Job Description

Job description

“Please note that unless you are currently employed by the civil service and are earning more than the minimum shown above, if successful you will be offered the minimum for the grade depending on your location.”

MoJ Property Directorate Role Profile

Position: Head of Property Operations

Location: Yorkshire and the Humber and North East

Band: Grade 6

Contract Type: Permanent

Overview

The MoJ Property Directorate is a customer focused organisation that exists to enable our customers to perform to their very best.  We do this by providing high quality, easy to use services, and working environments that our customers want to work in, which support them to deliver their individual outputs efficiently.  Our job is to manage one of the most diverse and complex estates in Government – hosted by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).  This role aligns with the Property Profession and brings together a property portfolio including Prisons, Probation, and MoJ HQ and Arms Length Bodies.  We also provide property services on behalf of the Home Office.

MoJ Property provides specialist services including facilities management, health and safety, fire safety and security, technical design expertise, and sustainability.  We also have business management teams who support the entire Directorate and each of our partners is supported by account management teams.  We are responsible for a great deal - our portfolio consists of properties valued at £8.5bn for the MoJ alone.  We are part of the Government Property Profession (GPP) and through active membership and engagement we will work with the Office of Government Property to develop the maturity of the profession and also encourage our people to join the GPP. We continue to build our capability through training and recruitment, aspiring to be the best that we can be as individuals and as a directorate.

We continue to deliver new ways of working across our portfolio – leading on the scale and pace of activity for central government – proposing ways to achieve, and then providing more dynamic and flexible workspace, while driving down the cost of the estate.

Team Overview

This is an exciting opportunity to work in a high performing, customer service focussed Property Services Team within the MoJ Property Directorate. This award-winning Property Services Team provides hard and soft services through an integrated supply chain model and is responsible for project management, contract management and technical and health & safety services to the Property Directorate property portfolio.  The breadth of services and diversity of the property portfolio ensure the working day is filled with new challenges and interesting Property Services service delivery activities.

The Head of Property Operations sits within the Operational Property Services team.  This role covers the MoJ Cluster (primarily Probation) and Prisons account however the portfolio to be managed and the account focus can change in line with operational requirements. The potential for cross account working provides excellent personal development opportunities.  

The post holder will work to the Director of Property Services (Prisons, Probation, Home Office, MoJ HQ, Judges Lodgings, Corporate H&S) and supports the MoJ at corporate level.

This role covers Yorkshire and North East, however the post holder will be expected to travel to sites throughout other regions across the UK and to HQ at 102 Petty France, as required.

Job Description, Duties and Responsibilities

The Head of Property Operations is the senior management lead for the account. They are accountable for:

• Delivering in line with departmental and Government estate strategies (including the Strategic Asset Management Plan and Government Estate Strategy) while ensuring that operational, project and customer management services are provided efficiently and effectively.
• Management and maintenance of various complex stakeholder relationships, issue resolution, operational compliance oversight and service delivery strategic alignment.
• Playing a key leadership role and overseeing their account team. They provide operational support by acting as a senior point of escalation as well as driving personal and professional development.
• The Head of Property Operations is accountable for the budget for their account and report directly to the Property Services Director.

Responsibilities will include the following:

Service Management: Oversee all contracts within the account and provide strategic leadership to ensure that services are delivered efficiently and effectively

• Ensure that all services support operational strategies, policies and procedures in line with operational requirements to manage the delivery of services, payments and the audit regime
• Ensure that FM risk management strategies are in place and outputs are actioned accordingly
• Monitor performance across all contracts and liaise with integrator, facilities management supply chain and other MoJ Property teams to understand issues and make improvements
• Facilitate the coordination of priorities from varying stakeholders to gain a better understanding of the landscape surrounding plans and activities
• Act as a senior point of escalation for all service delivery issues within the team, including requests for additional spend, elective new works and changes to scope or specification, managing to resolution
• Satisfy legislative and statutory requirements through Health and Safety, business resilience and the provision of fit for purpose accommodation to meet customer needs
• Ensure that fire risk assessment procedures and are in place and are followed
• Attend monthly management meetings and facilitate and lead on the presentation of MI reporting to customers to ensure that the audit, assurance and validation of service delivery are undertaken and that outputs are managed accordingly

Customer Management: Develop and maintain strong relationships with customers at senior management level

• Act as the client’s senior point of contact and attend client governance meetings
• Co-ordinate plans and activities to reflect the wider strategic priorities and needs of the clients
• Act as a senior point of escalation for all supplier issues and complaints within the team and manage to resolution
• Develop and implement tools to effectively capture, utilise and share innovative ideas and improvements from customers to ensure better service delivery and increased customer satisfaction

Supplier Management: Co-ordinate the strategic management of suppliers and take accountability for ensuring that they are performing in line with business targets

• Develop strong relationships with suppliers & support the team with supplier relationship management
• Be accountable for engaging with the supply chain to ensure that contracts provide satisfactory delivery and drive value for money in accordance with business targets
• Understand, scrutinise and monitor supplier performance, facilitating performance meetings and co-ordinating strategic management plans to improve performance where necessary
• Act as a senior point of escalation for all supplier issues within the team and manage to resolution
• Oversee service level governance of suppliers
• Encourage, recognise and share innovative ideas and improvements from both suppliers and other stakeholders

People & Resource Management: Act as a key member of the Property Services Operational leadership team & as the Senior financial authoriser for the account

