Associate Director of Estates

The role is a senior position with the Estates & Capital Development Directorate, with the primary function being to strategically and operationally lead and manage the Estates function on behalf of the Trust, ensuring the estate is fully compliant with legislative requirements and guidance. The role is responsible for ensuring the delivery of continuous improvement throughout the department, to provide a high-quality service that is transparent and fully reportable., Responsible for driving change within the department to ensure the service is fully compliant with regulation, legislation and guidance by implementing systems and processes to monitor and measure compliance and performance.
Provide leadership with regards to reviewing current delivery standards and apply professional expertise to strengthen the intelligent client-side capability and capacity to maintain the relationship and contract performance with the PFI partners and lead contract and performance reviews ensuring the contractors meet their day-to-day responsibilities plus meet the need for effective strategic planning.
This position will not be supported for visa sponsorship. All applicants are expected to have valid right to work document to work in the UK when applying for this position.

Working for our organisation
We are committed to being an inclusive and diverse employer. We strive to employ people who reflect the communities we serve, and aim to create an inclusive culture where everyone can reach their full potential. Whatever your race, ethnicity, belief, generation, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity, disability or experience, you'll appreciate the opportunities we give you to work in an inclusive atmosphere. We welcome applications from people of diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences to build on the progress we've achieved to make our Trust diverse and the best place to work. We celebrate the diversity of thought, viewpoints and ideas that help us overcome challenges and embrace new possibilities. We have signed the Armed Forces Covenant Pledge and have a commitment to the Armed Forces Community.
We are dedicated to using our Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) approach as our shared organisation model of change to enhance our services and ensure excellence in patient care.
If you are considering applying for a role, please be aware that as an NHS Employee you may have contact with vulnerable service users. We strongly encourage that all our staff are vaccinated against COVID-19 and are vaccinated annually against Flu, in order to protect the health and safety of our staff and patients. Your commitment will help us to put the safety and care of our patients first, as well as helping us to protect you and your colleagues.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Strategy and policy development
1.1 Engage with Directors throughout the Trust to enable the development of the Trust's Estates Strategy which will support the Trusts business and clinical priorities, comply with regulation, and provides cost efficient and effective services.
1.2 Responsible for driving change within the department to ensure the service is fully compliant with regulation, legislation and guidance by implementing systems and process to monitor and measure compliance and performance.
1.3 Provide leadership with regards to reviewing current delivery standards for compliance against industry standards and develop, then implement, an action plan to correct any areas of non-compliance.
1.4 Responsible for developing highly complex business cases for presentation to Board as necessary to support service improvement recommendations.
1.5 Responsible for reviewing existing budgets/expenditure and compiling new, to drive efficiencies within existing delivery, ensuring value for money.
1.6 Ensure that Managers proactively monitor performance of all Estates services to ensure that the Trust's needs, KPIs and service standards are met, with the intention of improving existing standards in line with customer needs.
1.7 Responsible for developing and implementing Service Level Agreements with internal departments.
1.8 Lead on the monitoring, development and delivery of policies as appropriate to ensure the Trust has full coverage and develop new policies as required.
1.9 Responsible for reviewing existing processes and procedures and implementing new where gaps arise to ensure all service delivery elements are adequate and that staff are trained accordingly to deliver enhanced service in line with the processes.
1.10 Responsible for auditing, reviewing, proposing and implementing service improvements wherever possible to meet the National Standards, Hygiene Code & Infection Control requirements, ensuring good performance ratings are achieved.
1.11 Lead on implementing processes that enable the undertaking of monitoring of services to verify that service providers obligations are being discharged and take remedial action if applicable
1.12 Responsible for the development the Directorate's Business Plan (Estates) and ensure that the objectives are achieved within timescale and budget.
1.13 Work closely with the Associate Director of Facilities and the Associate Director of Fire Safety & Governance providing cross cover as appropriate.
1.14 Lead on the development of an Energy and Environment strategy for the Trust.
PFI
2.1 Embed a collaborative working approach to PFI partners working together to enhance long term relations and improve informed working relations plus be accountable for driving delivery of PFI operational performance and compliance and safe transition from private to public sector ownership upon expiry.
2.2 Apply professional expertise to strengthen the intelligent client-side capability and capacity to maintain the relationship and contract performance with the PFI partners and lead contract and performance reviews ensuring the contractors meet their day-to-day responsibilities plus meet the need for effective strategic planning.
2.3 Actively work with hospital operational teams and PFI service providers to identify operational improvements, optimisation of asset management and use and efficiencies that represent value for money to the NHS over short, medium and long term to minimise unnecessary expenditure across multiple sites but mitigate risk of savings being at expense of longer-term value.
2.4 Hold constructive regular meetings with the PFI SPV and shareholder representatives to ensure common understanding of contractual and statutory obligations and hold parties accountable for specific performance and adherence efficiently and effectively.
2.5 Set up and maintain a PFI monitoring calendar to ensure that contractors and suppliers deliver the full scope of contracted services and meet specified timescales; that periodic activities are captured and executed, reporting is timely and comprehensive.
2.6 Work across the PFI and hospital operational teams to maintain robust governance, early warning systems, accurate, valid and reliable data, records of performance, services scope, authorised variations, agreed lifecycle works and payments to support effective and prudent exercising of contractual and commercial levers in addressing problems and disputes.
2.7 Establish and maintain robust programme, reporting and activity monitoring governance.
2.8 With the Director of Estates, Facilities and Capital Development, construct, maintain and manage a dedicated operational team and resilient expiry team with the technical capability, capacity, knowledge and skillsets required to deliver the agreed day to day needs and transition programme leading to safe handover of each NHS hospital.
Service delivery
3.1 Responsible for ensuring the Estates service is delivered in accordance with Statutory Regulations, Service Level Agreements, contractual specifications and Trust requirements. Agree internal SLAs with customers to set a baseline and expectations for service delivery.
3.2 Lead the Estates team and other internal teams to find solutions to issues and problems that enable the Trust's operation to happen with minimal interruptions.
3.3 Act as the Trust expert for Estates, providing other members of Trust staff with professional advice on estates related matters.
3.4 Responsible for ensuring annual surveys are conducted, risk assessments and audits are fully implemented to monitor service performance and take appropriate actions to address actual or potential service failures, risks and regulatory non-compliance.
3.5 Responsible for producing and presenting reports on performance delivery with action plans, where appropriate, to address service delivery issues.
3.6 Responsible for the development, consultation and implementation of a maintenance programme to support the safe and efficient delivery of all clinical and support services across all Trust sites.
3.7 Responsible for Health and Safety issues relevant to the services provided and to ensure compliance with current legislation regarding the provision of services. Undertake Duty of Care visits and auditing external service providers or/and contractors.
3.8 Lead the negotiation and review of service contracts to ensure that the Trust receives high quality, efficient and cost-effective services that meet Trust business and regulatory requirements.
Financial management
4.1 Responsible for the Estates budgets, capital and revenue, and ensure that expenditure is within agreed budget limits.
4.2 Support the development of the annual capital programme with regards to backlog maintenance in liaison with the Director of Estates, Facilities & Capital Development and Chief Finance Officer.
4.3 Responsible for identifying backlog items and ensuring the relevant 6 facet surveys/asset registers are carried out/updated to ensure all items identified are accurate.
4.4 Lead on the drafting of all estates budgets on an annual basis taking in to account the needs of the department and any CIP requirements for the financial year.
4.5 Lead on the Initiation, implementation and monitoring of annual CIP requirements, ensuring the savings are delivered.
Team Leadership
5.1 Responsible for reviewing the organisation and staffing structures in the function to ensure that the design of jobs and the performance of jobholders is appropriately supporting high quality and efficient service delivery.
5.2 Manage direct reports and direct managers to effectively and consistently manage all directly employed staff, ensuring that requirements for staff's annual appraisals are maintained and acted upon, and to further ensure each individual staff member is provided with a personal development plan.
5.3 Responsible for developing the Estate Directorate's Workforce Plans and lead on recruitment issues through the Estates & Facilities and corporate Recruitment Panel.
Service Improvement
6.1 Lead on identifying ways to improve and modernise estates services.
6.2 Lead on encouraging a change in culture whereby Estates staff contribute towards service improvement, supporting both the identification of improvement opportunities and the smooth delivery of change programmes.
6.3 Lead on actively supporting the Trust Improvement Programme. This will involve both contributing to the development of improvement programmes (with clear and measureable outcomes) and compliance with project management monitoring and reporting processes.
6.4 Deputise for the Director of Estates, Facilities & Capital Development, as required.

