Workplace Services Manager

Heike-Maria Schmidt * text-studio-IT; Cardiff; On-site; GBP 41,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

Join the Government Property Agency as a Workplace Manager in Cardiff, where you will oversee the delivery of outstanding workplace services while managing contracts and enhancing customer satisfaction. This role seeks a dynamic individual passionate about driving change and sustainability in the public sector.

Benefits

Civil Service pension with 28.97% employer contribution

Generous annual leave

Flexible working options

Qualifications

• Experienced in property and workplace service management.
• Ability to manage contract delivery and service excellence.
• Strong interpersonal skills and adept in team management.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate delivery of workplace services and customer support.
• Manage contract performance across multiple supplier contracts.
• Lead and inspire team members to achieve service excellence.

Skills

Customer service excellence

Change management

Analytical skills

Stakeholder engagement

Education

NEC3/4 training or equivalent experience

Job description

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Details Reference number 411387 Salary £41,055 - £44,415 A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97% GBP Job grade Senior Executive Officer GPA SEO NATIONAL Contract type Permanent Business area GPA - Workplace Services Type of role Operational Delivery

Property Working pattern Full-time Number of jobs available 1 Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information
  
  

Location Cardiff About the job Job summary

The Government Property Agency is the largest property holder in government, with more than £2.1 billion in property assets and over 55% of the governments office estate.

We are transforming the way the Civil Service works by creating great places to work, leading the largest commercial office programme in the UK, working towards halving carbon emissions from government offices, and achieving greater value for taxpayers. And we are looking for innovative, solutions-focused people to join our team.

Representing the best covenant in the UK His Majestys Government we are leading transformational programmes such as the Government Hubs Programme, Whitehall Campus Programme and Net Zero Programme, as well as delivering modern, cost-effective real estate service solutions.

Innovation and progress are at the heart of our behaviours. We foster a culture of lifelong learning, where curiosity and self-improvement are encouraged. And were dedicated to becoming a leading, inclusive employer both in the external market and throughout the Civil Service. Our strong emphasis on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) is not just about driving inclusion across our organisation, it is also about ensuring our services meet the needs of government departments and the civil servants who use our spaces.

Join our dynamic and diverse team that leads with purpose, improving sustainability, nurturing social value, driving inclusivity and flexibility, and kickstarting economic growth. We are driven by purpose, and you can be part of it too: where you make a meaningful impact; where you influence; where your voice really matters; where you help to shape our future direction.

The GPA is committed to representing the communities we serve by making Diversity, Equality and Inclusion part of everything we do.

To ensure that we are always recruiting and retaining a diverse mix of talent, we are particularly inviting applications from candidates who are disabled, ethnically or gender diverse, and people who identify as being part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Job Description

Role Purpose and Main Duties

Building usage varies considerably across the GPA customer portfolio due to the nature of their specific business operations and the ongoing transformation plans that are directing ways of working. This role will work closely with RSCPs, Business and Estates leads across the GPA customer group and GPA colleagues and the responsible senior officers for each building to consider how to improve and optimise the use of buildings and deliver a great place to work for our customers, via the administration of the management of contract delivery.

The Workplace Manager (WPM) is a pivotal position within the Workplace Service Delivery Team. Reporting to the Area Workplace Manager, the post holder will have responsibility for coordinating the delivery of high quality customer services, via the administration of the management of contract delivery across supplier contracts, within the four GPA operational regions (North, Central, South and London). Passionate about customer service excellence, the successful candidate needs to be able to coordinate business and accommodation support activities within their responsibility and liaise externally with the wider community. As we expand our Hub portfolio, we are seeking an adaptable and diverse team of Assistant Workplace Managers who the post holder will have responsibility for in the capacity of line management in regards to :-

• Management of contract delivery and change control process' across 10 contracts
• Delivering Workplace Services commercial compliance across 10 contracts
• Strong customer ethos with the ability to build communities, within our GPA managed portfolio supporting customer organisations, between our internal and external communities and their places, and between multiple delivery partner organisations (commercial and non-commercial), and
• Excellent change management to support senior leaders with the transformation of our workplace services
• Experience of workplace and facilities management, including health a safety would be advantageous, with the stakeholder engagement and skills to help customers get the best from their workplaces and the relationships between property, technology, people policies and organisational culture.
  
