Head of Service Urban Estates

Cambridgeshire County Council; Huntingdonshire; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellbeing package

Additional annual leave (pro-rata)

Flexible bank holidays

Pension AVCs (tax/National Insurance)

Professional development opportunities

Paid volunteering hours

IDEAL staff network access

Employee Recognition Awards

Our Cambs Rewards discounts

Car Lease and Cycle to Work schemes

Job summary

Cambridgeshire County Council seeks an experienced Head of Service - Urban Estates to shape the future of the council’s urban property estate. You will drive strategy across estate management, landlord/tenant matters, valuations, acquisitions and disposals, and development opportunities, ensuring robust professional and commercial advice.

You will lead a multidisciplinary estates team, deliver value across the portfolio and build strong relationships with elected Members, partners and external

Qualifications

• Senior property professional with broad experience in estate and asset management.
• Experience advising on landlord and tenant matters, valuations, acquisitions and disposals.
• Proven leadership of multidisciplinary estates teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic, professional leadership to a multidisciplinary estates team.
• Develop and deliver estate and asset management strategies.
• Maximise financial, operational and social value from the property portfolio.
• Identify and progress opportunities for 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 governance and manage property-related risk.
• Develop relationships with internal services, public-sector partners, developers, occupiers and advisers.
• Lead and develop colleagues to create a high-performing, customer-focused service.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Commercial estate management

Negotiation

Communication & influence

Team leadership

MRICS

Education

MRICS qualification

Job description

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.

• 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 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.

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.

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. A MRICS professional qualification is essential.

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.

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