Head of Estates

FirstGroup plc; Swindon; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free rail travel

Pension scheme

Health care plan

Discounted travel

Employee assistance programme

Job summary

Great Western Railway in Swindon is seeking a proactive Head of Estates to lead day-to-day estates management of operational and commercial premises. You will drive lease negotiations, landlord relationships, and compliance, ensuring assets stay fit for purpose and deliver value across strategic locations including Stations, Depots and HQ.

Reporting to the Property Director, you will manage acquisitions and disposals, renewals, and performance of the asset portfolio within the ISO55001

Qualifications

• Qualification in Estates Management or Built Environment.
• MRICS certification.
• Professional membership of an external accreditation body.
• Extensive experience in Estates Management with various contract types.
• Awareness or experience in Property/Asset Management.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead on estates management across commercial and operational premises.
• Oversee lease renewals, rent reviews, and restructurings to maximise value.
• Manage landlord/tenant relationships and compliance (Fire Safety, Security, Maintenance).
• Collaborate with Head of Property Asset Management and Head of Infrastructure Strategy.
• Act as SME across other functions interfacing with assets.
• Drive value and income through station retail and portfolio management.

Skills

Organised

Stakeholder management

Communication

Customer focus

Decision making

Education

MRICS

Estates Management qualification

Job description

Be Part of a Journey Like No Other – Join GWR

At Great Western Railway,we'remore than a train company -we'rethe proud custodians of Brunel's iconic railway, one of the most prestigious networks in the world. With over 100 million passenger journeys each year and more than 275 destinations across theSouth West, South Wales and London, we deliver travel experiences through some of the UK's most beautiful landscapes and top tourist spots.

We'renot standing still. With a modern fleet and ambitious plans for growth,we'retransforming the way people think about rail travel: relaxing, fast, efficient,friendlyand fun.

Our team of 6,000+ passionate colleagues-from engineers to on-board hosts-play a vital role in this transformation. And their efforts are paying offwithGWR's Customer satisfactionscoreof92%-our highest in 20 years!

These results show what's possible when teamwork,prideand passion drive everything we do.We'veset a new standard. Nowwe'relooking for more great people to help us keep raising it.

Ready to join something exceptional?Discover opportunities at GWR and be part of our journey.

About the team:

Property Asset Management are responsible for the maintenance, inspection, repair / renewal of operational and commercial property assets, along with the estates management of our property portfolio. In line with our contract obligations and the national station access conditions delivered through our asset management system certified to ISO55001.

About the job:

Join our team on our asset management journey maximising the effectiveness and efficiencies of our property portfolio delivering value and outcomes through our asset management framework. Leading on the day-to-day estates management of our operational and commercial property premises, ensuring GWR fulfil their contract obligations.

Ensuring our operational and commercial property premises remain fit for purpose and readily available, by providing a quality service that optimises the asset life-cycle delivery through excellence in asset management safely, efficiently and sustainably.

Working in collaboration with our internal and external Stakeholders managing their expectations and needs. Supporting GWR's integrated management systems and our ISO55001 asset management system requirements.

Your main responsibilities will be:

As Head of Estates, reporting into GWRs Business Assurance & Property Director, you will be responsible for the day-to-day estates management of GWRs occupied operational and commercial premises, supporting the functionality and business critical requirements across key strategic locations including, Stations, Depots, HQ, Occupational Health, Learning & Development, Infrastructure Control and Security Operations Centre(s).

The candidate will be required to:

Lead on GWRs Estates Management covering:

• Commercial property lease agreements
• Landlord and Tenant relationships / obligations (direct with Landlord or the Managing Agents)
• Compliance - Fire Safety / Security / Statutory Maintenance
• Dilapidations

Work in partnership with the Head of Property Asset Management and Head of Infrastructure Strategy as part of the Property, Infrastructure and Estates joint Strategy and Planning initiatives

Manage GWRs operational and commercial property acquisitions and disposals, working closely with internal and external stakeholders and project teams

Manage GWRs lease renewals, rent reviews, surrenders etc as well as review and advise on opportunities to generate value from restructuring GWRs operational and commercial property interests.

Act as the Business Owner on GWRs Station Commercial Retail Estates Management contract, driving value and income, maximising operational profitability and long-term growth of our commercial property portfolio.

Provide technical and professional expertise as the SME across other business functions / disciplines interfacing with operational and commercial property assets

You’ll need to be:

• Organised with the ability to prioritise workload
• Able to establish relationships and communicate effectively with colleagues and stakeholders
• Customer focused
• Able to challenge and make informed decision making

As a minimum you’ll need to have:

• Qualification in a disciplined field – Estates Management, Built Environment
• Certification - MRICS
• Professional Membership of an external accreditation professional body appropriate for role
• Extensive experience in Estates Management including working with various contract types
• Awareness or Experience in Property Management and / or Asset Management
• Experience of coordinating and working with multidisciplinary teams on a variety of issues or projects

About the location:

As well as being based in Swindon the role also requires operating and managing over a large geographical area of the GWR operational network.

Working Pattern:

Full time, 37 hours per week.

Additional Information:

The candidate must be willing to travel across our network to familiarise themselves with our property asset portfolio and develop relationships with our internal and external stakeholders, including the undertaken of planned Safety Tours

The Reward:

As well asa great teamenvironment and comprehensive training, all GWR colleagues enjoy a range of benefits including:

• on-going development,

• defined benefit pension scheme with the Railways Pension Scheme,

• free rail travel across the GWR network for you and your family,

• discounted travel with other Train Operating Companies,

• company-sponsored health care plan,

• discounted shopping and gym membership,

• employeeassistanceprogramme and much more.

We all belong at GWR.

This is our vision for providing an inclusive environment for all our colleagues, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment.

We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA, ethnicity,religionand disability. Wemaintainzero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.

We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.

We review all roles and job descriptions to ensure they are accessible and, where possible, we support andprovideflexible working options; we recommend that you refer to each vacancy description for further details.

If you requireadditionalsupport to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below. We encourage you to share anyadditionalneeds you mayrequireso we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.

https://exceptionalindividuals.com/neurodiversity/

https://www.healthassured.org/blog/neurodiversity/