  

Our estate is migrating towards smarter working environments with Hubs leading the way and the WPM will champion smarter working, offering guidance and advice to enable customers to get the best out of their spaces and services and maximise their use of available space, challenging ways of working and behaviours as appropriate and necessary.

Key Responsibilities

This Workplace Manager role will concentrate on the highlighted responsibilities.

You will put customer service excellence at the heart of everything, and:

• Lead, organise and coordinate the delivery of workplace business and accommodation support services within the responsible location(s)
• Be responsible for creating and inspiring the customer community and support the delivery of a workplace that:
• Encourages relationships and connections amongst customers
• Is a vibrant, friendly and social culture
• Supports our customers health and mental well being
• Is an integral part of the local community
• Ensure the community experience is accessible to all and support a thriving digital community across our Hub portfolio.
• Build strong stakeholder relationships with clients and suppliers, ensuring that continuous and effective engagement is in place
• Be responsible for managing a team of FTEs either directly and via the supplier organisations, leading and inspiring team members to consistently deliver excellent customer service across our portfolio
• Undertake robust contract management to achieve quality service standards and value for money, exercising commercial terms to drive performance where needed
• Take initiative and ownership of business and accommodation issues and escalations, providing clear direction to WS delivery partners and your WS colleagues and stakeholders
• Work closely with other regional peers and Customer Experience team to drive consistency across teams, combine and share ideas for continuous improvement driving VFM and performance enhancements
• Support the Regions Workplace Service Managers and Area workplace Managers in leading the effective integration of new assets, services and teams as part of the ongoing GPA on boarding programme and the delivery of projects in the Hubs and Whitehall Campus programmes
• Support your Workplace Services colleagues in monitoring and assuring FM performance at your site. Ensuring that FM delivery standards remain high, owning any issues or escalations within the post holders responsibility to ensure they are dealt with effectively by the GPA Service Delivery partner(s).
• Maintaining a culture of responsiveness, responsibility, continuous improvement, mutual support and pride in where we work.
• Have strong organisational skills, a proven track record of managing diverse competing priorities/changing deadlines and are resilient when working in a changing and fast paced environment.
• Representing the Workplace Services team by attendance at business meetings as required.
• Responsible for the management, forecasting and reporting of the allocated budget
• Ensures adherence to the governance model, holds contractual meetings with suppliers in line with requirements and informs management of activities within their location(s)
• Utilise the data and information to make decisions and close collaboration with the data team to identify areas of improvement
• Drives GPA initiatives within their responsible operations
• Ensures alignment to GPA strategies
• Responds to client queries within the allocated SLA
• Supports the provision of information to enable responses to FOIs and PQs within the set timescales
• Responsible for incident management and reporting for sites within scope
• Identifying vacant and poorly used space.
• Advising GPA customers on the correct process to enable their full business requirements to be captured via the contract variation process, supporting them to develop robust requirements whilst also demand challenging where appropriate.
• Assist in planning and delivering contract variations that do not require any works or WSD colleagues involvement such as minor moves and changes. Ensuring any move requests are demand challenged, are in keeping with the overall Hubs strategy and that all funding is in place before any move is affected.
• Improving efficiency of the location(s) through effective occupier behaviour by championing wider strategic initiatives, e.g. taking advantage of flexible working and smarter working.
• Continuous improvement planning, execution and sustainability
• Customer Information / Communication
• Any other reasonable and authorised request
  
  

In Summary These Responsibilities Will Focus On

• Management of the Administration team monitoring the Contract inbox for each contract
• Management and support of the facilitation of the Contract Change Control Register
• Responsible for managing and recording all contract variations in the Change Control Register to ensure effective management and easy retrieval for audit purposes
• Supporting any scope, price changes and the implementation of procurement rules and commercial processes
• Input into performance review of the commercial mechanisms and controls in the Workplace Service contracts
• Delivering the change mechanisms relating to the Workplace Service contracts
• Delivering the formal contractual change control procedures relating to service changes
  
  

This is an excellent time to join GPA, and play a crucial role in contributing to a priority agenda.

