About the job

Job summary

Parliament and the Palace of Westminster is one of the most iconic and significant estates portfolios in the world.  It is home to one of the busiest parliaments, operating on a World Heritage site which attracts visitors from all over the globe, with more than a million people passing through its doors each year. 

The role provides the strategic direction and overall management of a large scale, diverse and technically complex portfolio, including a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to ensure the day to day smooth running of the 12 buildings on the House of Common estate. Responsible and accountable for the leadership of the Customer Experience & Service Delivery team, comprising around 420 staff, driving performance and putting customers at the heart of the service during a time of significant change and having a real focus on taking our services to the next level. This role carries cross-cutting responsibility for the enhancement of the ‘customer experience’. 

Job description

With line management responsibility for a team of 8 direct reports leading discrete business areas within the team, the role also demands commercial acumen. Total budget responsibility is in excess of £36m, income targets in excess of £10m and contract management worth over £13m per annum. 

Customer Experience and Service Delivery (CE&SD) comprises eight diverse teams which keep Parliament clean, safe and operational, consisting of Catering, Retail, Service Delivery, Customer Services, Porterage and Storage, Workplace Project Management, Accommodation and Logistics. In addition, CE&SD oversee bicameral contract management for a wide range of parliamentary services, such as Cleaning Services, Westminster Gym, Nursery, Hairdressers, and the Offsite Consolidation Centre. 

Person specification

The successful candidate will possess demonstrable expertise in strategic leadership spanning soft FM in addition to retail, hospitality and commercial services. You will be adept in providing world-class services with a track record of delivering change and transformation in a similar high-profile portfolio with high footfall. It would be an advantage to have experience with contract management of a soft services FM provision, working with a partner to extend excellence throughout the portfolio. The candidate will be a main point of contact for members of parliament and so communication and stakeholder management skills will need to be at an exceptional level.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £75,000, House of Commons contributes £20,250 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

If you are interested in applying for this post please visit the MRG Global website.

For a confidential discussion and/or the full briefing particulars please contact our retained advisors Michael Hewett (michael.hewlett@mrgglobal.com) or James Gregory on (james.gregrory@mrgglobal.com) at The Management Recruitment Group. 

Closing date for applications is Sunday 7th July 2024. 

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

Open to UK nationals only.

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.