| Job Title: | Deputy Director of Estates Management. |
| Based at: | The Grange, Buckinghamshire. |
| Hours: | Full Time – 35 hours per week. |
| Salary: | £55,000.00. |
| Reporting to: | Director of Finance, IT and Facilities. |
Purpose of the Role
As part of the Charity’s Senior Management Team (SMT), the Deputy Director of Estates Management will provide leadership, delivery, maintenance, and continuous improvement of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People’s physical assets: facilities, estates, and health and safety management. This includes implementation of effective business continuity plans, and performance management. You will act as Health and Safety lead for the charity ensuring compliance with all legislation.
This leadership position requires a dynamic individual with a proven track record in strategic facilities planning, project management and a strong focus on optimising operational efficiency. The successful candidate will collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure that our physical infrastructure aligns with our overall business strategy.
You will be responsible for developing working systems to effectively understand and manage the short and longer-term estates pressures across our full property portfolio in Buckinghamshire and East Yorkshire.
You will also act as subject matter expert and business partner for all aspects of our Facilities and Estates areas, disaster recovery plans, and procurement.
Key Tasks of the Role
Strategic Planning
- Develop and implement a comprehensive estates usage and management strategy aligned with the organization’s overall goals and objectives, balancing competing priorities.
- Identify opportunities for cost savings, sustainability initiatives, and improvements in operational efficiency. Take due account of energy efficiency and reduction in waste and emissions.
Facilities Management
- Supervise the maintenance, security, and cleanliness of all company facilities. Implement and oversee preventative maintenance programmes to ensure optimum functionality of equipment and infrastructure.
- Undertake the refresh and delivery of a Property Service Plan.
- Develop and oversee the organisation’s sustainability programme, amongst other things collecting data on Scope 1,2 and 3 emissions.
Project Management
- Lead and manage construction and renovation projects, including budgeting, scheduling, and coordination with contractors.
- Ensure compliance with local building codes, safety regulations and environmental standards.
Budget Oversight
- Develop and manage a rolling 3-year estates management budget, ensuring cost-effectiveness and alignment with organizational financial goals.
- Regularly monitor expenses, identify variances, and implement corrective actions as needed to achieve agreed budget.
Contractor Management
- Collaborate with external contractors, utility providers, and other service providers to ensure high-quality services and cost-effective solutions.
- Negotiate contracts and agreements to secure favourable terms for the organization.
Health and Safety Management
- Review health and safety and environmental policies and activities and hold ELT account on implementation, fostering a culture of awareness and compliance across the organization.
- Provide risk assessments and accident management reporting systems for use across directorates.
- Keep abreast of HSE legislation and ensure that the charity has active systems and procedures in place to report compliance at all times.
Leadership
- Provide professional leadership across the organization as a core member of the senior management team, modelling the charity’s values and behaviours.
- Build, lead and mentor a high-performing estates management team.
- Foster a collaborative and inclusive work environment, promoting professional development, succession planning, and continuous improvement.
- Lead the team by providing clear leadership, performance indicators and accountability for quality standards, ensuring corrective actions where necessary.
General Requirements of all Staff
- Ensure compliance with GDPR and data protection
- As a charity, Hearing Dogs has a large network of volunteers based at both our training centres and spread nationwide. As such, you may be involved in working with and/or supervising volunteers in this role.
- To undergo training to a set level of deaf awareness and communication as required by the charity.
- Carrying out any other reasonable duties requested by your manager.
This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This is in relation to the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults. Applicants are required to disclose all convictions (spent and unspent), cautions, warnings and reprimands and any relevant non-conviction information. The successful candidate is required to undertake a Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure Check under the terms of the Police Act 1997 (Part V).
| DBS | BASIC |
For operational reasons, the Charity reserves the right to transfer you to alternative duties. For this reason, it is a condition of employment that you are willing to do so, if requested, from time to time.