Regional Workplace Services Manager (South)

The Government Property Agency is the largest property holder in government, with more than 2.1 billion in property assets and over 55% of the governments office estate.

We are transforming the way the Civil Service works by creating great places to work, leading the largest commercial office programme in the UK, working towards halving carbon emissions from government offices, and achieving greater value for taxpayers. And we are looking for innovative, solutions-focused people to join our team.

Representing the best covenant in the UK His Majestys Government we are leading transformational programmes such as the Government Hubs Programme, Whitehall Campus Programme and Net Zero Programme, as well as delivering modern, cost-effective real estate service solutions.

Innovation and progress are at the heart of our behaviours. We foster a culture of lifelong learning, where curiosity and self-improvement are encouraged. And were dedicated to becoming a leading, inclusive employer both in the external market and throughout the Civil Service. Our strong emphasis on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) is not just about driving inclusion across our organisation, it is also about ensuring our services meet the needs of government departments and the civil servants who use our spaces.

Join our dynamic and diverse team that leads with purpose, improving sustainability, nurturing social value, driving inclusivity and flexibility, and kickstarting economic growth. We are driven by purpose, and you can be part of it too: where you make a meaningful impact; where you influence; where your voice really matters; where you help to shape our future direction.

The GPA is committed to representing the communities we serve by making Diversity, Equality and Inclusion part of everything we do.

To ensure that we are always recruiting and retaining a diverse mix of talent, we are particularly inviting applications from candidates who are disabled, ethnically or gender diverse, and people who identify as being part of the LGBTQ+ community.

The Workplace Services Manager role leads delivery of high-quality customer services across one of four GPA operational regions (North, Central, South and London). Passionate about customer service excellence, they need to be able to inspire their teams of civil servants and delivery partners to transform and ensure the integrity of the workplace experience across their region. We are seeking to build a diverse team of senior operational leaders who combine:

• Deep workplace and facilities management experience, technically skilled but also with the stakeholder engagement and advocacy skills to help customers get the best from their workplaces and the relationships between property, technology, people policies and organisational culture
• The ability to build communities, within our buildings across client organisations, between our buildings and their places, and between multiple delivery partner organisations (commercial and non-commercial), and/or
• Excellent change management to support the transformation of our workplace services.

You will put customer service excellence at the heart of everything the team (including our delivery partners) do, and:

• Lead, organise and manage delivery of workplace services in your region across multiple suppliers, in a mix of directly managed contracts and strategic delivery partnerships with other government departments and delivery agencies, combining stakeholder engagement, supply chain management and contract management, taking national accountability for policy and service issues and developments as required
• Ensure the effective integration of new assets, services and teams as part of the ongoing GPA onboarding programme and the delivery of projects in the Hubs and Whitehall Campus programmes, and
• Lead and inspire your own teams, growing them in line with the development of new GPA business; making sure our teams have the capabilities to be able to support and encourage our customers in the adoption of smarter working and making best use of their workplaces, as well as identifying and resolving problems quickly and effectively, always keeping customers informed of progress. Team will comprise c7 FTE, building over time, overseeing services for many of the GPAs customers.

Key Responsibilities

• Budget management responsibility for the region, including forecasting, management and improvement including the approvals in line with the delegated authority matrix.

• Actively participate in and support the development and deployment of the WSD strategy
• Responsible for Supplier Management and the application of commercial toolkit where applicable to drive standards to the expected level. Develops strong relationships with service providers to develop a culture of string collaboration and customer focused delivery.
• Contributes to and embeds change programmes and the GPA, Workplace Services Strategies into the operating model
• Tender processes to ensure the GPA finds suitable contractual arrangements to support customer needs
• Responsible for ensuring effective incident management support in line with the defined processes and policies.
• Ensure that team provides close collaboration with other GPA and wider Government departments to support the needs of HMG and the GPA strategic objectives
• Responsible for ensuring that PQs and FOIs are responded to in a timely manner by providing quality information as required
• Responsible for ensuring that the correct governance and controls are in place to provide assurance over supplier performance
• Develop robust succession plans to de-risk the business for team
• Any other reasonable and authorised activity as needed from the business from time to time
• Supports wider engagement as a WSD Senior leadership representative where required
• Deputise for the WSD Deputy Director as required

Key stakeholders include: customers (anyone using one of our buildings), client organisations (government departments, arm's length bodies and others), commercial and non-commercial delivery partners, Crown Commercial Services, CPNI, regulators/inspectors, professional organisations (e.g. IWFM, RICS), other GPA teams.

You will be:

• an excellent leader and manager, with experience of building capability and driving continuous improvement, encouraging diversity and collaboration and promoting a high-performance customer service culture
• someone with the authority and gravitas to influence stakeholders at senior level (inside and outside government), maintaining support for a demanding change agenda amidst other competing pressures
• creative, innovative and adaptable, able to evolve as the Agency develops
• comfortable working in a fast paced environment, dealing with uncertainty and handling a range of challenges competently as they emerge

Experience & Technical Skills

Essential criteria:

You will be an experienced leader of workplace-related services (hard and soft FM, operational security, ICT services, hospitality, community engagement) with first class commercial acumen and the ability to get the best out of key suppliers, managing and escalating issues and engaging in key decision making with strategic consequence.

You must be able to demonstrate experience of FM procurement, mobilisation of suppliers/contracts, and transition of service between FM providers.

Desirable criteria:

Appropriate professional qualifications and memberships would be desirable, such as CIWFM/FIWFM or equivalent and APM Registration or Chartership. Applicants from other sectors with relevant transferable skills and experience - such as hospitality or events management - are also encouraged.

Qualifications and Accreditations

Essential criteria:

CIWFM or a commitment to undertake and achieve within 12 months via the IWFMs Experiential Route (funded by the GPA).

Desirable criteria:

FIWFM

APM Registration or Chartership

Asbestos Management