Operations Manager (Urban Maintenance)

Why You’ll Love Working With Us

Some of the key benefits for the position and employment at Programmed, include:

• Competitive compensation: Receive an attractive base salary aligned with your experience + $19,000 vehicle allowance.
• Make a visible impact: Lead essential services that help keep public and private infrastructure clean, safe, operational, and community-ready.
• Diverse and meaningful portfolio: Oversee major long-term contracts supporting transport networks, local government assets, and community infrastructure.
• Exclusive employee perks: Access discounts and benefits with over 600 retailers, including Coles, Woolworths, BWS, Dan Murphy’s, The Good Guys, JB Hi-Fi, BCF, SuperCheap Auto, and many more!
• Salary sacrifice benefits: Take advantage of novated vehicle leasing, income protection insurance, and other financial benefits.
• Your well-being, our priority: Strong safety culture, generous paid parental leave and access to our Employee Assistance Program, including tailored well-being initiatives designed to support you and your family.

About The Opportunity

We are seeking an experienced and commercially focused Operations Manager to lead our Urban Maintenance (UMS) team operations across a diverse portfolio of infrastructure cleaning, graffiti management, and maintenance contracts.

In this pivotal leadership role, you will be responsible for the successful management of nine long-term public and private sector contracts, delivering essential maintenance services that keep transport, civic, and community assets clean, safe, operational, and visually appealing.

You will lead a workforce of approximately 50 employees and oversee day-to-day operations across a broad range of assets, including rail infrastructure, bus shelters, park facilities, public furniture, historical buildings, signage, and streetscape infrastructure. Services include graffiti removal, cleaning, pressure washing, preventative maintenance, reactive works, minor repairs, and asset presentation management.

This is an exciting opportunity for a strong operational leader who thrives in a fast-paced environment and enjoys balancing customer relationships, people leadership, commercial performance, and service delivery excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery of multiple infrastructure maintenance and environmental services contracts, ensuring safety, quality, compliance, and customer satisfaction outcomes are consistently achieved.
• Manage the day-to-day operations of a diverse workforce, creating a high-performance culture focused on accountability, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with clients including local government authorities, transport operators, and other key stakeholders.
• Ensure all contractual KPIs and service level obligations are achieved across preventative and reactive maintenance programs.
• Oversee workforce planning, recruitment, onboarding, training, performance management, and employee engagement activities.
• Manage contract budgets, forecasting, reporting, cost control, and overall profit and loss performance across the portfolio.
• Drive a strong safety culture through visible leadership, compliance management, and proactive risk mitigation.
• Manage subcontractors, suppliers, equipment, and operational resources to ensure efficient and cost-effective service delivery.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement, operational efficiencies, service enhancements, and contract growth.
• Act as the primary escalation point for operational issues, customer concerns, and service delivery challenges.

About You

You are a people-focused operational leader who thrives in fast-paced service environments. You enjoy building strong teams, developing customer relationships, and driving outstanding service outcomes. Whether your background is in infrastructure, facilities management, maintenance, utilities, environmental services, local government, transport, construction, or another operationally focused industry, you're motivated by leading people, improving performance, and delivering results.

You will also have:

• Proven leadership experience managing operational teams within a service, maintenance, infrastructure, facilities, or similar environment.
• Demonstrated ability to build high-performing teams through effective coaching, communication, accountability, and people development.
• Strong customer relationship management skills, with the ability to build trust and deliver exceptional service outcomes.
• Experience managing operational performance and delivering against contractual commitments, KPIs, or service standards.
• Commercial acumen with exposure to budgeting, forecasting, resource planning, and financial performance management.
• The ability to effectively manage competing priorities, make sound decisions, and solve operational challenges in a dynamic environment.
• Experience supporting workforce management activities including recruitment, training, performance management, and employee engagement.
• A proactive and safety-focused approach, with a genuine commitment to fostering a culture where people can perform at their best.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to collaborate confidently across all levels of an organisation.
• A continuous improvement mindset and a passion for delivering quality outcomes for customers, employees, and the broader business.
• A valid driver's licence and willingness to travel between operational sites as required.
• Cultural alignment with our core values: Personal Safety Leadership, Care & Empathy, Customer Service, Diversity, Inclusion & Equality.

Pre-Employment Requirements

As part of our commitment to safety, quality, and client compliance requirements, the successful candidate will be required to complete:

• Pre-employment medical assessment.
• National Police Check.
• Working With Children Check (WWCC).

About Us

Programmed is a leading provider of operations and maintenance services across all industry sectors including education, health, infrastructure, manufacturing, transport and mining in Australia and New Zealand. 

Urban Maintenance (UMS), part of Programmed Property Services, is a leading provider of graffiti management, infrastructure cleaning, and maintenance services across Australia. We partner with public and private sector organisations to keep transport networks, community assets, streetscapes, and public spaces safe, clean, operational, and well-presented.

Our services span graffiti removal, asset cleansing, pressure washing, reactive maintenance, and preventative maintenance programs across a diverse range of infrastructure, including rail networks, bus shelters, parks, public furniture, signage, and civic assets.

We encourage career development, support flexibility and care about your personal wellbeing and safety. Join the Programmed team today.

Work With Us

Submit your application today and join us on our mission to build outstanding people, strong customers, and great communities.

Our Commitment

Programmed and PERSOL are committed to fostering a safe, inclusive and respectful workplace, underpinned by a culture of zero harm. We value diversity and seek to build a workforce that reflects the communities in which we operate. We welcome applications from people of all cultures, backgrounds, genders, ages, abilities, sexual orientations and life experiences. We also recognise that great candidates come from a range of life stages and circumstances and, where operationally feasible, we welcome discussions regarding flexible working arrangements, including part-time and job-share opportunities. If flexibility would support your success in this role, we encourage you to apply.