The Estates and Facilities team have a crucial role to play within NHSBT. You and your team will work hand in hand with a diverse group of staff in the business units across the organisation, providing products and services essential to the NHS and to patients. In the first instance, this means ensuring the estate and facilities have very high levels of operational availability and are fit for purpose and regulatory compliant. But it also means working with the business to ensure we are transforming the estate and facilities to meet future needs, including working towards our aim to be a Net Zero organisation. This is a challenging role, but one that will leave you feeling every day that you have contributed to one of our country’s most highly valued services.

 The Assistant Director of Estates & Facilities (E&F) will play a key role in providing strategic direction and leadership management in the development of our estate. This will include the provision of the estate and associated facilities and leadership of the sustainability strategy, as well as setting long term strategic plans and determining national policies and strategies.

 In conjunction with the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), you will advise the Board, the Chief Executive and the Executive Directors, on the strategic development of the NHSBT portfolio, including acquisitions, disposals and major new developments, taking into account the many complex and sensitive factors affecting the strategic development of the organisation.

 You will assist the CFO in formulating the E&F strategy, consistent with our business strategy, values and objectives. To enable the achievement of the organisation’s long term strategic goals, you will work with members of the Board and other stakeholders, both internal and external, to develop the organisation’s national E&F strategies.

 You will deputise for the CFO on matters relating to Estates & Facilities and, from time to time, represent the Directorate in national initiatives.

 Main duties of the job

• Ensuring the effective delivery of in excess of 100 Facilities service lines, including car parking, catering, cleaning, communications, fire & emergencies, fuel, power & utilities, furniture & equipment, maintenance & repairs, meeting rooms, portering & post, projects, security, space management, statutory compliance & H&S, waste & environmental management, at circa 90 premises across England and the Organ donation offices in the devolved Nations;Advising and presenting to the Board, in support of the CFO, on particular major E&F subjects.
• Ensuring efficiency in the delivery of services, to maximise the performance derived from the function’s resources.
• Providing input to the organisation’s Corporate Business Plan in respect of all E&F related areas and contributing to the development of other directorates’ strategic plans.
• Contributing to the preparation of NHS Capital Investment business cases, for submission to the Department of Health, for major building projects.
• Representing NHSBT at the DHSC Property Asset Management (PAM) board meetings, ensuring the organisation is influencing and implementing the boards decisions.
• Securing agreement on national policies and service levels and ensuring the delivery of agreed SLA standards for all areas of E&F.
• Managing the acquisition and disposal of all properties, negotiating new leases, property rents, service charges, rating assessments and payments.
• Leading, co-ordinating, motivating and developing a national team of 25 senior professional E&F managers, plus circa 60 facilities staff and multiple outsourced service providers, across multiple sites, fostering a readiness to embrace change and a dedication to service excellence.
• Providing personal development plans for every post that exists within the function, ensuring that they are regularly maintained and that relevant training programmes are implemented.
• Building a culture of progressive developments in customer service, agreeing service level agreements with customers, monitoring, reporting and improving customers’ perceptions of performance.
• Influencing, persuading and changing attitudes of others, sometimes in hostile or highly emotional circumstances.
• Establishing and maintaining good working with relationships with Staff side and the EDI Network group, attending meetings and presenting ideas and plans.
• Developing and steering the NHSBT Net Zero roadmap.
• Keeping abreast of all relevant technological and managerial developments and ensuring the adoption of best practice and national integration in all areas of E&F.
• Ensuring the effective management of the function’s £60m revenue and capital budgets and the cost-effective delivery of services required by the function’s customers.
• Ensuring that all E&F related statutory obligations are met.

 About You - (key criteria)

 Qualifications and Training

A recognised construction-related professional qualification (e.g., RIBA, RICS, MCIOB, chartered engineer) or equivalent relevant experience.

 Experience and Knowledge

• Experience of world class standards in estates and facilities practice, together with proven ability to develop medium and long-term national strategies for a range of services within a dispersed multi-site national organization.
• Proven programme management experience, managing multiple large-scale construction projects at a senior level.
• Sound knowledge of building design, construction and services contracts.
• Experience of leading, managing and motivating teams in a number of remote sites.
• Knowledge and experience of change and risk management together with knowledge of estates and facilities related legislation.
• The ability to use a logical approach to understand and analyse highly complex situations and information, identify issues, gather, collate and sift information, including political and resource constraints and make effective decisions.
• Proven ability to manage budgets on a large scale, preferably in a service environment.
• Strong negotiating, influencing and customer management skills.
• Excellent communication skills including verbal, written and presentation skills, tact and diplomacy, proven at Executive board/director level.
• Experience of championing diversity and inclusion and promoting actions to make improvements as well as experience of creating diverse and inclusive teams that are motivated and inspired to work together to achieve a common objective.
• Ability to travel extensively in the UK.

 Please view the candidate pack which is a summary of the detailed Job Description and Person Specification for the full personal attributes we require for the role. You will need to demonstrate these throughout the recruitment process.

 About Us

At NHS Blood and Transplant, we’re incredibly proud of the many talented people who come together every day to make our organisation the very best it can be. We have clearly defined values that are centred around offering exceptional care to our donors and their families. We take care of each other too and we focus on building our expertise so we can change lives, provide quality support and offer fulfilling careers.

 It’s an opportunity to contribute to a unique team as part of a service that saves lives 365 days a year. We offer brilliant benefits including 27 days of holiday (plus bank holidays), a comprehensive induction and training programme, and a competitive pension scheme.

 We are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace and aim to reflect the diverse communities we work with and positively encourage applications from all sectors of the community.

 Three small words, one big difference - Caring, Expert and Quality.

 Together we'll save and improve more lives than ever.

 This vacancy will close at 23:59 on 14 May 2023.

 Interviews are anticipated to be held on the 26 of May – subject to confirmation.