Asset Surveyor (London & South East)

Position summary

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is one of the governments largest public service departments with a sizeable annual budget, serving over 20 million citizens.

The estate spans 1.4 million square metres across 800+ sites and supports around 78,000 colleagues.

Our vision includes DWP colleagues, supply chain, partners and, most fundamentally, the customers the Department exists to serve. They are the reason for our existence.

We are responsible for the day-to-day operation of our vast Estate by managing a private sector supply chain that delivers essential services such as Security Guarding, Maintenance, Property and Leasehold Management, Construction, Cleaning and Facilities Management.

DWP Estates is not just about maintaining buildings - its about transformation. Our strategic goals include:

• Transitioning to a smaller, more affordable, and adaptable estate to meet future needs
• Investing in infrastructure through planned replacement works
• Embedding sustainability in line with Government Greening Commitments (GGCs)
• Delivering cost-effective services while maintaining high standards
• Creating a professional, best-in-class working culture across the Government Property profession

Our Estates strategy ambitions have been refreshed to take us through to 2030:

• OPTIMISE: Continue to transition to a more affordable and adaptable DWP estate that creates productive environments
• INVEST: Investment in an improved environment that better meets the needs of customers and colleagues and minimises service disruption
• SUPPORT the drive for sustainability throughout DWP
• DELIVER: Expertly deliver improving, cost-effective services for DWP
• THRIVE: Continue to develop a working culture for DWP Estates that is best in class across government

There is no better time to join the award winning DWP Estates team.

Supporting the Lead Asset Surveyor and Investment Planning Lead your role will include the delivery of the Life Cycle Works (LCW) strategy, maintenance of the asset condition data, providing lifecycle planning, and providing technical support to operational and projects delivery teams, across a defined geographical region covering circa 100+ sites. The role will include management responsibility for technical review of reactive and remedial works orders, and support to the application and alignment to ISO 55001 with the aim of optimising the asset portfolio for DWP employees, customers and other stakeholders whilst at the same time maintaining the critical requirement of asset compliance.

You will play a key role in our departments goal of improving the estate to provide a safer, more productive environment for staff and customers, whilst reducing the Departments carbon footprint. You will support the delivery of the Departments asset strategy commitments, working closely with the Service Delivery team and the national Facilities Management (FM) supply chain to optimise asset performance.

Important - This role involves extensive travel, a full UK motor car driving licence is therefore required. The successful applicant will have access to the provision of a fully funded hire car (including fuel costs) for site visits. Visits must be planned in blocks to enable best value for money.

Where your own car is used then it must be insured for business use (proof will be required). Currently the mileage rates when using your own vehicle are those published by HMRC (first 10,000 miles 0.55 pence per mile over this limit the rate drops to 0.25 pence per mile. Rates subject to change.

** The successful candidate will cover the whole of London & the South East. You can be based in any location with available space within these regions ONLY **

Key accountabilities

• Support the Lead Asset Surveyor and Investment Planning Lead (LCW/Surveying) in the delivery of the Asset Management Strategy for the Estates property portfolio.
• Maintains knowledge and understanding of all building fabric and M&E assets and asset condition, through interaction operational estates functions and surveys and site visits.
• Shadow third party surveyors conducting asset collection surveys across the estate to ensure defined protocols for surveying are being followed.
• Review and validate third party asset validation reports and provide technical feedback including submitting asset change requests where applicable.
• Provide technical assurance on maintenance Work Order system, reviewing proposals for maintenance / upgrading works and providing technical advice where applicable.
• Provide Quality Assurance reviews of survey data.
• Provide technical review of Forward Maintenance Register.
• Review contractors proposals for compliance with DWP Design Standards.
• Collaborates with colleagues in the Asset Management team to identify poor performing assets, repeat failures and obsolete assets for review/inclusion in the LCW planning process.
• Maintains asset condition data and LCW maintenance register Demand Plan by undertaking periodic condition surveys across a geographical area of responsibility containing circa 100+ sites.
• Undertakes prioritisation of LCW Demand in accordance with predetermined criticality, performance and condition criteria.
• Contributes to the development of the LCW pipeline plan, understanding limitations of budget, portfolio strategy, and delivery capacity.
• Develop project scopes and total budget costs for inclusion in the LCW planning process.
• Supports the DWP Projects Delivery Team in the delivery of the LCW programme, with internal Client responsibility for delivery of LCW projects within geographical region.
• Fosters a one team culture of quality and continuous improvement across the extended organisation to include the Integrator and supplier partners, on a day to day as well as strategic basis.
• Supports the management of assets and development of asset strategies, within a large portfolio, in support of achieving defined Sustainability and Net Zero Carbon objective.
• Supporting DWP occupation by performing surveying duties as required.
• Supports and deputises for the Lead Surveyor and Investment Planning Lead as required.

Essential Skills, Knowledge & Experience

• Significant experience of asset condition surveying within a large commercial property portfolio.
• Extensive and detailed technical knowledge of building pathology and asset lifecycle management within diverse range of portfolios (Corporate, multi occupied, public facing)
• Has surveyed and planned lifecycle work programs on large property portfolios.
• Up to date knowledge of the legislation, best practice and industry standards in relation to providing a safe, sustainable and compliant Estate.
• In depth knowledge of building asset types, their significance on legal compliance and improvements needed to support the Departments commitment to Net Zero Carbon and Greening Government Commitments.
• Understanding of end-to-end commercial construction project delivery process.
• Commercial awareness and astuteness connected with contractual obligations and interpretation with supply chain partners.
• Extensive experience of defining project scopes, estimating project costs, asset surveying and the use of CIBSE asset condition classifications.
• Ability to analyse significant amounts of data produced by computer aided facilities management systems supporting a large portfolio and identify opportunities or risk for the department.
• Strong project management skills and persuasive in identifying key areas of work required.
• Experienced of working with multiple stakeholders across a multi-site estate.
• Ability to travel frequently to perform site visits and surveying duties across geographical region, including overnight stays where appropriate.

Qualifications/professional memberships

Desirable

• Degree qualified with a core competency in either Building Surveying or Building Services and will be expected to have a good knowledge of the complimentary asset management requirements of each discipline.
• MRICS, CIBSE or similar or working towards certification