Join our mission to provide exceptional services to our residents
Picture this: it's 1919, the aftermath of the First World War, and railway workers are returning home, seeking shelter and solace. Born out of the noble Homes for Heroes campaign, the North Eastern Railway Cottage Homes and Benefit Fund sprang to life with an initial donation of £10,000 and the enthusiastic weekly contributions from 7,000 dedicated railway workers. But that's not all – the North Eastern Railway matched members' contributions and provided invaluable free services like accountancy, architecture, and surveying. The result? The first homes for railway heroes emerged in 1921, dotting the landscape of South Gosforth, York and Darlington.
Fast forward through the years, and Railway Housing Association has evolved into an organisation that’s rightly proud of its history. Registered with the Charity Commission in 1962 and as a housing association in 1976, we now proudly own and manage 1,620 homes across 20 local authority areas. Our footprint echoes the historic routes of the North Eastern Railway, stretching from Northumberland, Newcastle, Gateshead, County Durham, Darlington, York, Hull, East Riding, Doncaster, Leeds to Hereford, touching the lives of countless individuals and families along the way. While it's true that today's residents don't need to be railway workers, our heritage remains a vital part of our identity. We take immense pride in our history and the profound impact of providing high quality, affordable housing to all who call our properties home.
£42,000 plus essential car payment of £1,095 per annum
Permanent contract
Full time (35 hours per week)
Hybrid with Office Base in Darlington
We are really excited by our future and we’re on a journey to transform our resident experience and deliver a new approach to asset management and resident engagement. This role is crucial to our mission and you’ll have a fantastic opportunity to drive real improvements for our residents.
We’re looking for an enthusiastic Contract Manager to join Team Railway to play a key role in the delivery of planned maintenance and compliance works across our homes. You’ll be responsible for specifying, monitoring and managing capital works programmes, including component replacement of kitchens, bathrooms, heating systems, windows, doors, roofing and other component replacements. In addition, you’ll lead the delivery of compliance-related upgrades and improvement projects, with a particular focus on fire safety. You’ll make sure that all of our planned maintenance and improvements works meet all legislative and regulatory requirements.
You will have a fantastic opportunity to work to maintain historic homes originally designed and built to provide shelter for railway workers returning from the First World War. Whilst our first purpose-built homes were built in the early 1920s, some of our buildings date back to the mid-1800s and have been transformed from their previous lives as working railway buildings into modern homes. You’ll be entrusted with the privilege of preserving and maintaining their legacy whilst ensuring that we meet resident expectations for contemporary living.
You’ll be based at our office in Westpark Village, Darlington along with some home working and regular travel across our operating area. You’ll be working with us for 35 hours a week and we’re flexible to make sure we can provide the best service to our residents.
If you’re interested in joining our team and our mission to deliver exceptional services to residents, please send in your CV and a covering letter letting us know why you’re interested in joining us to recruitment@railwayha.co.uk by Sunday 6th July 2025.
If you’d like to have a chat about the role, please email recruitment@railwayha.co.uk and one of our colleagues will be in touch.
The full pack and role description are available here
We are excited to hear from you!
My RHA