Maintenance and Compliance Manager

Location: Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal
Employment Type: Full-time

About the Role

A residential estate management organisation in Umhlanga is seeking an experienced Maintenance and Compliance Manager to oversee the maintenance, condition, safety and compliance of estate infrastructure and common property.

The successful candidate will be responsible for planned maintenance, technical inspections, contractor management, building and design compliance, maintenance projects, occupational health and safety coordination, and technical reporting.

This role requires practical technical judgement, strong contractor-management skills, sound commercial awareness and the ability to identify risks, maintain accurate records and escalate matters requiring specialist professional input.

Key Responsibilities

Infrastructure and Asset Management

• Maintain an accurate asset register and condition records for roads, stormwater systems, retaining structures, boundary walls, gates, lighting, electrical systems, water and irrigation infrastructure, common buildings, landscaping and technical security equipment.

• Develop and maintain preventative maintenance schedules, inspection plans, lifecycle forecasts and maintenance budget inputs.

• Record defects, risk priorities, corrective actions, costs, completion evidence and warranty information.

• Arrange specialist professional investigations where structural, geotechnical, electrical, fire or other technical expertise is required.

Maintenance and Project Coordination

• Inspect reported defects, assess urgency and develop or obtain clear scopes of work.

• Obtain and compare contractor quotations and submit evidence-based recommendations.

• Coordinate authorised maintenance and capital projects, including programmes, site access, safety documentation, resident communication and quality checks.

• Manage snagging, completion records, close-out documentation and warranty tracking.

• Verify completed work against the approved scope before technical sign-off is submitted for payment processing.

Building and Design Compliance

• Administer building and alteration applications in accordance with the estate's governing documents, conduct rules, design code and approved procedures.

• Verify that required estate and municipal approvals are in place.

• Conduct and document site handovers, inspections, non-compliance notices and close-out inspections.

• Maintain photographs, approvals, correspondence and professional certificates to support compliance decisions and potential appeals.

• Apply estate requirements consistently and maintain accurate enforcement records.

Contractor and Service-Provider Management

• Verify contractor credentials, relevant statutory documentation, insurance, COIDA good standing, competence and references, as applicable.

• Ensure that approved scopes, pricing, programmes and written health-and-safety arrangements are in place before work begins.

• Monitor contractor performance against agreed requirements and service levels.

• Maintain inspection, instruction, variation, non-performance and completion records.

• Escalate repeated contractor failures and unauthorised work or expenditure.

Health, Safety and Environmental Compliance

• Maintain assigned compliance calendars, risk assessments, incident records, statutory inspection schedules and contractor safety files.

• Coordinate fire inspections, emergency-readiness checks and corrective actions.

• Monitor landscaping, irrigation, water use, waste practices and relevant environmental obligations.

• Support appropriate occupational health and safety arrangements and statutory compliance.

• Immediately escalate imminent danger, material safety breaches and work requiring a competent registered professional.

Security Infrastructure

• Monitor the maintenance and availability of gates, access control, CCTV, perimeter detection, lighting and related technical systems.

• Coordinate with security providers and specialist contractors to resolve technical faults.

• Maintain fault, service, incident and warranty records and report recurring failures.

Budgeting, Procurement and Reporting

• Prepare maintenance, compliance and capital expenditure budget inputs.

• Compare quotations and assess scope, exclusions, warranties, professional fees and lifecycle costs.

• Monitor approved expenditure and project commitments.

• Provide regular reports on asset condition, inspections, outstanding defects, projects, contractor performance, compliance deadlines, incidents, warranties and emerging risks.

Minimum Requirements

• A relevant diploma or degree in Facilities Management, Construction Management, Building Science, Engineering Technology, Property Maintenance, Occupational Health and Safety or a related technical field; alternatively, substantial directly comparable experience demonstrating technical competence.

• At least five years of relevant experience in facilities, construction, maintenance, building control or infrastructure management.

• Demonstrated ability to inspect work, identify defects, assess scopes, compare quotations and supervise contractors.

• Experience maintaining auditable completion records, technical documentation and warranty information.

• Working knowledge of occupational health and safety, contractor control, planned maintenance and applicable building approval processes.

• Competence with maintenance-management systems, spreadsheets, document management, photographic records and reporting tools.

• Strong written and verbal English communication skills and practical numeracy.

• Valid driver's licence and ability to respond to authorised emergencies outside ordinary working hours.

Advantageous Experience and Qualifications

• Experience managing infrastructure or common property within a residential estate, property portfolio or similarly complex environment.

• Exposure to residential-estate design codes, municipal approvals, stormwater, roads, retaining structures, electrical systems, security infrastructure, landscaping or irrigation.

• Experience with planned maintenance systems, asset registers, lifecycle planning, contractor scorecards and capital projects.

• Relevant technical, trade, construction, facilities-management, project-management or OHS qualifications.

• Relevant SACPCMP, ECSA, SAFMA or comparable professional registration, where appropriate to the candidate's discipline.

• OHS-related training or certification, such as SAMTRAC or comparable recognised training.

Key Competencies

• Practical technical judgement and defect assessment.

• Strong planning, prioritisation and problem-solving skills.

• Effective contractor and project management.

• Commercial awareness and cost comparison.

• Safety leadership and risk identification.

• Impartial compliance enforcement.

• High integrity and independence from supplier influence.

• Accurate technical reporting and recordkeeping.

• Clear communication with non-technical stakeholders.

Important Information

This is a full-time technical management position. The successful candidate must be prepared to attend to authorised operational emergencies outside ordinary working hours and understand when issues require escalation to registered engineers, architects, health-and-safety professionals or other appropriately qualified specialists.

Candidates should submit a comprehensive CV outlining relevant technical experience, qualifications, infrastructure or maintenance projects managed, and contractor-management experience.