Deputy Head of Estates

Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury, HP21 8AL

Job Description

• £55,000 per annum plus 10% Bonus and Sodexo Benefits
• 40 hours per week
• Shift Pattern:
  Monday to Friday with occasional on call responsibilities when required

Job Introduction

Are you an experienced Estates professional ready to take the next step in your leadership career? Sodexo Health & Care is looking for a Deputy Head of Estates to join our Hard FM Estates leadership team at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

Working closely with the Head of Estates, you’ll play a key role in leading the day‑day delivery of safe, efficient and compliant Estates and Engineering services across the Hospital. You’ll lead and support a multi‑disciplinary team, oversee planned and reactive maintenance, and help ensure critical hospital infrastructure, plant and engineering systems remain safe, reliable and fit for purpose.

This is an opportunity to make a real impact in a complex healthcare environment, driving high standards of compliance, performance and continuous improvement while supporting the delivery of excellent patient care.

What You’ll Do:

• Support the Head of Estates in the day-to‑day leadership and management of Hard FM and Estates services across the hospital.
• Lead and support engineers, contractors and specialist teams to deliver a safe, compliant, high-quality and responsive maintenance service.
• Oversee planned preventative maintenance (PPM), reactive maintenance, statutory compliance and engineering operations, ensuring services meet agreed KPIs and SLAs.
• Take a lead role in maintaining compliance with healthcare legislation, HTMs/HBNs, Health & Safety requirements and other relevant standards.
• Monitor the condition and performance of hospital buildings, plant and engineering systems, identifying risks and opportunities for improvement.
• Support the delivery of lifecycle, small works, projects, service improvements and modernisation initiatives.
• Provide professional and technical advice on complex engineering and Estates matters, including supporting the response to plant, equipment and system failures.
• Promote a strong culture of health, safety, quality, continuous improvement and customer service.
• Support audits, investigations, risk assessments, business continuity and emergency response arrangements.
• Manage delegated budgets, resources and contractors, ensuring value for money and effective use of resources.
• Deputise for the Head of Estates when required and participate in the Estates on-call and escalation arrangements.

What You Bring:

• Extensive experience in Estates, Facilities Management, Building Services or Engineering, ideally within a complex operational environment.
• Healthcare/hospital Estates experience is preferred, particularly experience within an acute hospital or similarly complex environment.
• Strong knowledge of building services, engineering maintenance, statutory compliance and Health & Safety.
• Working knowledge of relevant Healthcare Technical Memoranda (HTMs), Health Building Notes (HBNs) and associated healthcare requirements.
• Proven experience of leading, managing and developing engineering or Estates teams, including contractors and specialist suppliers.
• Experience managing PPM, reactive maintenance, KPIs, SLAs, compliance and performance improvement.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills, with the ability to remain calm and effective in a busy, complex and sometimes pressured environment.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to work with clinical teams, clients, contractors and senior stakeholders.
• Experience managing change, resources and budgets, with a focus on efficiency, value for money and continuous improvement.
• A proactive and collaborative approach,…