Head of Maintenance Operations

Positions: 1

Band / Grade: A1

Salary: £68,900 - £81,879 per annum

Contract Type: Permanent

Working Pattern: Full Time

Location: Hybrid (on-site and remote)

Leave entitlement: Starting at 30 days per annum, pro-rata

Closing Date: 29th June 2025 at 23:55

Interview Date(s): Interviews will most likely take place w/c 14th July 2025.

Working at the UK Parliament offers a unique and rewarding career at the heart of the UK's democratic system. With a wide range of roles available, our impartial colleagues enable the day to day running of the House of Commons, House of Lords and Joint Departments. Together, we make Parliament happen.

In addition to your salary, we offer an attractive range of benefits including:

• 30 days' annual leave (increasing to 35 days after first full leave year).
• Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.
• Access to training and development.
• Flexible working.
• Interest free season ticket loan and bicycle loan.

The Parliamentary Maintenance Services Team (PMST) is a team of approximately 144 directly employed House staff including some 55 craft persons plus a variety of contractors, many of them site based. This team maintains the Parliamentary Estate (Commons & Lords) buildings, engineering systems and furnishings in order to support the business of both Houses while ensuring a fully functioning, safe working environment for the many thousands of people who work in and visit Parliament ensuring it is equipped for the demands of the 21st century.

The estate consists of buildings that range from the historic Palace of Westminster (a Grade 1 listed and UNESCO World Heritage site) to the award winning modern Portcullis House, the estate is located within and spans four conservation areas with plans being developed for a significant restoration programme.

You will be part of PMST's senior management team and as such be expected to set professional and technical standards for your team as well as participating in wider strategic management issues. You will join the team at a time of change, and you will be expected to lead in the design and transition from the existing organisational structure and implementation of the final team structure. You will develop the directly employed House maintenance team increasing their capabilities to deliver services through forward planning for resources utilising apprenticeship schemes and training for existing and new staff.

You will assume overall responsibility for managing the operation, maintenance and repair of the estates building services systems utilising a team of mechanical, electrical and building fabric technical officers, craft persons and contractors in order to meet agreed KPIs and maximise operational availability.

Some of the responsibilities for this role include:

• To provide effective leadership and management of the maintenance operations teams, ensuring all work is delivered in a customer-centred, quality driven manner and managed against agreed service standards. You will work in collaboration with other PMST team leaders across the Parliamentary Estate by supporting and leading accountable managers and ensuring that maintenance activities deliver results in line with the wider HOC, HOL and PMST strategic plan.
• Provide Technical leadership on all associated maintenance issues including introduction of new technology and innovation as appropriate advice to non tech stakeholders and technical staff alike.
• You will provide effective leadership in emergency scenarios such as a loss to essential / critical services on the estate, directing staff to undertake immediate remedial actions in a safe manner providing senior management support and liaising with senior stakeholders in the incident management team.
• You will provide assurance and risk-based reports to the PMST Director and Deputy Director, outlining remedial actions and targets for completion. Deploys plans to mitigate against any potential delays to key areas of delivery.

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate:

• Educated to or actively working towards a degree level in a relevant subject (Building Services related) or significant relevant experience and at least five years experience in a senior management role.
• Member of or actively working towards a relevant professional institute at IEng level min such as IMechE, IET or CIBSE Alternatively, staff may apply on the basis of significant proven relevant experience such as a minimum of five years acting in a senior management role.
• Significant experience of managing the operation and maintenance of complex building services installations in a complex and challenging environment including large boilers, cooling towers, chillers, electrical networks etc.
• Significant experience of managing a large team of managers/team leaders including objective setting and team building.
• Must possess the ability to supervise motivate and lead staff and contractors including setting and monitoring professional standards.
• Proven ability to manage a team flexibly to maximize efficiency while delivering high quality services and products.

Next Steps And Additional Information

CV & Supporting Statement - If you would like to apply for this role, please submit your CV and covering letter with a 750 word limit. More information on the role and the full criteria can be found in the Job Description. Please note that most job offers will be made at the minimum of the salary range, other than in exceptional circumstances. Please ensure that you anonymise your application by removing any identifiable factors from your CV or Supporting Statement. We may close the vacancy prior to the closing date stated due to a high volume of applications.