Person specification

Essential

Experience & technical skills

You Will Be

• A proven experienced property and/or workplace service management professional with knowledge of asset management, maintenance, customer service and supplier management
• Substantial experience managing contract delivery via a NEC3/4 approach, Public Sector contract and / or industry equivalent
• Analytical mind-set with the ability to assimilate a wide range of data sources to inform decision making
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentational and team working skills
• Line management experience of managing a small team of employees in some cases remotely
• Persuasive influencer who is able to confidently and articulately make an argument in support of a position
• Highly organised with demonstrable experience of driving change initiatives in complex matrix environments
• Must be willing and able to travel within the geography of the Region (and occasionally nationally) to deliver the duties and attend management meetings visiting sites not easily accessible by public transport
• Have the capability to be an excellent leader and manager, with experience of identifying and implementing improvements and promoting a culture of a high-performance customer service
• Have the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels
• Creative, innovative and adaptable, and able to evolve as the Agency develops, supporting the Area Workplace Services Manager with any change that needs to be implemented
• Comfortable working in a fast paced environment, dealing with uncertainty and handling a range of challenges competently as they emerge, and
• Experience of leading and/or supporting workplace-related services (hard and soft FM, operational security, ICT services, hospitality, community engagement) ideally with strong commercial skills and competency having the ability to drive a number of stakeholders
  
  

Essential Criteria

Qualifications & accreditations

• An experienced property and/or workplace service management professional with knowledge of asset management, maintenance, customer service and supplier management
• Completed training and substantial experience delivering NEC3/4 management of contract delivery and / or industry equivalent
• Analytical mind-set with the ability to assimilate a wide range of data sources to inform decision making
• Good interpersonal, communication and presentational and team working skills
• Persuasive influencer who is able to confidently and articulately make an argument in support of a position
• Must be willing and able to travel within the geography of the Region (and occasionally nationally) to deliver the duties and attend management meetings visiting sites not easily accessible by public transport
  
  

Desirable Criteria

• Appropriate professional qualifications and memberships of industry bodies, such as IWFM or equivalent and APM Registration or Charter-ship
• Commercial contract management Practitioner trained or currently working towards Practitioner qualification or willing to commence training to achieve Practitioner level
  
  

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
  
  

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Customer Perspective
• Commercial Acumen
• Property Market Knowledge
• Innovation
  
  

Benefits Alongside your salary of £41,055, Government Property Agency contributes £11,893 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• Generous annual leave
  
  

Things you need to know Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the communities and wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and well-being and aim to create a sense of belonging in a workplace where everyone feels valued.The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme (RIS) to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

Sift

The sift is due to take place week commencing 25th June 2025.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to include a CV and a 250-word personal statement. The personal statement should then align with the person specification.

Interview

GPA policy is for interviews to be held face to face, with virtual interviews only by absolute exception. The date and location will be confirmed if you are invited to interview. If you feel this will be a problem for you, please contact to discuss prior to submitting your application.

At interview, applicants will be scored against 4 behaviours - Managing a Quality Service, Communicating and Influencing, Making Effective Decisions, and Delivering at Pace.

Interview questions will be a blend of Behaviour, Experience, Strength and Technical (core skill) questions.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to GPA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the Assistance required section in the Additional requirements page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if youre deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Please note: in addition to the standard pre-employment checks for appointment into the Civil Service, all candidates must also obtain National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) clearance level for this vacancy. You will normally need to meet the minimum UK residency period as determined by the level of vetting being undertaken, which for SC is 5 years UK residency prior to your vetting application. If you have any questions about this residency requirement, please speak to the vacancy holder for this post.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website .

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicants details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check .

See our vetting charter . People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Nationality requirements

This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
  
  

Further information on nationality requirements Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

Requirements

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles . The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy . Apply and further information This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative. The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window). Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records. Contact point for applicants Job contact :

• Name : Carroll Nugent
• Email :
  
  

Recruitment team

• Email :
  
  

Further information If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission:

Click here to visit Civil Service Commission

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Other

• Industries

  Strategic Management Services

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