• Line manage Regional Property Operations Managers within your team, coordinating development plans and monitoring progress
• Independently monitor your progress and work towards fulfilling objectives within your own development plan
• Lead and develop the teams' outputs, training and reviews to ensure that all members are fully equipped with the relevant skills & behaviours to discharge their role
• Take accountability for the budget for the account as the Senior Financial Authoriser on the account
• Coordinate the development of and ensure the implementation of governance procedures for procuring and authorising spend to ensure appropriate value for money and contract delivery
• Oversee the development of business planning or business case development within the account

Wider Initiatives: Support & represent the Property Service team in initiatives beyond your day-to-day responsibilities

• Work with other key members of the operational Leadership team to influence the strategic priorities of the Property Directorate
• Ensure that plans and activities across Property Services reflect the wider strategic priorities of the Property Directorate and that the team understand their role in this process
• Drive and support the delivery of government soft landings and programmes
• Drive the professionalisation of Property Services across central government and represent the Directorate within the Government Property Profession
• Promote diversity, inclusion and equality of opportunity as priorities within your team
• Play an active role in staff D&I networks and events, supporting your team to do so as well
• Encourage involvement in and actively participate in client unit, estates directorate, wider MoJ and industry networks to share best-practice

Skills and Experience

You should be an experienced Senior Property Services/Facilities Management professional, ideally with experience across property disciplines and be able to demonstrate compliance with statutory, regulatory and professional requirements in previous roles.

Essential

You should have significant experience in:

• Strategically leading a customer facing FM team.
• Financial management, managing a delegated budget and forecasting.
• People management including mentoring, motivating and development of high performing teams
• High-level management of key suppliers, particularly with handling escalated issues and risks and engaging in key decision-making
• Managing complex customer relationships and stakeholder liaison
• Asset management, maintenance and contract & supplier management
• Managing multi-project programmes of maintenance or capital investment
• You should hold a full UK driving license

Highly Desirable

• Experience with project management processes
• Experience of providing board-level oral or written briefings
• Experience implementing continuous improvement methodologies

Qualifications

You should hold, be working towards or have equivalent experience to:

• An appropriate professional qualification, e.g., IWFM Level 6/7, RICS, IET, BIFM, CIBSE
• A NEBOSH qualification
• A project/programme management qualification, e.g., PRINCE 2
• Membership of the Government Property Profession (GPP)

Government Property Profession (GPP) Technical Skills

The GPP Framework is aimed at staff working in property or property-related roles and consider property to be their career anchor profession. This usually encompasses posts where professional qualifications and experience are directly relevant to the work being undertaken. However, it is also applicable to those who are currently not qualified property practitioners but wish to make this their profession of choice. Those with a property background at any level are encouraged to register with the GPP, which exists to support property practitioners at all levels. Details of the GPP Career Framework can be found at:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-government-property-profession-career-framework--2

This role falls under Facilities Management, Senior Practitioner level of the Government Property Profession (GPP) Technical Skills Framework and some or all of the following Technical Skills will be tested during the selection process:

• Customer and Client Service – Expert
• Property Professional Expertise – Expert

Behaviours

We will assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

Seeing the Bigger Picture      

• You understand and anticipate how developments (social, political, economic, technological, etc.) within the industry and beyond will affect the team and ensure plans and activities reflect these.

• You exercise consistently strong value judgement skills.

• You adopt a government-wide perspective to ensure alignment of activity and policy.

Leadership     

• You are a visible and approachable leader who takes the time to understand their team and engage in activities with them.

• You motivate your team to deliver their best work and constructively challenge poor behaviour.

Communicating & Influencing

• You communicate effectively with others in a clear and honest way in order to build trust.

• You have difficult conversations with clarity and sensitivity, being persuasive when required.

Managing a quality service    

• You create a high-performance culture to enable your team to consistently deliver high-quality work efficiently and effectively.

• You ensure that excellent customer service is a priority among the team, enabling all staff to engage well with customers.

• You deal with matters in a professional, clear and sensitive manner.

Flexible working hours

The Property Directorate offers a flexible working system in many teams.

Requests for reduced hours contracts will be considered in line with business needs. 

Non-civil service candidates would typically start on the pay band minimum.

Additional Information

Working Arrangements & Further Information

The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). All employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estate capacity.

Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.

For nationally advertised roles, the successful candidate(s) will be appointed to a MoJ office location, which may include their nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. This will be discussed and agreed on the completion of pre-employment checks.

Some of MoJ’s terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on 'modernised' terms in their current post or onto 'unmodernised' MoJ terms if they are on 'unmodernised' terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.

MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain their grade on lateral transfer.

All candidates who are currently in receipt of Mark Time / Pay Protection should ensure they are familiar with the new policy on permanent and temporary promotion which can be found on the employee intranet.

Flexible working hours

The Ministry of Justice offers a flexible working system in many offices. Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week. MoJ welcomes part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs. All applications for part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the MoJ’s Flexible Working policy.

Benefits

The MoJ offers a range of benefits:

Annual Leave

Annual leave is 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years’ service.

There is also a scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year. Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day. Leave for part-time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.

Pension

The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Training

The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.

Networks

The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

Support

• A range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
• Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits, retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
• For moves to or from another employer or moves across the Civil Service this can have implications on your eligibility to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for alternative government childcare support schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. More information can be found on GOV.UK or Childcare Choices. You can determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
• Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
• Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order

• To Shared Service Connected Ltd (0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail [email protected]);
• To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team ([email protected]);
• To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)

As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns.

For more information on applying for a role as a candidate with a disability or long-term condition, please see our Disability Confident Scheme Frequently Asked Questions webpage.

You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team.

Diversity & Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Planand the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.

 

Job Tags

Holiday work, Permanent employment, Full time, Contract work, Temporary work, Part time, Local area, Home office, Overseas, Trial period, Flexible hours, Monday to Friday,

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