Head of Service Urban Estates

Cambridgeshire County Council; Huntingdon; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellbeing package

4 weeks additional annual leave (salar

Flexible bank holidays

Pension AVCs (tax/NI savings)

Development opportunities and coaching

Paid volunteering hours

IDEAL network inclusion groups

Employee recognition awards

Our Cambs Rewards discounts, car lease

Job summary

Cambridgeshire County Council is seeking an experienced property professional to join the senior leadership team as Head of Service - Urban Estates. The role oversees the strategic management of the urban property estate to support service delivery, regeneration, financial sustainability and council priorities.

You will lead the urban estates function, guiding areas such as asset management, landlord/tenant matters, valuation, acquisitions and disposals, and development opportunities, ensuring

Responsibilities

• Provide strong strategic and professional leadership to a multidisciplinary estates team.
• Develop and deliver effective estate and asset management strategies.
• Maximise the financial, operational, and social value delivered from the Council’s property portfolio.
• Identify and progress opportunities for rationalisation, disposal, acquisition, investment and development.
• Provide high-quality professional property advice to senior officers and elected Members.
• Lead complex negotiations and significant property transactions.
• Maintain strong governance, professional standards, and effective management of property-related risk.
• Develop productive relationships with internal services, public-sector partners, developers, occupiers, and professional advisers.
• Lead and develop colleagues, creating a high-performing, customer-focused and commercially aware service.
• Support the wider transformation of Property Services and the Council’s corporate estate.

Job description

The following content displays a map of the jobs location - New Shire Hall, Alconbury Weald, Huntingdon

New Shire Hall, Alconbury Weald, Huntingdon

Closing Date:

15/11/2026

Job Category:

Management

Organisation:

Cambridgeshire County Council

We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits in addition to the basics like annual leave, sick pay, pension and mileage…

• A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family
• Buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave (pro-rata) through our salary sacrifice scheme
• Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances
• Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings
• Access to development opportunities, apprenticeships and qualified coaches to support your personal and professional growth
• Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day
• Access to Peer Support Groups through our IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network
• Opportunities to nominate and receive Employee Recognition Awards
• An Our Cambs Rewards account, giving you access to in-store and online discounts as well as our Car Lease and Cycle to Work schemes

Take a look at our Employment Benefits Brochure attached to this advert to find out more.

About the role

We are looking for an experienced and commercially minded property professional to join our senior leadership team as Head of Service - Urban Estates.

This is a key leadership role responsible for the strategic management and performance of the Council’s urban property estate, ensuring our assets support service delivery, regeneration, financial sustainability and the Council’s wider strategic priorities.

You will provide professional leadership across the urban estates function, overseeing areas such as estate and asset management, landlord and tenant matters, valuation, acquisitions and disposals, development opportunities and the commercial performance of property assets.

Working closely with the Service Director, senior colleagues, elected Members, partners and external advisers, you will help shape the future of the estate and ensure property decisions are supported by robust professional, financial and commercial advice.

We are looking for someone who can:

• Provide strong strategic and professional leadership to a multidisciplinary estates team.
• Develop and deliver effective estate and asset management strategies.
• Maximise the financial, operational, and social value delivered from the Council’s property portfolio.
• Identify and progress opportunities for rationalisation, disposal, acquisition, investment and development.
• Provide high-quality professional property advice to senior officers and elected Members.
• Lead complex negotiations and significant property transactions.
• Maintain strong governance, professional standards, and effective management of property-related risk.
• Develop productive relationships with internal services, public-sector partners, developers, occupiers, and professional advisers.
• Lead and develop colleagues, creating a high-performing, customer-focused and commercially aware service.
• Support the wider transformation of Property Services and the Council’s corporate estate.

You will be an experienced estate professional with substantial experience of managing a diverse property portfolio and operating at a senior level. You will combine commercial judgement and technical property expertise with strong leadership, communication, and influencing skills.

This is an opportunity to take a leading role in shaping how a major local authority uses its property assets, balancing commercial performance, public-service requirements, regeneration opportunities, and long-term stewardship.

You will join Property Services at a time of significant change and will have the opportunity to influence both the direction of the urban estate and the future development of the service.

Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes.

Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do.

We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities. If you don’t meet every single requirement in the job role but think this could be you, please don’t be put off. We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse, so if you think you could be a good candidate for this role please consider applying and speak to the recruiting manager if you have any questions.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network 'IDEAL' and self-organised peer support groups help us to foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the Hiring Manager, whose details can be found in the advert, to discuss any adjustment needs. Through a Guaranteed Interview Scheme, we will offer an interview to all applicants who disclose a disability and meet the essential criteria for a job vacancy. On your application form you can indicate you are disabled. Some examples of reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process could include additional time to complete an assessment or printing a document on pastel coloured paper with larger font size and line spacing. We would value talking about what might be possible to enable you to join us and thrive, so if there is something that would help you to do your best during your journey with us, please get in touch.

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