Sydney, NSW
Full Time: $100,000 – $ 120,000 per year + superannuation
About the Business
Urban Rest is a high-growth flexible living operator and technology platform disrupting the serviced apartment and corporate housing space across APAC and Europe. The business focus is on owning the distribution layer for the contracted travel market into living assets, while delivering a consistent brand and guest journey through technology. Urban Rest also offers physical asset operation services that enable branded accommodation assets such as hotels to be managed with greater efficiency and distributed to contracted clients such as enterprise, government, insurance and SME clients. We provide the digital infrastructure and services that connect institutional living-sector assets and the contracted travel market at scale. Our mission is to make flexible living seamless.
Benefits and Perks
- Employee, friends and family discounts at at Urban Rest properties
- Mental Health Leave days and Volunteer days available
- Regular team socials and events
- As the company grows, this role will provide plenty of room for career growth and progression
- We’re a social bunch and we strive to have a fun, friendly, and collaborative work environment
- Pet friendly (for house-trained and well-behaved pets) office in Surry Hills, close to public transport
About the Role
We are looking for a Facilities & Assets Manager to own the physical condition of our Australian portfolio. That covers preventative maintenance, quality inspections, statutory compliance and the trades who deliver the work. You will report to the Director of Operations and partner closely with our Operations Managers in every market. Today, our facilities effort is mostly reactive. We often find out about a problem at the same time a guest does. This role exists to change that. It is a new space in the business, so you will be shaping how it works rather than inheriting a playbook, and there is real scope to influence how we operate as we scale. We want someone with a strategic mindset who can build the foundations (an asset register, a planned maintenance calendar, a national inspection standard) and then run them well, while staying close enough to the properties to pick up the tools when that is the fastest way to a good outcome.
Responsibilities
Preventive Maintenance Program
- Maintain the national asset register
- Record all serviceable assets, including HVAC, hot water, appliances, access hardware, smoke alarms, window furnishings and key soft furnishings
- Capture age, condition rating, service history and expected replacement date against each asset
- Assume responsibility for and manage the national planned maintenance calendar
- Schedule servicing of HVAC and split systems, filter changes, hot water, plumbing, appliances, drainage and pest control
- Schedule access hardware and battery replacement cycles
- Ensure maintenance is scheduled by asset and due date rather than in response to guest-reported faults
- Manage asset lifecycle and capital replacement forecasting
- Identify assets approaching end of life prior to failure
- Maintain a rolling replacement and refurbishment plan to support annual budgeting
- Establish, monitor and improve the ratio of planned to reactive work orders as the primary measure of program maturity
- Maintain data integrity within Salesforce
- Asset records, work order types, planned maintenance schedules, and priority and SLA settings
- Close-out notes and supporting photographic evidence
- Analyse recurring defects to identify and address root causes rather than repeat symptoms
Quality Inspections & Standards
- Develop and maintain the national property inspection standard
- Implement Urban Rest condition requirements room by room and asset by asset, in partnership with Urban Rest leadership
- Manage the national inspection schedule
- Ensure full portfolio coverage to an agreed cadence
- Conduct inspections personally across all markets
- Triage all inspection findings and assign a responsible owner and completion date to each
- Categorise as immediate rectification, scheduled works, planned capital works, or landlord obligation
- Report nationally on inspection pass rates and defect trends
- Correlate findings with guest feedback, including NPS, reviews and complaint themes
- Ensure all defects are verified with supporting evidence prior to being closed
- Manage pre-handover inspections for new properties
- Complete condition inspections, defect lists, asset capture and planned maintenance set-up prior to first guest arrival
- Work collaboratively with the Onboarding and Projects teams to ensure a seamless operational asset handover
Compliance, Safety & Risk
- Maintain the facilities compliance register and calendar, with all obligations tracked against due dates
- Essential safety measures and annual statements
- Fire equipment and smoke alarm testing and certification
- Electrical test and tag, and RCD testing
- Backflow prevention, water systems and plant where applicable
- Verify contractor credentials prior to site attendance, including licences, insurances, SWMS and inductions
- Manage facilities-related WH&S obligations
- Hazard identification, reporting and incident follow-up
