Estates Operations Manager (Yorkshire & Humber)

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.

This role will support as the Estates customer interface in the Regional Area, working closely with local stakeholders and customers to ensure high quality day to day delivery of services. It will support a One Team approach of high quality customer care and strong stakeholder management, through a supplier partner environment, building the reputation of Estates as an effective enabler to the wider business and its customers. This role will manage c. 50 properties within designated region.

** Location - Leeds or Sheffield preferred but any location with space in Y&H considered ONLY **

Government Property Profession Career Framework (Link)

This role sits within the following:

• Job Family Workplace & FM
• Core Role Facilities Management
• Level Practitioner

Key accountabilities

• Day to day management of all building issues within the geographical area of responsibility.
• Establish professional relationships with a range of stakeholders to ensure an effective day to day customer interface, ensuring a quality service delivery and issue resolution.
• Operational oversight of all service delivery by Estates and their supplier partner network, investing time to develop a common focus and genuine positive team spirit to keep the whole teams efforts focused on the top priorities.
• Establish ways to find and respond to feedback from customers about the services provided, encouraging a joined up team work within own team and across the wider supplier partner network to resolve and maintain professional excellence.
• Manages and develop a clear strategy which provides a smooth handover from construction to operation and establish the handover procedures from projects into BAU, working with key stakeholders to set priorities, objectives and timescales.
• Attendance at appropriate onsite meetings to broaden knowledge of the portfolio requirements, feeding knowledge or information into relevant Estates area as required to support customer insights eg. Demand/churn requests.
• Liaise with OGD and wider Estates departments to resolve any building services related operational issues.
• Contribute to the development and delivery of the estate strategy plan, making sound recommendations on behalf of individual projects to select the best value for money solutions for the delivery services on behalf of stakeholders and customers.
• Act as an escalation point for any issues, working with supplier partners to resolve and rectify as appropriate, in a timely manner.
• Manage DWPs Health & Safety, legislative and policy obligations and requirements taking resolution action on areas of non-compliance, remaining alert to emerging issues and trends which might impact your work area.
• Support nominated programme leads and ensure the delivery of building programmes/projects on time and budget, considering the impacts of own and teams activities on stakeholders and end users.
• Ensures that services are developed with strategies, policies and procedures in line with the operational requirements to ensure well managed and well maintained portfolio/hubs, in partnership with the Integrator Supplier Partner.
• Contributing to and approval of development and changes to operating processes in partnership with the Integrator supplier.
• Provide commercial assurance and support with challenge and advice to the relevant Estates colleagues by acting as a liaison point to ensure approval/steers are received relating to buildings within the portfolio.
• Oversee supplier performances to assure full compliance with standards established, in support of the Performance & Audit Team.

Essential Skills, Knowledge & Experience

• Experienced within a property profession discipline.
• Commercial experience gained within the Property/FM division of a complex, matrix organisation
• Understanding of building condition and performance, and related contract and clause management
• Management of external suppliers/contractors who deliver a wide range of project activities, from design phase onward
• Experience and understanding and knowledge of health & safety provision
• High level management of key suppliers in supporting negotiations, managing/escalating issues, and engaging in key decision making with strategic consequences
• Interpretation and analysis of data to inform decision making
• Understanding and complying with Real Estate and related Statutory, Regulatory and Professional requirements

Qualifications/professional memberships

Desirable

• Working towards AssocRICS with a preference if already held, or
• Working towards IWFM (Levels 4-5) with a preference if already held