Job summary
- Main area
- Estates and Facilities
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8d
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (per annum)
- Job ref
- 193-7930824CORB8D-ADOE
- Employer
- Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Royal Berkshire Hospital
- Town
- Reading
- Salary
- £94,356 - £108,814 PA
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 09/07/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 16/07/2026
Employer heading
Associate Director of Estates
NHS AfC: Band 8d
At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust we put our patients at the heart of every element of health and care that we provide. The Trust works together as a community to deliver its vision which is “Working together to provide outstanding care for our community.”
Royal Berkshire Hospital are pleased to announce that following our CQC inspection we have been rated ‘Good’ with inspectors reporting that we have made significant improvements. The Trust’s overall rating has also improved to ‘good’.
We are Compassionate in our thoughts, words and actions
We are Aspirational and have a true desire to be dynamic and to innovate
We are Resourceful and responsible in the way we work and live
We are Excellent in our development, fairness and sharing best practice
At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, we value candidates who bring their unique personalities, skills, and experiences to the Trust. When completing your application, we encourage you to highlight your individual achievements and strengths, showing us how they align with the requirements outlined in the job description and person specification. While we recognise that some applicants may use AI tools during the process, please be mindful that AI-generated responses can often lack the personal detail and relevance needed to demonstrate your suitability for the role. AI generated content is discouraged by the Trust and may diminish the candidates chances of success.
Amazing things happen at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust; delivered by amazing people so why don’t you come and join us. We offer a range of learning and development for all employees may you be clinical or non-clinical.
Please note: all vacancies automatically close when 50 applications have been received.
Job overview
The postholder is a key member of the Trust senior management and will be responsible for ensuring that the:
Departmental Leadership and Management: You will provide direct line management and strategic direction for four key portfolios:
· Head of Estates: Oversight of all Estates Maintenance and Compliance functions, including specialist maintenance contracts and technical adherence to HTM 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, and 07.
· Head of Projects: Delivery of the Annual Capital Plan, overseeing all major construction and refurbishment schemes to ensure they meet clinical needs while fulfilling all CDM Health and Safety obligations.
· Head of Fire and Health & Safety: Comprehensive management of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order and all statutory requirements under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
· Estates Space Utilisation Manager: Management of the Estates Utilisation Policy and assurance model, ensuring that all Trust assets are used to maximum efficiency and identified underused spaces are reconfigured to support service expansion.
Main duties of the job
Policy Development and Professional Standards: You will lead the development, implementation, and rigorous maintenance of all Estates-related Policies and Codes of Practice.
Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI): You will lead the delivery of ongoing service enhancements through the Trust’s CQI programme, embedding a culture of frontline-led improvement and structured problem-solving. By utilising formal CQI methodologies, you will refine estates processes, eliminate waste, and improve service reliability, ensuring the department remains at the forefront of the Trust's journey towards operational excellence.
Operational Resilience and Emergency Response: You will be responsible for the provision of a robust 24/7 reactive engineering response, including the management of the on-call roster for subject matter experts and engineering teams. In partnership with the EPRR team, you will ensure all estates response plans are tested, proven, and underpinned by a comprehensive set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Financial and Capital Stewardship: You will hold direct accountability for the Estates Revenue budget and the Annual Capital Programme. This includes developing a prioritised 5-year rolling plan to eliminate Backlog Maintenance, leading on the annual Cost Improvement Plan (CIP), and managing the tender processes for specialist outsourced contracts to ensure robust KPI and SLA monitoring.
Working for our organisation
Diversity makes us interesting… Inclusion is what will make us outstanding.
Inequality exists and the journey to eliminate it is not easy. Every step we take will be a purposeful step forward to deliver a truly inclusive culture where all our people are enabled to deliver outstanding care, where background is no barrier, and where everyone can be their authentic self and we truly represent our patient community.
We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics. Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled applicants where possible. All applicants who have a disability and meet the minimum criteria for the post can opt for a guaranteed interview.
If you need additional help with your application please get in touch by calling the recruitment team on 0118 322 6997 or 0118 322 5342.
