Planner / Works Programmer
Location: Hybrid / Office Based
Contract: Full Time, Permanent, 42.5 hours per week
Salary: £31,000 per annum plus company benefits
We are looking for an organised and customer-focused Planner / Works Programmer to join our team. This is an excellent opportunity for someone with strong administrative and scheduling skills who enjoys working in a fast-paced environment, coordinating works and delivering excellent service to residents and subcontractors.
In this role, you will be responsible for planning and programming works, liaising with residents and subcontractors, managing communications, handling enquiries and complaints, and ensuring jobs are scheduled and issued effectively. You will work across multiple systems and spreadsheets, helping to keep operations running smoothly while ensuring a high standard of customer service.
Mears Group is a leading provider of housing and care services within the UK. We are committed to making a positive difference to the communities we serve by providing excellent services, creating opportunities for our people, and delivering quality outcomes for our customers.
About the Role:
- As a Planner / Works Programmer, you will support the delivery of roofing and scaffolding works through effective planning, scheduling and communication with customers, operatives and subcontractors.
- Speaking with residents and subcontractors by telephone
- Managing emails and customer correspondence
- Handling customer enquiries and complaints professionally
- Using MCM and MSPS systems
- Maintaining and updating spreadsheets and records
- Issuing jobs to subcontractors
- Supporting roofing and scaffolding work programmes
- Preparing and issuing notification letters
- Prioritising workload to meet business demands
- Work collaboratively with supervisors, operatives, other departments and subcontractors to ensure a seamless service.
- Monitor and update repair jobs daily, including appointments, follow-on works, and overdue tasks.
- Communicate clearly and professionally with residents, operatives, and stakeholders to keep everyone informed.
- Maintain accurate records, data, and documentation to ensure compliance.
- Provide general administrative support to the rest of the projects team when required.
Key Criteria:
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Good knowledge of Microsoft Office packages, including Excel
- Excellent organisational skills
- Ability to prioritise and manage a busy workload
- Planning or scheduling experience
- Social housing experience
- Strong attention to detail
- Team player with a positive and professional approach
- Experience in the above role with similar or the same duties
- Experience working in a fast-paced, pressurised environment
- Excellent time management, organisational, and communication skills
- A customer-first approach with the ability to handle challenging situations
- Knowledge of repairs and maintenance processes
Benefits:
- Family friendly policy to include enhanced maternity/paternity leave and much more.
- Generous Pension Scheme
- Sick Pay
- Refer a friend scheme (total award £1000)
- Share saver scheme
- Eye test vouchers
- Employee Assistance Programme (Access to Free counselling service)
- Wellbeing service (Access to trained mental health & wellbeing advisors)
- Mears Annual Family Fun Day for you and your family to places like Blair Drummond Safari Park, M&Ds Theme park, fully paid for including lunch
- Mears Rewards - A performance recognition platform whereby you can be rewarded in high street vouchers
- Volunteering Leave - Mears supports employees to undertake volunteering in the community, in support of our social value commitment
- Excellent training and development opportunities and 25 days holiday entitlement along with bank holidays.
All our roles require candidates to have the entitlement to work within the UK, Mears does not currently offer visa sponsorship.
To drive a Mears vehicle, you must be aged over 21 have held your licence over 3 months and have less than 9 points.
Candidates should be aware that all our roles are subject to relevant Background, Identity & Security checks before commencement of employment.
Apply below or to discuss your application further; contact:
Laura Bourne ([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.
Skills Required
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Good knowledge of Microsoft Office, including Excel
- Excellent organisational skills
- Ability to prioritise and manage a busy workload
- Planning or scheduling experience
- Social housing experience
- Strong attention to detail
- Team player with a positive and professional approach
- Experience in a similar planner/works programmer role
- Experience working in a fast-paced, pressurised environment
- Customer-first approach and ability to handle challenging situations
- Knowledge of repairs and maintenance processes
- Use of MCM and MSPS systems
- Maintaining and updating spreadsheets and records
- Subject to Background, Identity & Security checks before employment
- Entitlement to work in the UK (no visa sponsorship offered)
- To drive a Mears vehicle: over 21, licence held over 3 months, fewer than 9 points (if driving required)
Mears Group Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Mears Group and has not been reviewed or approved by Mears Group.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — 25 days’ holiday with the option to buy additional days, plus paid volunteering time, signal a comparatively generous time-off offering. Flexible working available in many roles further supports practical time-off and balance.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Retail discounts, Cycle to Work, an employee assistance line, volunteering days, and company family events add tangible non-cash value. Access to training and UK‑recognised qualifications reinforces the broader wellbeing and development offering.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — A stated commitment to pay at or above the Real Living Wage and the publication of pay-related reports indicate governance and baseline fairness focus. Independent snapshots also suggest many roles meet living‑wage thresholds.
Mears Group Insights
What We Do
Mears Group is a market-leading housing and care company that provides bespoke services to our clients. We provide and manage 11,000 homes for local and central Government and are also responsible for keeping 750,000 of all social housing in the UK in good repair. Mears has 6,500 employees and a footprint across the country
