Head of Estates

Head of Office Estates - Temporary

Start Date - August

Based in Swindon

30.45 - 32.05 per hour

Monday - Friday - Full Time

Initial 3-month temporary assignment - can extend

Tate are recruiting on behalf of an organisation that champions and protects historic places and acts as the government's statutory adviser on the historic environment. This is an excellent opportunity to join an organisation dedicated to helping people understand, value and care for England's heritage.

We are seeking an experienced Head of Office Estates to lead the management and operation of a busy office property portfolio. This is a senior temporary opportunity suited to a confident estates professional with strong landlord and tenant expertise, excellent stakeholder management skills and the ability to lead a customer-focused team.

The successful candidate will oversee the Office Estates function, ensuring legal, statutory and financial obligations are met while delivering a professional and responsive service to internal stakeholders, external partners and tenants.

Key responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Office Estates team, setting clear objectives and ensuring delivery against priorities, deadlines and service standards.
• Manage the office property portfolio, including acquisitions, disposals, leases, licences, wayleaves, easements and tenancies.
• Take the lead on landlord and tenant matters, including lease negotiations, notices, covenants, tenant billing, due diligence and compliance obligations.
• Control departmental budgets, ensuring spend is aligned to priorities and managed in line with procurement and financial procedures.
• Work closely with facilities management teams, professional advisers, legal advisers and key stakeholders to resolve property and estate matters.
• Ensure legal, statutory and financial responsibilities are met, including business rates, tenant leases and associated reporting requirements.
• Identify opportunities to maximise income generation from the office estate.
• Ensure relevant government reports and returns are completed accurately and submitted on time.

Essential experience and skills

• MRICS qualified with broad estates management experience.
• Strong landlord and tenant experience, including lease management and negotiation.
• Experience or knowledge of business rates.
• Proven experience of procurement, contract negotiation and budget management.
• Strong people management skills, with the ability to lead, develop and motivate a team.
• Excellent influencing, negotiation, communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to deliver against deadlines, manage competing priorities and operate at both strategic and operational levels.
• Computer literate, proactive, pragmatic and customer focused.

Desirable experience

• Experience preparing specifications for repair works and/or building surveying.
• Experience of working with government property frameworks or public sector estate requirements.

About you

You will be a confident estates professional who can quickly take ownership of a complex portfolio and provide clear, practical guidance on landlord and tenant matters. You will bring strong commercial awareness, sound judgement and the ability to build effective working relationships with colleagues, tenants, advisers and suppliers.

Please be aware this advert will remain open until the vacancy has been filled. Interviews will take place throughout this period, therefore we encourage you to apply early to avoid disappointment.

Tate is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.

Tate is committed to promoting equal opportunities. To ensure that every candidate has the best experience with us, we encourage you to let us know if there are any adjustments we can make during the application or interview process. Your comfort and accessibility are our priority, and we are here to support you every step of the way. Additionally, we value and respect your individuality, and we invite you to share your preferred pronouns in your application.