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

This role is within the GPA Client Relationship team consisting of a Client Director, Senior Client Managers, Client Managers and Client Manager support roles that engage with GPA’s Clients and Departmental stakeholders, often at senior level. 

The role is highly varied and interesting, fundamentally you will act as Client Manager for a mix of GPA clients, ensuring GPA delivers a high quality service; acting as the key GPA point of contact for your clients. The Client Manager is accountable for driving delivery of an excellent Client experience, working across GPA as GPA continues its journey to become a truly Client centric organisation. 

Working with the clients on a blend of operational issues (including finance) and strategic planning with senior stakeholders you will manage the escalation of key client issues, working with internal GPA colleagues and wider stakeholders to help progress the client's property and business requirements including defining requirements for new initiatives. 

Building an excellent relationship with our Clients is key via regular meetings (including face to face in Client offices), quarterly reporting and regular Client satisfaction monitoring. As Client Manager you will understand the Client Department’s business plans and priorities along with the future impacts of this on their GPA managed office estate identifying future opportunities for GPAto continually improve the client’s experience and add value also.

Key Responsibilities: 

Reporting to a GPA Senior Client Manager, this post is required to: 

• Provide ongoing engagement and support to government departments working with the GPA. The Client Manager leads all facets of the department/GPA relationship and strategy; the Client Manager takes the lead on a portfolio of issues and opportunities through the preliminary stages in the solution lifecycle, up to handover for implementation and delivery to other teams and colleagues in GPA. 
• Build, drive, and manage a portfolio of opportunities and initiatives for Client Departments. Create and lead teams to ensure they progress to agreed plans working in close day-to- day contact with the Client Director, our stakeholders in departments and solutions specialists across GPA and GPA delivery partners as appropriate. 
• Develop and coordinate asset strategy at client level to inform wider Portfolio Planning across the Estate.This includes opportunities for a department to optimise its estate, set the future vision for asset management, and provide a pipeline of work for engagement with the GPA. 
• Lead ongoing regular dialogue with Client Departments ensuring regular review meetings, Client reporting and an agreed Client Management plan are in place. 
• Collaborate with the Departments Intelligent Client Function (ICF) to ensure GPA service delivery meets client expectations. Support the relationship and team building with departments and the GPA – typically through joint working on proposals and qualifying opportunities and business cases. 
• Provide the Client Solutions team with regular updates on progress, issues and concerns, continuous improvement opportunities and ideas, to provide learning from operational ‘blips’, and find solutions to challenges that the Agency faces in the delivery of its objectives whilst sharing best practice across the Agency

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.

Experience & technical skills

• Has the ability to professionally engage with government department stakeholders at a senior level to understand their business objectives, issues and needs and to ensure that all property advice provided to them is aligned with these 
• A Client focussed team player with Client side experience within a property organisation, who can work across the GPA to ensure that departmental property requirements are identified, communicated across GPA and effectively delivered for our Clients in a collaborative way. 
• Expects and fosters exceptionally high standards of performance from all teams (both in- house and out-sourced) in both the quality of the ideas and solutions and in their style of working and personal competencies and behaviours. 
• Has the ability to work at pace, often with complex and evolving Departmental requirements. 
• Is highly organised with good change management experience and a track record of achieving successful change outcomes in prescribed timescales 
• Demonstrates excellent communication, stakeholder management and influencing skills, used to operating at senior levels and convince sponsors that our common ambitions are achievable.

Qualifications & accreditations

One of the following existing accreditations would be highly desirable for the role holder or a willingness to work towards these supported by the GPA: 

Desirable criteria:

• Property professional qualifications - MRICS

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, 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 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).

How to apply

Please apply by sending your CV to clientmgrg7@miles-advosory.com. You will then receive a template for the Statement of Suitability. Please note, candidates are required to send through BOTH your CV and Statement of Suitability to complete your application. Candidates who have sent over only either of the two documents would not be included in the selection process.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Sift

The sift is due to take place week commencing 24th February 2024.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to include a CV and a 500-word personal statement. The personal statement should then align with the person specification.

Interview

Applicants successful at sift will be invited to interviews, which are due to take place week commencing 11th March 2024 in one of the GPA office locations which will be confirmed before the interview. This is subject to change dependent upon where most successful candidates are based. 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 4 behaviours - Managing a Quality Service, Making Effective Decisions, Changing & Improving and Others, and Delivering at Pace.

Interview questions will be a blend of Behaviour, Experience, and Technical (core skill) questions.

Further Information

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. 

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.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

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

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter

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 Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) 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 CTC is 3 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.

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 counter-terrorist 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.