Our primary method of communication will be via email. However, if you would prefer to be contacted through a different method, please inform the recruitment team.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Planning & Organisation
1. Responsible for the planning and delivery of a rolling refurbishment and backlog maintenance programme
2. As the ‘intelligent client’ and SRO for estates infrastructure and compliance capital projects, develop an annual and 5 year capital and revenue works programme, chairing project board(s), agreeing scope and ensuring appropriate sign off, acceptance and handover processes. Responsible for approving any proposed derogations related to estate infrastructure and engineering systems.
Communication
1. Organise, manage and lead safety and compliance related to hospital walkabouts and audits, user groups and other formal review forum as and when required, ensuring environmental awareness is raised, maintaining a record of actions where appropriate
2. Review and lead the improvement of communication, feedback and estates related information to user departments and wards related to estates and environment
3. Receive and provide complex and commercially sensitive information for analysis for the Director of Estates and Facilities and Executive Directors
4. Present service and performance information that may be contentious to large and small groups throughout the Trust
5. Chair a number of key assurance/compliance related committees and ensure that reporting obligations are fulfilled
6. Lead discussions and gain agreement from a range of stakeholders, often with differing priorities, within the budget limits set; occasionally this will require complex decisions to be made regarding priorities and products and services in the best interests of the Trust, staff and service users
Finance and Use of Resources
1. To be the budget holder for allocated budgets, capital and revenue
2. Take a pro-active approach to budget setting and management for estates services
3. Responsible for the management and effective utilisation of estates revenue budgets (including utilities) and delivering a balanced or surplus year end position
4. Responsible for the management of the capital allocation for estates related projects and delivery of contracts within agreed timeframe and budget
5. For all areas of EFM, to have input to and influence capital planning decisions related to site service requirements and backlog maintenance.
6. To have delegated responsible for raising orders, signing invoices and completing in accordance with the Trust’s Standing Financial Instructions.
7. To be responsible for verifying and authorising Estates and Facilities invoices
8. Responsible for the management and monitoring of external contracts related to hard FM and engineering services including but not limited to: maintenance, CHP
9. Develop, implement and deliver agreed annual savings targets (QIPPs) as required
10. Take an innovative approach to identifying appropriate/alternative funding sources and determining appropriateness for specific projects
11. Seek opportunities to develop new and improve existing revenue income streams for the Trust
12. Ensure systems are in place such that procurement and financial transactions within the estates function meet the Trusts standing financial instructions and scheme of delegation
13. Interpret and advise on EFM contract and service standards
14. Identify and implement change management processes and practices so as to achieve delivery of Value for money and a first class service provision from the Trusts Hard FM service providers
15. To lead, with procurement colleagues, the retendering of the outsourced Hard FM/maintenance service including; the development of specification(s) for service(s), KPIs etc
Person specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential criteria
- · Educated to degree level in a relevant built environment, Estates, engineering, construction, facilities management or related discipline, or equivalent level of knowledge and experience.
- · Membership of a relevant professional body associated with Estates, engineering, construction, facilities management, project management or the built environment.
- · Management and leadership qualification, or equivalent senior leadership experience within a complex organisation.
Desirable criteria
- · Formal project or programme management qualification (e.g. PRINCE2, MSP, APM or equivalent).
- · Health and Safety qualification relevant to Estates or construction environments (e.g. NEBOSH or equivalent).
Experience
Essential criteria
- · Extensive experience of strategic Estates management, statutory compliance, operational governance and capital programme delivery.
- · Significant experience of managing Estates revenue and capital budgets, contractor performance, outsourced Hard FM services and organisational change within complex operational environments.
Desirable criteria
- · Experience of working within the NHS acute healthcare sector.
- · Experience of Estates Masterplanning, strategic estate development and business case development.
Knowledge, skills, Abilities
Essential criteria
- · Strong strategic leadership, organisational and people management skills within complex operational environments
- · Excellent programme, project, commercial and financial management skills, including procurement, tender evaluation, contract negotiation, cost control and budget management.
- · Extensive knowledge of Estates management, engineering infrastructure, Hard FM services and statutory compliance within complex healthcare or comparable environments.
Desirable criteria
- · Ability to lead innovation, service modernisation and organisational change programmes.
- · Knowledge of digital Estates systems, asset management systems and data reporting platforms.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Guy Kieser
- Job title
- Deputy Director of Estates and Facilities
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07584775399
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