- Safe storage of tools, equipment and chemicals across warehouse and caddy areas
- Equipment condition, testing and tagging
- Identify and escalate risks to management promptly and with clear recommendations
Contractor, Vendor & Cost Management
- Establish and manage a national panel of trade contractors across all markets
- Plumbing, electrical, HVAC, locksmith, handyman, glazing and pest control
- Agreed rate cards, response SLAs and quality expectations
- Onboard and induct all contractors in accordance with Urban Rest standards
- Review contractor performance against SLA and quality data, and replace contractors who do not meet required standards
- Track and report on facilities cost per unit under management and cost per work order
Landlord & Building Partnerships
- Manage the facilities relationship with landlords, building managers, owners corporations and property managers
- Maintain a working knowledge of lease and management agreement obligations, and clearly determine Urban Rest’s responsibilities versus those of the landlord
- Represent Urban Rest on building-related matters
- Defects, works notices, common property, access and after-hours works
- Act as the escalation point for Operations Managers on building-level facilities issues
Partnering with Operations
- Act as the facilities partner to Operations Managers in each market, taking ownership of issues raised through to resolution
- Develop standard operating procedures, guides and training for first-line maintenance
- Build capability across Operations Managers, Coordinators and field staff rather than centralising all works within the role
- Partner with Supply Chain and Procurement on parts, spares and critical inventory par levels to avoid delays to works
- Undertake hands-on maintenance where this is the most efficient path to resolution
- Work with operations leadership to maintain clear accountabilities and defined responsibilities as the operating structure matures
What We Look For
Essential
- Minimum 4 years’ experience in facilities management, building services or property maintenance across a multi-site portfolio
- Demonstrated experience developing and managing a preventative maintenance program, including asset registers and planned maintenance schedules
- Sound working knowledge of building services, including electrical, plumbing, HVAC, hot water and access control systems
- Demonstrated ability to scope works, assess quotations and verify completed works against agreed standards
- Working knowledge of Australian compliance obligations relevant to residential and accommodation assets, including essential safety measures, fire services, electrical test and tag and water systems
- Sound understanding of WH&S obligations in a contractor environment, including SWMS, site inductions and contractor credential verification
- Proven experience managing external contractors and suppliers, including rate negotiation, SLA management and performance review
- Demonstrated experience managing and controlling maintenance costs
- Experience conducting property or asset inspections and reporting on findings
- Strong analytical and reporting skills, with the ability to present operational data to senior management
- Well-developed written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to build effective relationships with internal teams, contractors, landlords and building managers
- Demonstrated ability to work autonomously, prioritise competing demands and meet deadlines across multiple locations
- Current Australian driver’s licence and willingness to drive a company vehicle
- Willingness to travel interstate as required, with flexibility during peak operational periods
Desirable
- Relevant trade qualification, or a tertiary or vocational qualification in facilities management, property or building services
- Experience in hospitality, serviced apartments, build-to-rent, student accommodation or multi-family residential
- Working knowledge of lease and building management agreement obligations
- Experience developing standard operating procedures and delivering training to operational teams
- Experience establishing a new function or operating model within a growing business
- High attention to detail combined with strong commercial judgement
Diversity & Inclusion
At Urban Rest, we extend our invitation to candidates from Indigenous, neurodiverse, disabled, international and diverse cultural backgrounds. Our commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace ensures that all applicants receive the necessary support and accommodations throughout the recruitment and onboarding process. We encourage candidates from various backgrounds to apply, as we value diversity and believe in creating an environment where everyone can succeed. Please let us know if you require any additional adjustments or support to help you through this process so you can shine as the best version of yourself.
How to Apply
Please submit your application through the link on this website by including an up-to-date resume with relevant skills and experience, alongside a cover letter addressing how you meet the criteria and your interest in the role.
If you want to learn more about our company please see our website – https://www.stayurbanrest.com
We look forward to hearing from you!
