend to meet customer and colleague expectation.

Letting Management and Rental Collection

• Qualify and keep up to date with statutory English letting requirements
• Collection of rents on time, using approved methods.
• Liaison with third party debt collection agents for recovery action on non-payments.
• Maximise non-core income and investigate and propose additional income