Details
Reference number
Salary
Job grade
Contract type
Business area
Type of role
Property
Surveying
Working pattern
Number of jobs available
Contents
- Location
- About the job
- Benefits
- Things you need to know
- Apply and further information
Location
About the job
Job summary
Are you someone who enjoys a challenge and looking for an opportunity to lead our Commercial Property team?
Do you have effective communication skills, a passion for the property industry and providing a quality service?
If so, the Driving & Vehicle Standards Agency have the role for you!
This position is responsible for leading the Corporate Estate Management Team that sits within the wider estate team. You will report to the Head of Estates and manage a team of property surveyors and support team. We are looking for an experienced professional who can lead the programme of strategic asset management for the portfolio, ensuring the estates meets property legislation and statute and is managed effectively to maximise occupation, best practice, value for money and financial efficiency.
The role provides a challenging and rewarding opportunity to work on varied property types across Great Britain. You will support the team in all property related matters including disposals, acquisitions and landlord tenant matters and contract management of agents acting on DVSA’s behalf.
The successful candidate will need to travel to estates locations at various points when required.
Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:
- Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
- 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday.
- Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.
Read more in the Benefits section below!
Find out more about what it's like working at DVSA: Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency - Department for Transport Careers
Job description
The Head of Corporate Estate Management has leadership responsibility for the delivery of the DVSA’s strategic asset management ensuring the estate meets property legislation and statute and is managed effectively to maximise occupation, best practice, value for money and financial efficiency. The post holder is required to provide the professional leadership, support, advice and guidance expected of an experienced property leader whilst supporting the delivery of DVSA’s Estates Strategy as well as government and DVSA led initiatives.
This role is responsible for the strategic management of accommodation across circa 400 properties located throughout England, Scotland and Wales to meet the business needs and aspirations of the Agency. The post holder will provide expert property advice and lead on property related projects as well as work closely across the wider estate teams.
Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:
- Providing expert advice, support and challenge to DVSA Directors, managers and budget holders and to other parts of the business on commercial surveying matters.
- Leading the completion and writing of Business Cases.
- Attending and presenting to the Estates Delivery Board and Investment Committee.
- Ensuring excellent relationships with stakeholders regarding Estates issues, including liaising with Cabinet Office, the Department for Transport and other agencies in respect of property issues.
- Ensure effective liaison with relevant stakeholders including DVSA front line services as well as other estate teams.
- Manage capital and revenue budgets for rents, service charges, business rates, consultancy budgets and whole life lease costs.
- Provide advice on valuation reports, acquisition proposals, dilapidations and disposal reports. Determine an appropriate strategy following their review.
- Leading the Estates Team’s contribution to DVSA’s key targets and business goals.
Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.
For further information on the role, please read the attached role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.
Person specification
Essential qualifications/licenses:
- A full UK driving license - the successful candidate will be required to travel regularly, often to sites that are inaccessible by public transport. There will also be occasions where you will need to visit multiple sites in one day, and therefore driving between them will be required.
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A commercial property management degree. This includes, but is not limited to:
- A degree in Real Estate and Property Management
- A degree in Surveying (Real Estate)
You will be required to provide evidence that you hold any essential qualifications/licenses at some point during the recruitment process. If you cannot provide evidence, your application will be withdrawn.
Required experience:
To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:
- Experience of managing and leading a team of property professionals.
- Detailed property management experience and knowledge of property legislation and estate management including landlord and tenant, acquisitions, disposals, lease renewals, rent reviews, break opportunities and terminations.
- Proven track record of providing strategic advice and direction. Based on lease events, market opportunities and business requirements, lead the formulating and implementing of the real estate portfolio strategy, maximising the performance and optimisation of the portfolio.
- Proven ability to communicate effectively in a variety of formats at all levels, with excellent report writing skills.
- Proven track record of negotiating outcomes between parties to resolve difficult issues, maintaining positive working relationships with internal and external partners.
- Proven budget management (capital and revenue budgets for rents, service charges, business rates, consultancy budgets and whole life lease costs).
- Proven contract management experience.
Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements
Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.
This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.
The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location/visiting stakeholders. Your designated workplace will be your contractual place of work. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.
Regular travel to other offices will be required, which may involve overnight stays. The commercial property team is based in Nottingham.
If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).
Visa sponsorship
Please note that we do not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker Licence sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship. Candidates must ensure they have the appropriate rights to work in the UK before application.
Licences
Qualifications
- A degree in Real Estate and Property Management
- A degree in Surveying (Real Estate)
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Working Together
- Managing a Quality Service
- Delivering at Pace
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Government Property Profession: Estate Strategy (Level: Senior Practitioner)
- Government Property Profession: Property Data Management (Level: Senior Practitioner)
- Government Property Profession: Property Portfolio Management (Level: Senior Practitioner)
- Government Property Profession: Acquisitions and Disposals (Level: Senior Practitioner)
Benefits
Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:
- Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
- 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
- 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
- Access to the staff discount portal.
- Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
- Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
- 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
- Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.
Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies .
Things you need to know
Selection process details
How to apply:
Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's qualifications, skills, and potential fit within our organisation.
The selection process for this role will be:
Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement
Stage 2: Interview
You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.
Stage 1: Sift
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:
- Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited wordcount) and a personal statement (1,250 words). Please provide evidence of your Experience as per the Person Specification.
Please note: the sift will be completed on a rolling basis whilst the campaign is still live, so you may receive your sift scores before the advert closing date.
The sift is currently scheduled to take place week commencing 1st September.
Stage 2: Interview
At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:
- Behaviours – Seeing the Big Picture, Working Together, Managing a Quality Service, and Delivering at Pace.
- Experience – as outlined in the Person Specification
-
Technical - you will be assessed against the following elements of the Government Property Profession Technical Framework:
- Government Property Profession: Estate Strategy (Level: Senior Practitioner)
- Government Property Profession: Property Data Management (Level: Senior Practitioner)
- Government Property Profession: Property Portfolio Management (Level: Senior Practitioner)
- Government Property Profession: Acquisitions and Disposals (Level: Senior Practitioner)
The interviews are currently scheduled to take place week commencing 15th September.
This interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.
You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site .
Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.
Further information on the selection process
We will also hold a 12 month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for. You can read more about our reserve lists here.
AI Tools and Platforms
Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Reasonable Adjustments
As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.
Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.
If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via [email protected] as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Document Accessibility
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email [email protected] for assistance.
Further Information
For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.
Pre-employment Checking
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Working for the Civil Service
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Dawn Willock
- Email : [email protected]
Recruitment team
- Email : [email protected]
Further information
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website Here
