Planner/Works Programmer

Annual salary: up to £28,186.33

Planner

Location: Dover

Contract: Full Time, Permanent

Salary: £28,186.33

Hours: 42.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday

Mears is one of the UK's leading providers of housing repairs, maintenance, and regeneration services. We are committed to delivering excellent customer service, supporting our communities, and creating a great place to work.

About the role:

We are looking for an experienced Planner to join our Repairs & Maintenance team in Dover. In this role, you will be responsible for coordinating and scheduling responsive repairs and maintenance works, ensuring appointments are planned efficiently and completed within agreed timescales. You will work closely with operational teams, contractors and residents to manage workloads, maximise operative productivity and help deliver a reliable, customer-focused repairs service.

Duties:

• Plan and schedule responsive repairs, maintenance works and follow-on appointments efficiently.
• Allocate jobs to operatives and subcontractors, taking into account trade, location, availability and priority.
• Manage operative diaries and daily workloads to maximise productivity and minimise travel time and missed appointments.
• Monitor outstanding, overdue and follow-on works, ensuring jobs are progressed through to completion.
• Prioritise emergency and urgent repairs in line with service requirements and target timescales.
• Liaise closely with Supervisors, Managers, Administrators, operatives and contractors to coordinate works effectively.
• Maintain regular communication with residents regarding appointments, changes and progress, providing a professional and customer-focused service.
• Ensure job management and scheduling systems are kept accurate and up to date with appointment, operative and works information.
• Identify scheduling issues, resource gaps, access problems or delays and escalate where required.
• Coordinate multi-trade and follow-on works to support first-time completion and minimise repeat visits.
• Reallocate and rearrange appointments where required due to cancellations, emergencies or changes in operative availability.
• Maintain accurate records and documentation to support reporting, compliance and audit requirements.
• Monitor performance against repairs and maintenance service targets, highlighting potential delays or areas of concern.
• Work collaboratively with the wider Dover team to improve planning processes, productivity and the overall resident experience.
• Ensure all activities are carried out in line with company policies and Health & Safety requirements

Role Criteria

• Previous experience in a Planner, Scheduler or similar role within social housing, repairs and maintenance, or a similar environment.
• Good understanding of responsive repairs and maintenance operations, ideally within a social housing environment.
• Experience scheduling multi-trade operatives using job management, workforce scheduling and appointment booking systems.
• Ability to effectively plan and prioritise workloads, including emergency, urgent and routine repairs.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple appointments, operative diaries and changing priorities.
• Ability to allocate work effectively, considering operative trade, availability, location and job priority.
• Excellent communication and customer service skills, with the ability to communicate professionally with residents, operatives and internal teams.
• Confident using ICT systems and maintaining accurate job, appointment and works information.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced repairs environment, ensuring appointments and works are progressed within agreed timescales.
• A proactive and flexible approach, with the ability to identify scheduling issues and respond quickly to changes in workload or resources.

Benefits

• Company Sick Pay
• Life Assurance (2x annual salary)
• 5% employee and 3% employer pension contribution with People pension
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Family friendly policies including enhanced maternity (14 weeks full pay, 12 weeks half pay and 13 weeks statutory pay), paternity (2 weeks full pay) and adoption leave
• Employee Assistance Programme - free confidential support and counselling available
• Mears Rewards offering discounts and cashback at leading retailers including travel, household items and shopping
• Annual Mears Fun Day - Our annual Fun Day is organised as a massive thank you from the Executive team for all the hard work!
• Volunteering leave – up to two days per year to support community initiatives
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Share save scheme
• Recognition and long service awards
• Buy up to 5 days holiday each year depending on length of service
• Learning and development opportunities
• Career progression opportunities across Mears Group
• Occupational health support
• Green car scheme with Tusker after successful probation period
• Be part of an inclusive workplace with access to a range of colleague networks and support groups focused on diversity, wellbeing and career development. From Disability, Pride (LGBTQ+) and Ethnic Diversity networks to Women in Leadership, the Women Operative Support Group, Women's Health, Men's Mental Health and Armed Forces communities, these groups provide opportunities for support, connection and professional development across our diverse workforce.

All roles require candidates to have the right to work in the UK. Mears does not currently offer visa sponsorship.

Please note that all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory Background, Identity and Security checks.

Apply below or to discuss your application further; contact:

Francesca Swan ([email protected])

If you need any help with your application process, we are here to support you. We will be accessible every step of the way.

At Mears Group, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive, we are a Disability Confident employer, valuing individuality and ensuring equal opportunities for all.

We proudly support the Armed Forces Covenant and are honoured to have achieved the Gold Award in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) to coincide with this, we hold an Endorser Award for the Career Transition Partnership, recognising our commitment to veterans transitioning into civilian careers.

In our continued effort to promote social mobility, we invite applicants to voluntarily share their background information during the application stages to help us better understand the diverse experiences of our candidates. This is to ensure we are committed to improving social mobility. We use the Social Mobility Index to assess and enhance opportunities for individuals from diverse backgrounds. These questions are optional and will not impact your ability to apply.