General Manager

Overview

Who Are We

At aparto, we're more than just student accommodation, we're a community that acts as a home-away-from-home for students across the UK, Ireland, Italy, and Spain. We understand that university life is a significant transition for many, often marking the first time they've lived away from their families. That's why we strive to make aparto not just a place to stay, but a vibrant, supportive environment where students can make lifelong friends, discover new possibilities, and have experiences that will shape their futures.

Responsibilities

Role Profile

The General Manager has overall responsibility for the operational and commercial performance of their property. They lead the property team to deliver a safe, welcoming and high-performing community while ensuring the asset achieves its financial, leasing, customer experience and operational objectives.

The General Manager is accountable for the day-to-day operation of the property, including people leadership, resident experience, leasing, financial performance, health and safety, compliance, facilities and property standards. Working closely with Operations and central functions, they will deliver the property's Business Plan and continually identify opportunities to improve performance.

The General Manager is the leader and ambassador for aparto at property level, creating a culture where our teams deliver on our values of Service, Belonging and Community.

Operational Leadership

• Take overall responsibility for the day-to-day operational and commercial performance of the property.

• Ensure the property consistently operates in line with aparto standards, policies, procedures and agreed KPIs.

• Lead daily operations across reception, customer service, maintenance, housekeeping, security and other property services.

• Use performance data and operational insight to identify issues, opportunities and actions to continuously improve the property.

• Ensure accurate property information and operational data is maintained across aparto systems.

• Act as the primary operational escalation point for the property and participate in out-of-hours arrangements as required.

• Own property performance against aparto operational and brand standards, ensuring audits are completed, required standards are achieved and improvement actions are delivered within agreed timescales.

• Ensure effective out-of-hours coverage is in place and participate in the on-call rota, providing leadership and escalation support for operational emergencies and significant incidents.

Commercial Performance

• Take responsibility for the property's financial performance, including P&L management, budgeting, forecasting and cost control.

• Deliver occupancy and revenue targets, working closely with Operations, Sales, Marketing and Asset Management.

• Monitor leasing performance, conversion, renewals and rebookers and take proactive action where performance is behind plan.

• Manage operating expenditure effectively, ensuring value for money while protecting resident experience and property standards.

• Oversee rent collection, arrears and bad debt, working with Finance and escalating risks appropriately.

• Identify and deliver opportunities to grow ancillary and non-academic income, including summer business.

• Understand the local market, competitor pricing and university landscape and use this insight to support commercial decisions.

Resident Experience

• Champion an exceptional resident experience from enquiry and move-in through to move-out.
• Create a welcoming, inclusive community aligned with aparto's values of Service, Belonging and Community.
• Monitor resident feedback, reviews, NPS and service performance and use insights to drive improvement.
• Ensure resident enquiries, complaints and escalations are managed promptly, professionally and within agreed service standards.
• Lead the delivery of resident events, wellbeing initiatives and community engagement.
• Build appropriate relationships with parents, universities and other partners to support the resident experience.

Property & Facilities Management

• Ensure the property is consistently safe, clean, well maintained and presented to a high standard.

• Ensure planned preventative and reactive maintenance is effectively managed and delivered within agreed standards and timescales.

• Manage and monitor maintenance teams, contractors and suppliers as applicable, ensuring service quality, compliance and value for money.

• Conduct regular property inspections and ensure identified issues are resolved within agreed timescales.

• Manage contractor and supplier performance at property level, ensuring service quality and value for money.

• Lead property readiness for key operational periods, including summer turnaround and student move-in.

• Support refurbishments, lifecycle works and capital projects as required.

Health, Safety & Compliance

• Ensure the property complies with all applicable legislation, statutory requirements, aparto policies and operational standards.

• Take ownership of health and safety at property level, ensuring a proactive safety culture is embedded across the team.

• Ensure statutory testing, inspections, audits, risk assessments and required training are completed and accurately recorded.

• Ensure incidents, accidents and near misses are reported, investigated and managed in accordance with aparto procedures.

• Track and close actions arising from audits, inspections and risk assessments within agreed timescales.

• Ensure the team understands its individual responsibilities for maintaining a safe environment for residents, colleagues and visitors.

Team Management & Culture

• Lead, coach and develop the property team, creating a high-performance and highly engaged culture.

• Set clear expectations and ensure individuals understand their contribution to property and business objectives.

• Lead recruitment, onboarding, performance management and development of the property team.

• Conduct regular 1:1s and performance reviews and actively support succession and talent development.

• Ensure appropriate staffing levels and working patterns are in place to meet operational and customer requirements.

• Ensure mandatory training is completed and HR policies and processes are consistently followed.

• Recognise strong performance and create an environment where colleagues are encouraged to contribute ideas and continuously improve.

Sales, Marketing & Stakeholder Relationships

• Create a strong sales culture across the property, ensuring every appropriate opportunity is converted.

• Support property tours, open days, accommodation fairs and other sales activity as required.

• Work with Marketing to ensure property information, marketing collateral and digital content are accurate and support the property's commercial objectives.

• Develop strong relationships with universities, local partners, suppliers and other key stakeholders.

• Represent aparto professionally within the local market and actively enhance the property's reputation.

Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Prepare and review regular operational, financial, leasing and customer performance reporting.

• Ensure reporting is accurate, timely and supported by appropriate action plans where performance is below target.

• Identify opportunities to improve processes, service delivery, efficiency and financial performance.

• Implement business initiatives and new processes effectively at property level.

• Share feedback and best practice with the wider aparto Operations team.

Qualifications

Person Specification

• Proven experience managing a property or operation within student accommodation, hospitality, residential, hotels or another service-led environment.

• Strong operational leadership experience with responsibility for delivering high standards across multiple service areas.

• Strong commercial and financial acumen, with experience managing budgets, controlling costs and delivering revenue and profitability targets.

• Demonstrable experience leading, coaching and developing high-performing teams.

• Strong understanding of health and safety, compliance and risk management within a property-based environment.

• Customer-focused with a proven ability to deliver excellent service and resolve complex or sensitive issues.

• Commercially minded with an understanding of sales, leasing and local market dynamics.

• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to build effective relationships with universities, partners, contractors and internal teams.

• Confident using operational systems and data to understand performance and make informed decisions.

• Highly organised, adaptable and solutions-focused, with the ability to prioritise effectively in a fast-paced environment.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Willingness to work flexibly and participate in out-of-hours arrangements where required.

Closing

At Hines, we strive for excellence as a leading global real estate investment manager, driven by our by our belief that real estate is fundamentally about people. Our diverse portfolio spans $93.2 billion¹ of assets across such property types as living, office, retail, mixed-use, logistics and life science projects – all designed to enhance value, connection and inspiration. Our strategic approach integrates local expertise with global knowledge, taking calculated risks aligned with our convictions to exceed expectations and tailor solutions to our clients' needs.

While our projects are renowned for enhancing cities and pioneering sustainable practices, we recognize that the true driving force behind Hines' success is our 5,000 dedicated employees in 30 countries who draw on our 65-year history to build the world forward. This is why we prioritize investing in our people, offering comprehensive training, competitive compensation, robust benefits and generous vacation packages. By centering our focus on the growth and wellbeing of our team, we cultivate an inclusive environment where everyone, including our clients, can thrive.

Hines is proud to be named to Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2024. ¹Includes both the global Hines organization and RIA AUM as of December 31, 2023.

We are an equal opportunity employer and support workforce diversity.

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