Estates Manager

Abingdon and Witney College; Witney; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 47,000; Full time

Job summary

Abingdon and Witney College is seeking an experienced Estates Manager to shape and maintain a safe, compliant learning environment across campuses. Reporting to the Director of Estates, you will oversee maintenance programmes, manage in-house teams and external contractors, and drive continuous improvement to support students and staff.

You will lead budgeting, procurement, and service contracts while championing sustainability and regulatory compliance across the estate.

Qualifications

• Degree in building management or a related discipline.
• Significant experience in estates compliance and maintenance programmes.
• Ability to travel between college sites using own vehicle.

Responsibilities

• Lead delivery of planned preventative and reactive maintenance across campus sites.
• Ensure compliance with estates, health & safety and environmental legislation.
• Manage estates compliance programmes and statutory inspections.
• Oversee cleaning, maintenance, security and building services operations.
• Manage external contractors, procurement activities, tenders and service contracts.
• Monitor estates budgets and ensure value for money across expenditure.
• Support sustainability initiatives, energy management and environmental compliance.
• Line manage and develop the Estates team for high performance and customer service.
• Act as a point of contact for building operations and projects.
• Maintain estates data, records and asset information for compliance and reporting.

Skills

Estates management

Budget management

Team leadership

Stakeholder communication

Building services knowledge

Regulatory compliance

Problem solving

Education

Building management degree

Tools

BMS

Job description

No candidate will meet every single desired qualification / criteria. If your experience looks a little different from what we've identified and you think you can bring value to the role, we'd love to learn more about you!

Salary: £45,558 - £46,598 per annum

Hours per week: 37

Weeks per Annum: 52

Working pattern: Monday to Thursday 7.5 hours per day, Friday 7 hours per day

Location: Witney Campus

Contract type: Permanent

We are seeking an experienced and proactive Estates Manager to help shape and maintain a safe, compliant, and high-quality learning environment across our campuses.

Reporting to the Director of Estates and Capital Development, you will provide expert advice on estates compliance, maintenance, and sustainability, ensuring the College meets all relevant legal and regulatory requirements. You will lead the planning and delivery of both planned preventative maintenance and reactive maintenance programmes, while managing in-house teams and external contractors to deliver an efficient, responsive, and customer-focused estates service.

As Estates Manager, you will play a key role in ensuring our campuses remain safe, secure, welcoming, and fit for purpose for students, staff, and visitors. You will also contribute to the College's sustainability objectives, manage budgets and contracts, and drive continuous improvement across the estate.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery of planned preventative and reactive maintenance programmes across College sites.
• Ensure compliance with all relevant estates, health and safety, and environmental legislation.
• Manage estates compliance programmes, and statutory inspections.
• Oversee cleaning, maintenance, security, and building services operations.
• Manage external contractors, procurement activities, tenders, and service contracts.
• Monitor estates budgets and ensure value for money across all expenditure.
• Support sustainability initiatives, energy management, and environmental compliance.
• Line manage and develop the Estates team, fostering a culture of high performance and excellent customer service.
• Act as a key point of contact for building operations, maintenance issues, and estates-related projects.
• Manage and maintain accurate estates data, records, and asset information to support compliance, reporting, strategic planning, and effective estate management.

About You

We are looking for a highly organised and solutions-focused estates professional who can confidently lead teams, manage complex priorities, and deliver excellent customer service.

Essential

• Significant experience managing estates compliance, planned and reactive maintenance programmes, and contractor performance.
• Strong knowledge of building services, estates Health and Safety, statutory compliance requirements, and modern building management systems.
• Experience managing budgets, procurement activities, and service contracts.
• Proven ability to lead, motivate, and develop teams while maintaining high standards.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with a proactive approach to continuous improvement.
• A degree in a building management or related discipline.
• The ability to travel between College sites using your own vehicle.

Desirable

• NEBOSH or IOSH qualification, or willingness to achieve.
• Level 4 IWFM qualification, or willingness to achieve
• Experience of driving efficiency improvements.
• Experience working within a Further Education environment.

*Abingdon and Witney College reserve the right to close all applications before posted closing date.

AWC values diversity and encourages applications from all sections of the community. We are committed to safeguarding and expect all our employees and volunteers to share this commitment. We are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and all appointments are subject to satisfactory clearances including enhanced DBS checks.

Abingdon and Witney College are committed to safer recruitment practices. In addition to our pre-employment checks, we will conduct an online search. This includes checking Google main results feed as well as the 'News' and 'Images' tab. We will be checking for any publicly available information that suggests the applicant may not be suitable to work with children or young/vulnerable people or content that could potentially damage Abingdon and Witney College's reputation. This may include inappropriate posts, comments or images displaying evidence of offensive or inappropriate behaviour, jokes or language, discriminatory comments, inappropriate photos, drug or alcohol misuse.