We're hiring!

Role: Construction Project Manager (Householder Service)

Salary range: £32,000 - £38,000 (Full time)

Hours per week: Full time (37.5 hours per week) but we are open to part time (0.6FTE minimum)

Location: Manchester office, with some home working available

Deadline: 23 June 2025

To apply: Please send a CV and covering letter outlining your experiences to imogen@retrofit.coop

We are open to an informal chat prior to application. Please email us at imogen@retrofit.coop if you would like to learn more about the role.

People Powered Retrofit is a growing social enterprise based in Manchester that operates an end-to-end retrofit service for ‘able to pay’, private householders across the North West of England. Appointed by clients, we develop domestic retrofit projects, offering advice, surveys, retrofit plans and a range of design-based services to progress projects all supported by our Home Retrofit Planner software platform. We engage in supply chain development and support householder procurement, we don’t deliver projects under government schemes such as ECO and we don’t operate as contractors.

This is a construction project management role operating within a private domestic project setting. . Working with householder clients, you will be operating as part of a small, integrated Retrofit Householder Services Team, alongside assessors, advisors and designers. You will be overseeing and coordinating projects across the client journey including retrofit planning, design and support services.

You will identify appropriate approaches and service pathways in response to client and project needs. You will manage project delivery, coordinating internal resources and contributions from our team, commissioning consultants, and coordinating external resources such as contractors.

You will have a role in operationalising new services and contribute construction industry insight and on-the-ground experience to assist the organisation to iterate and develop.

This role would suit someone with a professional background in construction management, advice and delivery. For example you may have worked as a project architect, building surveyor, engineer, construction manager, architectural technologist or Retrofit Coordinator. It is essential that you have hands-on experience of working within residential construction, preferably at a domestic scale. You should have a strong understanding of the industry, including the statutory approvals required and health and safety considerations in residential refurbishment.We do not expect you to be an expert in retrofit - though you should also have an evidenced interest and might hold a Retrofit Coordinator qualification or be working towards one.

You will be a skilled communicator, able to understand client needs and bring parties together to solve problems. You will have demonstrated experience of organising workloads, and managing the disparate and complex parts of a project to keep it progressing. You’ll have a great eye for detail and will be able to draw on your experiences within the construction industry to identify potential barriers and how to achieve the best outcome for our clients.

This is an excellent role for someone who has worked in construction and wants to further develop their experience of retrofit. We offer flexible working and are open to the role being part time (0.6 FTE as a minimum).

• You will have been actively involved in the delivery of residential construction projects, preferably in refurbishment and at a domestic scale. This will include on-site experience and collaboration with builders, contractors, and consultants

• You will have a working knowledge of construction processes and sequencing and understand how to interpret, review, and coordinate written and drawn technical information produced by others.

• You will share the values and aims of People Powered Retrofit, and understand that successful retrofit projects rely not only on technical excellence but also on clear communication, coordination, and the ability to support homeowners through a complex process

• You will have experience of problem solving and where necessary conflict resolution, understanding interest positions and having empathy whilst advocating for the client.

• You are likely to have a professional background in architecture, surveying, or engineering with relevant qualifications and memberships

• You may have already undertaken or are planning on undertaking Retrofit Coordinator training and you are committed to continuous learning in responsible retrofit and low carbon technologies.

• Ideally you have had experience of working as part of a small team or practice, understanding how best to organise workloads and supporting others to complete tasks.

Coordination support services

• Identification of an appropriate approach and client pathway in response to client and project needs in the context of the advice and design services we offer.

• Work with the PPR team to coordinate domestic retrofit projects from assessment to design, tender, onsite and handover. You will be responsible for client liaison and supporting them to build their project team to deliver design and construction services.

• Ability to interrogate and clearly articulate the client brief so that this is understood by the whole team and desired project outcomes and constraints are kept in sight at all times.

• Ability to interrogate survey and condition report information provided by specialists - damp, radon, structural, cavity wall etc – and identify implications for project design and delivery.

• Identification of the statutory approvals and permissions required to progress projects. Coordinating others to prepare required written and drawn information and submissions for approval.

• Using agreed processes and templates and your own expertise to ensure PPR discharges our duties as Designers/ Principal Designers under the CDM Regulations and the Building Safety Act.

• Identification of external consultants and specialist support required to progress projects - e.g. architectural design services, heritage, structural surveys, ecologists etc.

• Liaising with external designers, engineers and other specialists to support the preparation of suitable written and drawn information. Attending client and design team meetings as required.

• Participating in drawing and specification reviews of both internal and external information. Ensuring all appropriate comments are taken into account and designs are fully coordinated.

• Bringing together information packages for domestic retrofit projects for statutory approvals, pricing, and construction using information and templates prepared by others.

• Answering technical queries from contractors or clients, or directing them to the appropriate professional where necessary.

• Carrying out site inspections as part of project quality assurance, providing clear and concise written notes to record observations, reporting to the PPR team and client.

• Collating handover information for projects, or supporting the contractor to do this, to ensure the client has relevant information for operation and maintenance of their home.

• Contributing to Design Reviews carried out by People Powered Retrofit for external architects and designers where we have been commissioned to provide retrofit expertise.

Service development and improvement

• Assisting the senior management team in the ongoing design and improvement of the service, in response to our experience and policy and regulatory changes to the sector.

• Providing feedback on implementation of design elements to support the continuous improvement of our design library of retrofit specifications and drawings. Highlighting where new material is required due to site experience or changing regulations and practices.

• Liaising with manufacturers, suppliers, contractors and installers to understand the suitability of their products to inform design specifications and drawings.

• Working with our Technical Director to identify and build relationships with external consultants and contractors so that PPR continues to grow and develop our network of practitioners able to support client projects.

We work a 7.5 hour day with a degree of flexibility (core time 10-4pm) and would consider applications from candidates wishing to work part time, with 3 days a week as a reasonable minimum to fulfil the role.

Due to the collaborative nature of the role and the service we would expect at least 2 days a week to be working in our office at Bridge 5 Mill. This community canalside building is 15-20 mins walk from Piccadilly station and close to Holt Town tram stop. We have a garden, cooking facilities and a small shop on site, and share the building with other groups including other environmentally progressive cooperatives