Principal Corporate Property Surveyor

Your role will be to help the efficient and effective management of property interests, and central to that will be the opportunity to use your skills and experience to protect the interests of the Defra group as an owner and occupier of property. The Corporate Property function is both a supervisory and transactional business which combines in-house knowledge and experience with out-sourced market expertise. You will be involved with and be expected to advise organisations within the Defra Group on the property matters impacting their business area, as well as helping a Group wide estate transformation programme through the delivery of a property transactions and disposals.The primary purpose of a Principal Corporate Property Surveyor role is to provide technical leadership, provide clear consistent and reasoned advice on property matters to all parts of the Defra Group as required; commission, manage and assure professional services and facilitate and help the delivery of strategy designed to make workplaces more efficient and to minimise costs. A value-added service, the post holder will be technical skilled and possess the professional knowledge, skills and experience required to manage the property portfolio and deliver commercial transactions that provide value for money.The post holder may also provide advice to help the delivery of the Strategic Workplace and Property Plan, Capital Investment plan, disposals and acquisitions as well as advising on ownership issues linked with the delivery of FMR (forward maintenance for asset management). This role will work closely with each team within group property to provide specialist strategic asset management advice, give recommendations and inform decision making to ensure the operational estates is operationally effective, sustainable and efficient. The Corporate Property Surveyors may also be required to mentor, coach and challenge colleagues in order to build wider capability overtime. High quality, clear outputs will be a key deliverable for the Principle Corporate Property Surveyor role.You will:Provide professional property advice across the diverse property portfolio to a broad spectrum of government bodies each with its own business objectives; matrix managing differing priorities to ensure outcomes consistent with Defra Group objectives: interest management (legal interest on freehold, leasehold, MOTOs (inter-government leases), disposals and acquisitions; advising on lease compliance; interpreting legal ownership information, titles and leases; and interpreting government policy and strategy in the context of Defra Groups aims and objectives.Through the commissioning, management and assurance of outsourced property service provider, or directly where appropriate, provide advice and guidance on such activities as rent reviews, lease renewal, landlord/tenant queries, recharging, property acquisition and disposal and land law;Provide environmental & sustainability advice relevant to commercial property and commercial property transactions (including policy development & consultation across departments, input into project specifications and compliance issues across the estate). For example the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards;Provide specialist advice/or produce papers for briefing submissions and official correspondence (complex Parliamentary Questions, Freedom of Information, National Audit Office (NAO), Internal Audit (IA), public enquiries);Contribute advice/ input into inform Defra Group Workplace Strategy to keep pace with Government Estates Strategy;Measure, performance against KPIs (key performance indicators) for contracted property advice, taking immediate remedial action where there is failure to achieve standards, widely applying lessons learnt where positive performance is achieved and undertaking deep dive into KPI data to identify trends that can drive and enhance performance for customer benefit;Contribute to Defra Group workplace planning to define portfolio changes and to develop future strategy implementation, having regard to sustainability, safety and other professional property advice;Provide joined up management: Accountable for working within a team and across Defra Group Property to ensure join-up of activities, priorities and shaping strategic thinkingPersonally and through the team, develop and implement improvement and innovation to working practices, processes and systems across Defra Group, driving consistency and best practice, developing a model to do things once and right in a way that customers recognise and appreciate.Use management information to develop an exceptional knowledge of delivery, portfolio and team across Network Estates using data to drive up performance.