About the job

Job summary

The Government Property Agency is changing the way the Civil Service works and is at the forefront of Government's transformation agenda; reshaping the relationship civil servants have with their place of work. The Agency is central to the delivery of key Government policies including moving 22,000 Civil Service roles out of London by 2030 and tackling climate change by contributing to the Net Zero agenda. To do this we are delivering a major change programme across the UK and consolidating our portfolio in order to save £1.4 Bn over 10 years. 

Beyond the bricks and mortar, the GPA is about providing great workplaces for our people. Through programmes like Hubs, Whitehall Campus and Smart Working you will be in the vanguard of creating model working environments and promoting flexible working practices. 

This is an ambitious and exciting task, for which we need innovative people, with strong commercial acumen, who are passionate about visualising and implementing customer needs. Launched as an Executive Agency of the Cabinet Office in 2018, we’re a relatively new department and we are growing fast so we also need people who thrive in ambiguity, can adapt quickly to change and are comfortable stepping outside of their remit to drive outcomes.

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

The role involves working with the team to implement strategic direction and GPA Agendas, ensuring the financial viability of the GPA and enabling the GPA to fulfil its mission and objectives.

Through the effective delivery of asset planning the principal purpose of the role is to provide both Landlord Services, ensuring internal leases are in place for the accurate recovery of costs and maximisation of income from our customers, and Occupier

Management, to mitigate Head Lease liabilities and reduce cost.

Key Responsibilities:

• As the Asset Manager, your specific responsibilities will include the development and implementation of plans at asset level, working closely with your designated team and your wider GPA colleagues. You will lead communication, evaluation and implementation of your portfolio which includes:
• Building and managing relationships with stakeholders and business representatives at peer level and above to understand and assist with development of requirements
• Management of the GPA Managed Service Provider (MSP) to provide the effective delivery of Property Management Services
• Contribute to the Development of Strategic Asset Management Plans at portfolio and responsible for delivery at individual asset level
• Ensure the accurate and timely completion of all property data on the GPA property database using third party suppliers to support
• Ensure Head Lease compliance to mitigate risk and reduce cost including dilapidations and Licences to Assign and Alter
• Build strong business cases to provide solutions to property requirements
• Manage and report on risk and provide strong management and budget information
• Understand and Communicate best practice and innovation

Person specification

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 wellbeing and aim to create a sense of belonging in a workplace where everyone feels valued.

Essential Experience and Technical Skills Criteria:

• Have a solid understanding of all aspects of Real Estate Management and the experience of managing multi-let portfolios, ideally within a multi-client environment, preferably with expertise in commercial office assets and at a scale and level of complexity commensurate with regional portfolios within GPA.
• Must have a strong customer focus, with the experience of leading service provision against recognised standard KPIs and with a demonstrable track record of achieving strong commercial outcomes through innovation and continuous improvement.
• A high degree of personal resilience, tenacity and focus on outcomes. Able to deal with ambiguity, and navigate often complex and demanding regulatory, commercial and political landscapes, all the time maintaining a focus on achieving measurable and impactful results.
• Strong interpersonal, communication and influencing skills, with the ability to operate, gain trust, be credible and build effective and productive relationships at all levels within an organisation, including at most senior levels, with experience of drafting clear and concise reports and confidence in presenting these to senior management and committees
• Ability to work effectively within a team, seeking collaborative solutions, building relationships and supporting others in the development of an effective performance-based culture.

GPA’s HQ will be Birmingham, 23 Stephenson Street and the postholder will be expected to attend team meetings in Birmingham regularly (at least once a week).  Note that GPA adopts Smarter Working practices and staff are expected to work flexibly – it will not be necessary to attend the office every day, although some business travel to other GPA offices and sites will be required (at least once a week).

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £51,700, Government Property Agency contributes £13,959 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), 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 (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).

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 (opens in a new window) 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 15th July 2024. 

As part of the application process, you will be asked to include a CV and a personal statement. Your personal statement must be between a minimum of 750 words, and a maximum of 1000 words. The personal statement should align with the person specification.

Interview

Applicants successful at sift will be invited to interviews, which are due to take place week commencing 29th July 2024 in the Birmingham office. You must be willing to travel to any of the GPA locations for your interview. If you are unable to attend a face to face interview due to extenuating circumstances, we advise that you reach out to the recruitment admin team to find out if alternative means can be arranged prior to submitting your application.   

At interview, applicants will be scored against 3 behaviours - Making Effective Decisions, Communicating and Influencing, 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. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

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 Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

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.

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 applicant’s 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.

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply, but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

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 gparecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk 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 you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

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 (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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) (opens in a new window)
• 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 (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window). 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.