Head of Estates

Use your engineering expertise to shape the future of an organisation that supports military veterans. This is a rare opportunity to take ownership of the engineering strategy, infrastructure investment and long-term development of a respected charitable organisation's multi-site estate portfolio.

Reporting directly to the Director of Operations, you will become the organisation's senior engineering authority, providing technical leadership across multiple sites while helping to shape future investment decisions, sustainability initiatives and asset management strategies.

This is not a traditional facilities management position.

The successful candidate will play a key role in influencing how buildings, engineering systems and infrastructure evolve over the coming years, ensuring environments remain safe, sustainable, compliant and fit for the future.

Most importantly, every decision you make will positively impact the lives of military veterans and their families.

Why this role is different

As Head of Estates, you will sit at the heart of the organisation's leadership team, acting as the bridge between technical engineering requirements and operational delivery.

You will have the opportunity to:

Lead the long-term engineering and estates strategy across a diverse property portfolio
Influence significant capital investment and infrastructure improvement programmes
Develop asset lifecycle and replacement strategies
Drive sustainability and environmental initiatives
Provide expert engineering advice to senior leadership
Shape future estate development and investment decisions
Deliver meaningful improvements within environments that support military veterans

This is an opportunity to leave a lasting legacy while leading engineering decisions that genuinely matter.

The Role

As Head of Estates, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across building services, infrastructure, engineering systems and estate assets.

Working across multiple locations, you will oversee a small engineering team and specialist contractors while ensuring the estate remains safe, compliant, efficient and future-ready.

Key responsibilities will include:

Engineering Leadership & Strategy
Act as the organisation's senior engineering and technical advisor
Develop and implement long-term engineering and asset management strategies
Support senior leaders with technical decision-making and investment planning
Build strong engineering governance and compliance frameworks
Lead infrastructure and sustainability initiatives

Asset Management & Capital Planning
Develop structured asset lifecycle and replacement programmes
Create long-term capital expenditure plans and investment roadmaps
Assess infrastructure condition, risk and future viability
Support business case development for major projects and upgrades
Prioritise engineering investment to maximise value and operational resilience

Estates & Infrastructure Management
Oversee building services, HVAC, mechanical and electrical systems
Lead infrastructure improvement and upgrade projects
Ensure estates services support operational excellence across all locations
Manage planned maintenance strategies and contractor performance
Drive continuous improvement across engineering operations

Stakeholder Engagement
Build collaborative relationships across Operations, Sustainability and Senior Leadership teams
Communicate technical information clearly to non-technical stakeholders
Work closely with site leadership teams to ensure engineering solutions support resident wellbeing
Foster a culture of openness, collaboration and shared decision making  
About You

We are keen to hear from candidates who bring strong engineering leadership experience within multi-site environments.

You may currently be working as a:

Head of Estates
Estates Manager
Senior Estates Manager
Technical Services Manager
Building Services Manager
Engineering Services Manager
Regional Engineering Manager
Facilities Engineering Manager
Head of Building Services
Senior Engineering Manager Experience gained within healthcare, care, facilities management, defence, hospitality, education, commercial property, manufacturing, engineering services or other regulated environments will be considered.

  What You'll Bring
Strong mechanical and electrical building services knowledge
Experience managing engineering or estates functions across multiple sites
Asset management and lifecycle planning expertise
Capital expenditure planning and budget management experience
Contractor and supplier management capability
Strong understanding of compliance, risk and engineering governance
Experience delivering infrastructure upgrades and improvement projects
Ability to influence and engage senior stakeholders
Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts clearly

Experience of HVAC systems, water infrastructure, sustainability initiatives and regulated environments would be advantageous.

The Person

Cultural fit is critical to this appointment.

You will be:

Collaborative…