Corporate Head of Service - Property Strategy & Sustainable Estate

Grade: CO3 - £81,918.00 - £95,958.00 per annum (per annum pro rata if part time)

Hours: Full-time, 36 hours per week

Contract: Permanent

Location: Guildhall 2, The Main Guildhall

At Kingston, we are passionate about our Royal Borough and want to be known as a Council that is an exemplar for citizen engagement. This is a new era for the Council, with a new Liberal Democrat administration in place, and we are redefining the relationships we have with our residents, community groups, businesses, voluntary sector, central government and other partners.

About the role
The Council owns a large and complex estate, with almost 400 property assets. These assets are key to delivering outstanding services for our residents and supporting the Council’s strategy. The Council spends in excess of £10m per annum on its estate.

The portfolio includes investment property for income generation, community assets and an operational estate which supports delivery of education, social care and leisure and cultural services, as well as key democratic and civic functions.

Kingston, like many other Councils, is in the process of transitioning from a ‘physical’ estate to a ‘digital’ estate, alongside a major corporate transformation to become a more enterprising borough and drive growth and recovery. Driven by COVID-19 and the rapid transition to more digital ways of working, the needs of our estate base is changing rapidly. Kingston has also committed to becoming carbon neutral and declared a climate emergency, with the estate being a major net contributor to our carbon footprint, it needs to be central to our plan to become more environmentally and socially sustainable.

As a result, Property Services has gone through a service re-design and a number of new Corporate Head of Service posts have been introduced.

The Corporate Head of Property Strategy and Sustainable estate will be responsible for translating our aspirations as a Council into delivery – by building comprehensive asset management plans, working with services to reduce their reliance on the physical estate and helping transform the estate to be far more sustainable – both socially, environmentally and financially.

Why Kingston?
This special place in South West London between the capital and the country has been a Royal Borough longer than anywhere else - it is where the first Kings of England were crowned. Kingston is set to be one of the fastest growing parts of London; and with the arrival of new infrastructure such as Crossrail 2, as well as its award winning Go Cycle scheme is at the forefront of the changing face of our City’s transport.

So Kingston is changing with new commercial and residential developments, not just in Kingston Town Centre but in all parts of the Borough; in Surbiton, New Malden, Tolworth and Chessington in the rural south of the Borough. Kingston is a great environment. Kingston itself which has the River, the historic market place and Church, parks and gardens but in all its town centres has something unique to offer.

Kingston’s people are well educated, innovative and entrepreneurial; the Borough has been home to great industry and creativity for many years; reflected in assets such as the Rose Theatre, the International Youth Arts Festival, and Kingston University; which boasts the more new graduate business start ups than any other.

The communities of the Borough are in the most part strong, healthy and prosperous. That said, there are people who rely on the Council and other public services to enable them to reach their potential. Like most places, our population is ageing and more people are living longer and so some people need more support to stay independent, safe and well. Kingston is a diverse Borough, not just because of this range of need, but because it is home to people from diverse and interesting cultures and backgrounds. Kingston has a large Sri Lankan Tamil community and is home to more people from Korea than any other part of the UK.

Benefits we offer
Kingston Council has good access to central London and our offices are a short walk from the station based in the middle of the historic and vibrant high street next to the open spaces of the river Thames, offering a wide range of shops, restaurants and leisure facilities; all making for a desirable place to live and work.

The successful candidate will have access to a wide range of staff benefits, some of which include:

• 32 days annual leave - In addition you will receive 8 statutory bank holidays
• Local government pension scheme
• Interest free season loan ticket
• Cycle to work and Zip Car Scheme
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
• Comprehensive Learning and Development programme
• A forward thinking and networked organisation where employee’s views are valued
• Modern and flexible working environment allowing employees to benefit from agile working practices
• We also offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

How to apply
Before applying please refer to the role profile and ensure you meet the essential criteria. You will then need to complete the online application, adding a supporting statement addressing how you meet the criteria outlined on the role profile. Some of our positions require CV only. 

Due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, we will be conducting all interviews virtually through Google Meets. If you are successful after shortlisting, you will receive an invitation to interview to book a time slot then closer to the interview, you will receive an email with your Google Meet link from the manager.

Royal Borough of Kingston is now an accredited London Living Wage Employer
Our Living Wage commitment means that everyone working at the Royal Borough of Kingston, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers receive the London Living Wage.

The real Living Wage is higher than the government’s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living. It is our policy to ensure that all employees are recruited, trained and promoted on the basis of ability, the requirements of the job and similar, objective criteria. All employees are equally encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities for training and career development. It is also our policy to ensure that no employee or job applicant should receive more or less favourable treatment on the grounds of race, nationality, colour, ethnic or national origin, age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, religion, or disability in any matters to do with employment.

Closing date: 7th March 2021

We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.