Area Workplace Services Manager

Heike-Maria Schmidt * text-studio-IT; London; On-site; GBP 59,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

The Government Property Agency seeks an Area Workplace Services Manager to lead customer service delivery within the Workplace Service Delivery Team. This pivotal role involves managing teams, driving service excellence, and ensuring effective operations across a designated area. The successful candidate will have a strong emphasis on leadership, stakeholder management, and commercial awareness, contributing to the agency's mission of creating great workplaces.

Benefits

Civil Service pension with employer contribution of 28.97%

Generous annual leave

Learning and development tailored to your role

Flexible working options

Culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

Qualifications

• Experience of leading workplace-related services at a Senior level.
• Demonstrable experience in people management, specifically remote management.
• Ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.

Responsibilities

• Lead delivery of high-quality customer services in an Area.
• Manage teams of civil servants to deliver excellent workplace experience.
• Drive service performance through teams managing day-to-day operations.

Skills

Leadership

Customer Service

Stakeholder Management

Commercial Awareness

Education

Recognised industry qualification

Job description

Details Reference number 406817 Salary £59,745 - £65,625 A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97% GBP Job grade Grade 7 GPA Grade 7 London Contract type Permanent Business area GPA - Workplace Services - Workplace Service Delivery Type of role Estates
Operational Delivery
Property Working pattern Full-time Number of jobs available 1 Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Location London About the job Job summary

The Government Property Agency is the largest property holder in government, with more than £2.1 billion in property assets and over 55% of the government’s office estate.

We are transforming the way the Civil Service works by creating great places to work, leading the largest commercial office programme in the UK, working towards halving carbon emissions from government offices, and achieving greater value for taxpayers. And we are looking for innovative, solutions-focused people to join our team.

Representing the best covenant in the UK – His Majesty’s Government – we are leading transformational programmes such as the Government Hubs Programme, Whitehall Campus Programme and Net Zero Programme, as well as delivering modern, cost-effective real estate service solutions.

Innovation and progress are at the heart of our behaviours. We foster a culture of lifelong learning, where curiosity and self-improvement are encouraged. And we’re dedicated to becoming a leading, inclusive employer both in the external market and throughout the Civil Service. Our strong emphasis on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) is not just about driving inclusion across our organisation, it is also about ensuring our services meet the needs of government departments and the civil servants who use our spaces.

Join our dynamic and diverse team that leads with purpose, improving sustainability, nurturing social value, driving inclusivity and flexibility, and kickstarting economic growth. We are driven by purpose, and you can be part of it too: where you make a meaningful impact; where you influence; where your voice really matters; where you help to shape our future direction.

The GPA is committed to representing the communities we serve by making Diversity, Equality and Inclusion part of everything we do.

To ensure that we are always recruiting and retaining a diverse mix of talent, we are particularly inviting applications from candidates who are disabled, ethnically or gender diverse, and people who identify as being part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Job description

The Area Workplace Services Manager is a pivotal position within the Workplace Service Delivery Team. Supporting the Workplace Services Regional Manager the post holder will have responsibility for leading delivery of high quality customer services in an Area within the allocated region.

Passionate about customer service excellence, the successful candidate needs to be able to build teams of civil servants to deliver excellent workplace experience within their assigned. As we expand our portfolio, we are seeking a diverse team of team leaders.

Key Responsibilities:

