Head of Strategic Estates

Do you excel at influencing others and providing leadership across business, science, and people management? Are you skilled at driving transformative change, promoting innovation, and achieving excellence while guiding your team towards a common strategy?

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is a pivotal executive agency of the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and is dedicated to safeguarding the UK's animal and plant health. With a team of over 3,000 professionals operating across 85 sites including laboratories, offices, and field depots, we are committed to advancing research and regulatory practices that protect both the environment and economy. Our role is critical in maintaining the UK's biosecurity standards.

The Sustainable Futures strategy represents a significant transformation for APHA, and your leadership will be essential in achieving its objectives. You will facilitate strategic investments and innovation, contributing to the UK's environmental and economic resilience. Further details are in the candidate pack.

The priority for this role is to look strategically across the APHA estate to ensure that is fit for purpose for our future business needs for disease surveillance and outbreak readiness. The post holder will be responsible for contributing to reviews of our locations, developing a Place strategy to meet future business needs. This includes reviewing the regional laboratory network and disease outbreak response locations in conjunction with our specialists and delivery directorates.

Reporting to Yvonne Spencer (the Director of Science Capability) as the Head of Strategic Estates, your role is critical to future proofing our infrastructure. You will be a key leader in advancing APHA's infrastructure strategy.

You will oversee the development and implementation of our Estates (Place) Strategy, ensuring that our diverse portfolio from scientific laboratories to field depots supports our strategic objectives. Your role will involve close collaboration with senior leaders and strategic partners, including Defra Group Property (DgP) and the Scottish Government, to drive innovation and transformation across APHA.,

• Developing and refining the Estates (Place) Strategy to align with APHA's corporate strategy and vision. Conducting a thorough review of APHA's locations and facilities to support the Agency's objectives effectively and safely.


• Creating a Strategic Asset Management and Development Plan that meets strategic goals and adheres to Government Strategy requirements, including Places for Growth and decarbonisation targets.


• Overseeing facility performance, ensuring compliance with legal, safety, and security standards while identifying opportunities for optimisation and financial efficiencies.


• Acting as a senior APHA client interface, building and managing effective relationships across all APHA Directorates and work closely with Defra Group Property, Scottish Government Estates, Defra Group Security and APHA Security to implement the Estates (Place) Strategy and annual business plans.


• Engaging with business end-users and property professionals to ensure operational demands are clearly articulated and met with strategic investment, business continuity, and site incident response plans.


• Developing an operating model and process maps to enhance operational efficiency and business resilience/incident response plans across facilities.


• Leading a small APHA Place team (1 x G7, 2 x SEO, 1 x HEO and 1 x EO), managing property initiatives, lease events, refurbishments, and redevelopments.