Regional Estates Operations Manager North East & Cumbria

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.

This role will manage the Estates customer and supply chain 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.

** Location - The successful candidate can be based in any location with available space in Cumbria or the North East 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

• High level management of the supply chain, able to support negotiations and management or escalation of issues, engage in key decision making that has strategic consequences. Attend key supplier governance meetings as Regional lead utilizing management information to drive service delivery and performance.
• Ensure that supply chain members deliver against relevant SLAs (e.g. H&S, compliance, operational etc.), escalating any failures against SLAs with the Supply Chain Management and Category Management team as required. Review of management information to identify improvement opportunities and trends.
• Using Regional knowledge and insight, provide relevant information and advice to support Subject Matter Experts in Estates to meet the needs of the Customer, relating to strategic planning, compliance and policy to support positive customer service.
• Ensures that all services support operational strategies, policies and procedures in line with operational, compliance and H&S requirements. Ensure portfolio is well managed and maintained across designated region, in partnership with the Supplier Partners. Ensure plans and activities in your area of work reflect wider strategic priorities and are well communicated with senior leaders.
• Influential in leading key stakeholders towards Commercial solutions that give a balance of optimal commercial performance whilst delivering on business strategy.
• Drive innovation and service, process improvements across the portfolio (e.g. review of proactive and predictive maintenance opportunities and processes to ensure fit for purpose).
• Maximize the functionality and productivity of direct reports, ensuring that they provide effective oversight of the supply chain through service delivery activities (e.g. undertaking audits, identifying H&S and compliance issues, checking risk assessments, review of work orders, assisting service issue resolution), deploying and utilizing subject matter expertise within the team to drive improvements at either site, regional or national level.
• Regional lead role with regards to project planning, delivery and hand over across portfolio, working in partnership with Project Managers, actively building and maintaining a network of colleagues and contacts to achieve progress on shared objectives to meet the customer needs.
• Ensure through direct reports that the project approval process is supported from an operational perspective, working closely with DWP Projects team. Effectively manage the Operational Delivery Team to ensure coordination of supplier partners during project delivery, mobilisation hand over for seamless transition to BAU.
• Ensure, through liaison with SMEs, that there is an incident management process across designated portfolio and that there are appropriate procedures and processes in place to ensure remedial action. Effectively manage the Operational Delivery Team and the supplier partners to respond to crisis and incidents. Engage senior stakeholders as appropriate.
• Be aware of allocated annual budgets and manage Estate portfolio within budget envelope, when making decisions be aware of impacts against financial forecasts and escalate as appropriate.
• Support the embedded Cost Management team in validating and auditing estimates, application for payments and invoices where applicable.
• Review and approve costs within Delegated Financial Authority, seeking savings and value for money at all times, ensure that Financial Accounting rules are being adhered to across the team, obtaining support from DWP Estates Cost Management team for respective service lines.
• Senior escalation point for issues and complaints raised across the region and troubleshoot significant operations/service delivery issues, working in conjunction with the supply chain and escalating any resulting poor performance.
• Provides Senior Regional stakeholder liaison, working closely with business and supply chain to deliver a high quality, efficient and cost effective service by considering a broad range of methods for delivery, exploring innovation and identifying service improvements through feedback from the wider team and through data insights.

Essential Skills, Knowledge & Experience

• Solid experience within a property profession discipline
• Experience of building condition and performance, and related contract and clause management
• Interpretation and analysis of data to inform decision making
• Understanding and complying with Real Estate and related Statutory, Regulatory and Professional requirements
• Experienced in all levels of customer relationship management and stakeholder liaison
• Strong Commercial experience gained within a Property, Facilities Management or similar complex function within a large, matrix organisation
• Strong exposure to a wide range of CAPEX related projects and activities from design phase onwards, applying good commercial principles to multi-site CAPEX works delivery
• Influential in leading key stakeholders towards Commercial solutions that give a balance of optimal commercial performance whilst delivering on business strategy
• High level management of key suppliers, able to support negotiations, management or escalation issues, and engage in key decision making that has strategic consequences

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