• The face of GPA Workplace Services to the local clients/customers within remit
• Line management responsibility for Workplace Managers. Typically responsible for managing direct reports of 1- 6 FTE, leading and inspiring team members to consistently deliver excellent customer service across our client portfolio
• Driving service performance through teams responsible for day to day management of sites/clusters
• Working closely taking ownership for managing contractual activity between GPA and its Service Providers.
• Responsible for managing escalations, disputes EWN and DN by developing a strong understanding of the commercial terms and building strong relationships with WS Service Providers. Including but not limited to the application of commercial toolkit where applicable to drive standards to the expected level
• Undertaking regular site visits required to manage the services, including supporting the transition of new sites into the region
• Ensure prompt resolution of customer issues and complaints escalated from the client, customer, manager or helpdesk. Escalating when appropriate to Regional Workplace Services Manager
• Management of incidents including engagement with key stakeholders, external support and GPA seniors. Ensures full alignment to the GPA incident management process including out of hours support and incident reporting
• Managing delivery of minor works and churn projects (lower value / less complex projects) and escalation of higher value / more complex projects to GPA Capital Projects and Workplace Service Delivery projects.
• Reviewing and agreeing Service Partners contractors’ proposals for lifecycle replacement and planned maintenance work at an Area level.
• Manages chargeable / billable works. Budget management responsibility or the area, including forecasting, management and improvement. Takes responsibility for the approval of works within the delegated authority matrix
• Drive excellence in service delivery by liaising with GPA teams including seeking advice from experts as required (Property Asset Management, Project/Programme Delivery, Finance and Assurance)
• Actively participate in and support the development and deployment of the WSD strategy
• Contributes to and embeds change programmes across WSD and the GPA, Workplace Services Strategies into the operating model
• Actively supports tender processes to ensure the GPA has suitable contractual arrangements to support customer needs
• Responsible for ensuring that PQs and FOIs are responded to in a timely manner by providing quality information as required
• Responsible for ensuring that the correct governance and controls are in place to provide assurance over supplier performance and GPA standards
• Develop robust succession plans to de-risk the business for team
• Any other reasonable and authorised activity as needed from the business from time to time
• Deputise for the Regional Manager and/or Peers as required

Person specification

• Be able to travel within the geography of the Region (and occasionally nationally) to deliver the duties and attend management meetings.
• Have the capability to be an excellent leader and manager, with experience of identifying and implementing improvements and promoting a culture of a high-performance customer service
• Have the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels Creative, innovative and adaptable, and able to evolve as the Agency develops, supporting the Regions Workplace Services Manager with any change that needs to be implemented
• Comfortable working in a fast paced and matrix environment, dealing with uncertainty and handling a range of challenges competently as they emerge

Experience and Technical Skills:

• Experience of leading workplace-related services (hard and soft FM, operational security, ICT services, hospitality, community engagement) ideally with commercial understanding and awareness and the ability to get the best out of key suppliers
• Have relevant practical experience in Workplace Services Management at a Senior level
• Have demonstrable experience in people management, specifically remote management of geographically dispersed staff and / or teams.

Qualifications and Accreditations:

Essential criteria:

• Must have or be working towards a recognised industry qualification

Desirable criteria:

• Appropriate professional qualifications and memberships would be desirable, such as IWFM or equivalent and APM Registration or Chartership. Applicants from other sectors with relevant transferable skills and experience such as hospitality or events management are also encouraged.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Customer Perspective
• Commercial Acumen
• Property Market Knowledge
• Innovation

Benefits Alongside your salary of £59,745, Government Property Agency contributes £17,308 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• Generous annual leave
• GPA is also committed to recognising and rewarding where our staff hold the “Gold Standard’ accreditation relevant to their Specialism and offer a £5000 non-pensionable allowance to staff who have achieved this.

Things you need to know Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the communities and wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and well-being and aim to create a sense of belonging in a workplace where everyone feels valued.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 Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

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 .

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme (RIS) to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

Sift

The sift is due to take place week commencing 2nd June 2025.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to include a CV and a 750 word personal statement. The personal statement should then align with the person specification.

Interview

GPA policy is for interviews to be held face to face, with virtual interviews only by absolute exception. The date and location will be confirmed if you are invited to interview. If you feel this will be a problem for you, please contact to discuss prior to submitting your application.

At interview, applicants will be scored against 3 behaviours - Managing a Quality Service, Making Effective Decisions and Communicating and Influencing.

Interview questions will be a blend of Behaviour, Experience, Strength and Technical (core skill) questions.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to GPA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Please note: in addition to the standard pre-employment checks for appointment into the Civil Service, all candidates must also obtain National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) clearance level for this vacancy. You will normally need to meet the minimum UK residency period as determined by the level of vetting being undertaken, which for SC is 5 years UK residency prior to your vetting application. If you have any questions about this residency requirement, please speak to the vacancy holder for this post.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website .

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

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.

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 role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check .

See our vetting charter . People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. 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

Further information on nationality requirements 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 . The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. Diversity and 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 Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy . Apply and further information This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative. The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window). Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records. Contact point for applicants Job contact :

• Name : Joanna Pease
• Email :

Recruitment team

• Email :

Further information If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission:
Click here to visit Civil Service Commission