Assistant Accommodation Manager - Student Living/Halls of Residence

Job Introduction

Sodexo has an exciting development opportunity for an Assistant Accommodation Manager to be based within Northumbria University.  The focus of this role is to work collaboratively with the University and to support the Accommodation Manager with overseeing the day-to-day delivery of a range of services on-site. Your focus will be to instil a culture among staff, contractors and residents that reflect Sodexo’s values of Service Spirit, Team Spirit and Spirit of Progress whilst giving day to day support to the Accommodation Manager.  You will achieve this through utilising best in industry practices to oversee the provision of a range of hard and soft services. You will help to ensure an exceptional Front of House experience for our students whilst supporting the Senior Management Team on all aspects of contract delivery.  

You will love to be out and about covering all 5 sites and interacting as a main point of contact for staff and students, reporting back to the Accommodation Manager. No 2 days are the same in this diverse role.  

This is a great opportunity to join a world leading food and facilities management company, which can offer unrivalled opportunities for career progression. 

This role is subject to Safer Recruitment checks and the successful applicant will be required to complete a DBS.

Role Responsibility

• Responsible for ensuring effective delivery of all soft services on-site including, but not limited to, reception, mail, and administration  

• Ownership of site health and safety staff inductions engaging other colleagues to support the process.   

• Ensure correct process is followed with sub-contractors on site and all relevant risk assessments and documentation is received and approved.  

• Support the Sodexo Senior Management team by ensuring that the service provides a high level of stakeholder satisfaction  

• Lead the on-site team, providing direct line management to staff, including conducting regular team briefings, as well as 1-2-1’s.  

• Work cooperatively and maintain effective relationships with others, internally and externally to Sodexo, as appropriate to own area of responsibility  

• Services delivered in a courteous, customer focused and professional manner, maximising the customer journey experience of existing and prospective residents  

• Manage the recruitment of direct reports ensuring all RTW documents and paperwork are completed  

• Respond positively to feedback by proactively reviewing processes, procedures, and practices to ensure that the needs and expectations of all relevant stakeholders are met  

• Pro-actively lead the on-site team in the delivery of high-profile events such as Open Days and ad hoc tours ensuring we deliver an exceptional service for our client and Sodexo  

• The Accommodation Manager will be asked to contribute to lifecycle and capital works projects utilising their knowledge of the facilities available  

• Conduct regular audits of your site to ensure high standards are met consistently and any areas of improvement are highlighted and resolved efficiently  

• Deliver and develop the Residency Living program and be a true advocate of its benefit to both staff, students, and client.   

• Oversee and deliver a minimum of two QOL events each month to students and capture necessary feedback sharing with the Residency Living team   

• Promote self, team and service delivery on all relevant platforms including social media to engage with students and build key relationships  

• Ensure all staff on site are engaging with the relevant technology packages to deliver a consistent, transparent offer including but not limited to: Inventory Hive, Post Management System, and Incident Tracker  

• To manage all aspects of the teams attendance at work via the internal “Righttime System”  

• To support with the administration of payroll  

• Direct management of Assistant Accommodation Manager, supporting them in their learning and development.  

The Ideal Candidate

Essential 

• Experience of leading multi-skilled teams, preferably within the student accommodation or hospitality industry  

• Proven experience of Continued Professional Development  

• Knowledge of legislation pertaining to tenancy agreements  

• Evidence of having worked within strict H&S guidelines  

• Ability to prioritise own workload with minimal supervision and use of own initiative  

• Ability to work quickly and calmly, especially under pressure and in emergency situations  

• Experience of Data Protection, and handling sensitive issues in an appropriate manner  

• Be a team worker with a flexible approach  

• Have excellent IT skills  

• Possess good communication skills, both verbal and written, including accurate spelling and grammar and the ability to give explanations and/or instructions clearly  

• Experience of working with, and the ability to empathise with people from a diverse range of backgrounds, cultures, and religions  

• Experience of using databases, spreadsheets and other computer-based applications including Microsoft Office  

• Flexible attitude to working, including willingness to work overtime, such as unsocial hours and weekends, especially between June and September.  

Desirable  

• Evidence of delivering innovation and engaging positively with continuous change and improvement  

• Experience of working within a Total Facilities Management contract, including the delivery of hard services.  

• Demonstrable experience of working within an ANUK accredited environment  

• IOSH or NEBOSH qualifications  

• Experience of working with specialist systems such as IBM Global Maximo CAFM system  

• Experience of working within a Hospitality environment such as Hotels, Events Management or within other appropriate Hospitality service provider environments 

Package Description

£25,000 + great benefits 

Location: Claude Gibb Hall, Newcastle Upon Tyne 

Permanent  

Work Pattern – 40 hrs pw 09.00 to 17.30 Monday to Friday flexibility essential 

We also offer Sodexo Discounts site promoting discounted mobile phone tariffs, savings across restaurant chains and days out, where you and your family can save money on everything from your weekly food shop to the latest cinema blockbuster and much more! 

About the Company

In the UK and Ireland, Sodexo employs some 36,000 employees to deliver integrated facilities management services to clients at over 2,000 locations in the energy, corporate, healthcare, education, leisure, defence and justice sectors. With an annual turnover of over £1bn, we provide everything from catering, cleaning and reception to security, laboratory and grounds maintenance services, enabling our clients to focus on their core business.

At Sodexo we are committed to a leading role in promoting equality opportunities and valuing diversity and inclusion. We seek to create a work environment based on mutual respect for all individuals, building a culture that appreciates and values the experiences and skills brought by each person to benefit our organisation and work hard to ensure that all people, whatever their race, colour, sex, gender identity  disability, nationality, national or ethnic origin, religion or belief, marital/partnership or family status, sexual orientation, age, social class, educational background, employment status, working pattern, are welcome to and included within our organisation. 

We’re a Disability Confident Leader employer. We’re committed to changing attitudes towards disability, and making sure disabled people have the chance to fulfil their aspirations.

We are building on our support to the Armed Forces community through the development of specific pathways within our recruitment process to  support ex-forces personnel and reservists, those applying for jobs with us who meet the ideal candidate criteria for the role advertised are guaranteed to progress to the selection process.