Senior Estates and Facilities Manager

NHS Blood And Transplant; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working arrangements

Flexible working options

Generous annual leave

Job summary

NHS Blood and Transplant is seeking a Senior Estates & Facilities Manager to lead the safe, efficient operation of a blood centre, ensuring facilities and infrastructure perform at their best. You will drive improvements, manage significant budgets and shape estates strategy.

You will lead multidisciplinary teams, manage contractors and stakeholders, and ensure compliance with health and safety standards while delivering key maintenance and capital projects to support NHS services across the UK.

Qualifications

• Significant senior-level estates or facilities management experience within a service-based environment.
• Experience leading and developing teams, managing resources and delivering operational services.
• Proven experience managing contractors and stakeholder relationships.

Responsibilities

• Leading, managing and developing multidisciplinary teams, including managers, administrators, receptionists, technicians and support services staff, fostering a culture of learning, continuous improvement and accountability, grow and deliver high-quality services.
• Contributing to the strategic development of the estate, including the formulation of NHSBT’s Estates Strategy, through proactive engagement with colleagues and customers.
• Ensuring buildings, engineering systems and facilities remain compliant, reliable and fit for purpose.
• Delivering maintenance, improvement and capital projects that enhance the working environment and support operational resilience.
• Building strong relationships with customers, contractors and stakeholders to improve services and resolve issues effectively.
• Monitoring contractor performance and drive quality, value for money and continuous improvement.
• Lead planning, risk management and business continuity activities.
• Managing budgets, resources and procurement activity efficiently.
• Contributing to local, regional and national estates initiatives and strategy.

Skills

Leadership

Budgeting

Contractor mgmt

Stakeholder mgmt

Health & safety

Education

Facilities Management degree

Job description

Job Summary

As a Senior Estates & Facilities Manager, you will play a vital role in helping NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) deliver services that save and improve lives. You will lead the safe, efficient operation of a critical blood centre, ensuring facilities, infrastructure and support services perform at their best. Working with colleagues, contractors and stakeholders, you will drive continuous improvement, maintain compliance, manage significant budgets and help shape future estates strategy. This is an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution, lead high‑performing teams and influence decisions that support essential healthcare services every day.

Main duties of the job

In this role you will be responsible for managing the effective and efficient provision of a wide range of estates and facilities services at the blood centre, in line with national standards and to meet the needs of customers. Your key responsibilities will include:

• Leading, managing and developing multidisciplinary teams, including managers, administrators, receptionists, technicians and support services staff, fostering a culture of learning, continuous improvement and accountability, grow and deliver high-quality services.
• Contributing to the strategic development of the estate, including the formulation of NHSBT’s Estates Strategy, through proactive engagement with colleagues and customers.
• Ensuring buildings, engineering systems and facilities remain compliant, reliable and fit for purpose.
• Delivering maintenance, improvement and capital projects that enhance the working environment and support operational resilience.
• Building strong relationships with customers, contractors and stakeholders to improve services and resolve issues effectively.
• Monitoring contractor performance and drive quality, value for money and continuous improvement.
• Lead planning, risk management and business continuity activities.
• Managing budgets, resources and procurement activity efficiently.
• Contributing to local, regional and national estates initiatives and strategy.

Willingness to travel, including overnight stays where required. Ability to participate in an on‑call rota, including evenings, weekends and public holidays.

About You

Experience and Knowledge (essential only)

• Significant senior‑level estates or facilities management experience within a service‑based environment.
• Experience leading and developing teams, managing resources and delivering operational services.
• Proven experience managing contractors and stakeholder relationships.
• Experience managing budgets and making effective operational decisions.
• Knowledge of health and safety legislation, service improvement and facilities management, best practice.

Qualifications and Training (essential only)

• Professional qualification or degree in Facilities Management, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development (CPD).

About Us

It takes all types of people to deliver the kind of service that saves and improves lives. At NHS Blood and Transplant, you’ll join a team of more than 6,000 people who are making a genuine difference to communities, families, friends, relatives and more across the UK. We play a unique and special role in the NHS by helping people do something extraordinary- donate blood, blood products, organs, tissues, or stem cells to save someone in need.

Our three core values are what set us apart. They guide and inspire everything we do.

By being caring, expertly meeting the needs of our patients and our people, and accepting nothing less than the best quality, we can do extraordinary work – and help our people to do something extraordinary in their career, too. Three small words, one big difference - Caring, Expert and Quality. Together we’ll save and improve more lives than ever.

You will join us on our journey to create an inclusive workplace and aim to reflect the diverse communities we work with, and we positively encourage applications from all sectors of the community.

What we offer:

• Hybrid working arrangements– because NHSBT works nationally, we’re able to offer hybrid working options that give you more flexibility to balance work with life.
• Flexible working options– we promote flexible working where the role allows. We’re happy to discuss what flexibility might look like for you.
• Generous annual leave- 27 days annual leave (pro rata for part-time) plus Bank Holidays, increasing to 29 days after 5 years’ service and to 33 days after 10 years.
• Inclusive pension scheme- the NHS Pension Scheme is a defined benefit scheme (not dependent on investment returns). Further details and outline of benefits can be found at:http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/information-about-nhs-pensions
• Supportive learning culture- we’ve fostered a culture of continuous learning where colleagues are well‑led, engaged, and encouraged to grow. We support you in reaching your full potential, both in your current role and future career. Our Thrive program embodies our commitment to learning and development, offering a wide range of activities to support your personal and professional growth. It’s open to everyone at NHSBT, ensuring you have the resources to succeed and shine in your role.
• Health and wellbeing support– we offer confidential services including occupational health, employee assistance programme, and wellbeing resources. Our support is available to all colleagues and we endeavour to provide tailored workplace adjustments where possible.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we welcome applications from disabled candidates. We will talk with you to explore any adjustments that may help you during the recruitment process.

You can find more information about accessibility, our culture, and how we support applicants on the NHSBT Careers website:

• Read about our application process
• Learn more about our culture at NHSBT

Next steps

This vacancy will close at 23:59 on 4 October 2026.

The assessment process for this role will comprise a single interview, structured as a presentation followed by a competency‑based interview. Interviews are expected to be held week commencing 19thOctober – subject to confirmation. Further details regarding the presentation will be shared with shortlisted candidates.