Our staff are our most valuable asset. We are committed to making staff feel appreciated, supported and included in the Trust's successes. Our mission is to be an outstanding place to work providing the very best care for our patients and excellent career opportunities for our staff. Everything we do is guided by our core values and behaviours, identified by our staff and embedded throughout the organisation.
Would you like to work flexibly? In the NHS, we are reminded every day of how important life is. As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us, for our patients and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement
We have the highest CQC rating of all Acute NHS Trusts in Kent and Medway (Good). The CQC highlighted that managers promoted a positive culture that supported, valued staff and created a sense of common purpose based upon shared values.
The Trust is a great place to work, stay, develop a career and enjoy a healthy work life balance. We have made and are delivering on a wide range of commitments to staff; health and wellbeing; equality; diversity and inclusion; access to education and career development. During 2020 we sett up quality councils, driven by our staff to create a culture of shared governance and quality improvement.
We have a strong focus on innovation and improvement. Part of Guy's and St Thomas' (GSTT) 'Healthcare Alliance' we are introducing new models of care to improve clinical outcomes for patients. Our association with GSTT also gives staff wishing to develop their skills excellent opportunities to work across numerous specialities.
As our local population increases, our services and skills are expanding and adapting to meet demand. We are continuously looking at best practice models to enhance and improve the services we offer.
The Trust provides services at Darent Valley Hospital and Queen Mary's Hospital, for a local population of over 500,000 people.
If you would like to be part of our innovative and forward thinking team putting patients at the centre of all we do, we invite you to #joinourfamily.
The NHS are striving towards "we work flexibly" as a workforce, we want to ensure that you can work in a way that is best for us, our patients, and importantly for you. We offer many flexible working opportunities, speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement for you and if it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
Please note this vacancy may close earlier than stated to aid efficient processing of applications. To ensure your application will be considered please submit it at your earliest convenience. If you have not heard from us within 21 days of the closing date please assume that you have not been shortlisted on this occasion.
Please note, that due to the limited number of car parking spaces, car parking permits will be allocated subject to compliance with the Trusts eligibility criteria and availability of spaces. Permit holders are not guaranteed a car parking space.
Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust is a smoke free organisation. To improve public health smoking or vaping is not permitted anywhere on the hospital site.