Director of Operations

About The Role

It doesn't matter what your background is. If you care about the people we support and have the skills and experience to deliver operational excellence, this could be the next move for you.

Right There has spent 200 years making sure that fewer people in Scotland end up homeless and fewer families fall apart. Last year alone, almost 4,000 people got the support they needed to stay in their homes and stay close to the people they love. We are a charity with a clear, urgent mission. We need you to help us turn property into purpose.

This role exists to make sure the property, infrastructure and enterprise behind that mission are working as hard as they can and are growing. It is a brand-new seat on our Leadership Team, and it is a rare one.

It is complex, stretching, and the stakes are real. These are people's homes. But it is also rewarding, challenging and, in the way that only work with meaning can be, genuinely good fun.

Your role

The first job is to make sure everyone - the Leadership Team, the Board, your colleagues across programmes and central functions - can see clearly what is going on with our properties. At the moment, that picture is not clear enough. Then you'll look at how we commercialise our assets, which at the moment looks like our brilliant skilled tradespeople and the furniture we are donated. There will be more, and we need you to find opportunities.

• Getting the data right. You will build the systems, KPIs and reporting so we have a proper picture of the portfolio - every property, its status, and a clear RAG rating. You will know the numbers: how many properties, what state they are in, what maintenance is outstanding, and what things are actually costing us.
• Getting a handle on costs. You will bring real clarity on where we are financially exposed - what an empty property actually costs, what our turnaround times are, where reactive spend is leaking. Then you will do something about it.
• Being our point of knowledge on property. You will be the person everyone turns to on acquisition, maintenance and compliance. You will combine the theory of procurement with the practical reality of getting things done - turning decisions into delivered outcomes.
• Connecting property to the people we support. You will map what we have against what our services need across our local authority areas, so the right spaces support the right programmes.
• Growing what we have. Once the foundations are right, you will develop Furnish Forward - our furniture reuse shop - and build a longer-term case for trading our skills and services commercially. But that comes after visibility and control, not instead of them.

What you bring

Maybe this is the pinnacle of a career spent in property, estates, facilities or operations, and you want it to count for something. Or maybe it's your change of direction: you might be searching for a more meaningful path after years in commerce. Either way, you'll recognise yourself here.

• You're commercial and creative - you spot opportunities and you make them pay.
• You love detail and data, and you turn a concept into a delivered result.
• You take responsibility, solve problems, and bring people with you.
• You've led change - perhaps you did a lot of it through the Covid years.
• And you genuinely care about social change - about homelessness, and about people getting a fair chance at a safe home.

Our offer

Salary up to £79,665 per annum. Based in Glasgow with agile working (around three days a week in the office). Full time and permanent, on our Leadership Team, reporting to the Chief Executive. You'll get 30 days' leave rising to 40 days in year two, the People's Pension, and a wide range of wellbeing and lifestyle benefits.

If this sounds like the kind of challenge you've been waiting for, we'd love to hear from you.

About Us

We are a charity that recently celebrated 200 years of standing alongside people in Scotland. Last year we supported almost 4,000 people to stay in their homes and stay connected to the people they love. This role exists to make sure the homes, buildings and enterprise behind that work are safe, sustainable and ready for the future - and to grow new income that lets us do even more.