Deputy Director for Workplace Service Delivery Public Sector Resourcing London

On behalf of The Government Property Agency, we are looking for a Deputy Director for Workplace Service Delivery – (INSIDE IR35) for a 6 month contract based in London – (Role will be predominantly based in Whitehall Campus with occasional regional visits)

The Government Property Agency is an Executive Agency of the cabinet office. It 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.

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.

Innovation and progress are at the heart of our behaviours. We foster a culture of lifelong learning, where curiosity and self-improvement are encouraged. And we’re dedicated to becoming a leading, inclusive employer both in the external market and throughout the Civil Service. Our strong emphasis on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) is not just about driving inclusion across our organisation, it is also about ensuring our services meet the needs of government departments and the civil servants who use our spaces.

Join our dynamic and diverse team that leads with purpose, improving sustainability, nurturing social value, driving inclusivity and flexibility, and kickstarting economic growth. We are driven by purpose, and you can be part of it too: where you make a meaningful impact; where you influence; where your voice really matters, where you help to shape our future direction.

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 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

Experience & Technical skills

• An experienced leader of workplace services (hard and soft facilities management, operational security and ICT services) with first class commercial acumen and the ability to get the best out of large- scale service contracts
• An excellent senior leader, with experience of building capability and driving continuous improvement, encouraging diversity and collaboration and promoting a high-performance culture.
• Resilient and resourceful in understanding and solving complex challenges both across the GPA and its wider stakeholder groups
• Someone with the authority and gravitas to influence stakeholders at Director level and above (inside and outside government), maintaining support for a demanding change agenda amidst other competing pressures

As a Deputy Director for Workplace Service Delivery – (INSIDE IR35), your main responsibilities will be:

• The Deputy Director for Workplace Service Delivery is a leader of front-line services and of change in how the Government Office estate is run. They need to have the vision and creativity to see where the Civil Service workplace and workspace needs to go, and the determination and drive to take it there. As well as being technically skilled, you will provide inspirational leadership across the Government Property Agency as it matures as an organisation following its creation in 2018
• As part of the GPA senior leadership group on wider reaching agency strategic activities
• As part of the Senior Leadership Team for Workplace Services, supporting customers in moving to and using our workplaces in a way that allows them to deliver the wider objectives of those departments, is popular with customers, provides operational excellence in the workplace and enhances client satisfaction
• You will put customer service excellence at the heart of everything the team (including our delivery partners) does
• Leading a team of civil servants and commercial/non-commercial delivery partners to transform our customers’ workplace experience and the value of our services for our clients by being agile, innovative and responsive to needs often at short notice or for major events.
• You will develop the GPA team to lead service delivery for a portfolio of up to 1,000 buildings, many of which are
• historic and have national importance, and contracts building to around £500m or more p.a.
• Act as the Product Owner for the future of the GPA Workplace Services Contracts and to ensure that longer term requirements including those of clients are captured and developed to ensure the programme continues to deliver the transformational benefits, we want from our service contracts and build the necessary internal capability to get the best value from those contracts through effective contract and financial management.
• Lead, organise and manage delivery of workplace services (including shared ICT delivery) across multiple operating environments each requiring specific service management:
• Directly managed core estate assurance and security assurance of wider GPA estate
• A new portfolio of GPA Hubs including commissioning for Ready for Service PFI sites Whitehall Systems
• Leading delivery through a wide range of suppliers, in a mix of directly managed contracts and strategic delivery partnerships with other government departments and delivery agencies.
• Ensuring the effective integration of new assets, services and teams as part of the ongoing GPA asset transfer
• programme; and supporting a programme of planned lifecycle replacement.
• Develop, manage and produce a range of workplace services data to support decision-making and identify opportunities for service improvement, better space utilisation and generating savings.
• Develop and deliver subject matter expertise in a range of areas, including the management of the Whitehall Systems (providing heat and back-up power to the Whitehall Campus) health and safety, operational security and sustainability.
• Work collaboratively with other teams in Workplace Services to champion the workplace experience and ensure workplace projects and minor works enhance the customer experience.
• Lead and inspire your own teams, growing them in line with the development of new GPA business; making sure our teams have the capabilities to be able to support and encourage our customers in the adoption of smarter working and making best use of their workplaces, as well as identifying and resolving problems quickly and effectively, always keeping customers informed of progress.

Key stakeholders include:

• Customers (anyone using one of our buildings),
• Clients (government departments including Permanent Secretaries, arm’s length bodies and others who buy our services)
• Commercial and non-commercial delivery partners
• Crown Commercial Services
• Office of Government Property
• CPNI
• Regulators/inspectors
• Professional organisations (e.g. IWFM, RICS),
• Other GPA teams.

Essential Criteria

• SC / CTC clearance. As a minimum you must be eligible and willing to undergo these checks
• Stakeholder engagement experience
• Estates / FM professional experience
• Experience of operating at a senior level in a highly complex multi-client environment
• Proven track record in efficiently and safely operating a national and high-profile portfolio of buildings, meeting customer and client needs.
• Excellent communication skills with evidence of inspirational and inclusive leadership both of large teams, including suppliers, and as a senior leader in an organisation
• Able to create environments where projects can succeed in delivering the outcomes and benefits set out in the business case.
• Have a track record of delivery of significant change programmes within large and complex organisations
• Creative, innovative and adaptable
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, dealing with uncertainty and handling a range of challenges competently as they emerge.

Desirable

• Public Sector Experience
• CIWFM
• Holds a recognised property qualification such as RICS or BIFM.
• Computer Aided Facility Management (CAFM)
• CMIOSH
• Delivering with a range of commercial and non-commercial delivery partners to secure value for money.
• Commercially astute with demonstrable evidence of dealing with complex commercial activities
• Experience of operating within public sector including through PFIs

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

DE&I Commitment

GPA guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply.

Armed Forces Covenant

The Government Property Agency guarantees to interview veterans or spouses / partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates / military spouses or partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following “this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different”.