Rural Estate Manager

Our local authority client based in Cambridgeshire are urgently seeking an experienced Rural Estate Manager.

Overall purpose of the job

To lead the Rural Estate Management team of 4 professional surveyors and a Farms Officer, managing the Council’s 14,000 ha rural estate, delivering a high quality, value for money service in line with best practice, statutory obligations, professional standards, and organisational objectives. The rural estate has a book value of £245m, an annual revenue of over £6m, substantial capital receipts and almost 167 tenants running thriving rural businesses. As well as financial returns, the estate plays an important part in the Council’s climate change strategy and the role contributes through managing the environment for biodiversity, landscape, and leisure.

Main accountabilities

• To lead the rural team who provide day to day operational management of the Council’s rural estate, involving landlord and tenant work, property maintenance, a capital building programme, environmental management, renewable energy, and climate change.
• To lead the rural team in providing high quality professional advice and reports to internal partners, senior management, Council Members, auditors, and the public as required on rural asset management matters and represent the Council at a national and local level.
• To lead the strategic development of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Rural Estate, preparing the Council’s Rural Asset Management Strategy and Farm Management Plans and their implementation and ongoing review.
• To lead the delivery of revenue and capital budgets on target, maximising rent collected and maximising debt recovery and the collection of service charges and achieving savings and efficiencies targets.
• To provide direct line management to the Rural Estate Management team, with technical and pastoral advice and guidance, and where appropriate, seconded or matrix managed employees within customers’ organisations.

Experience

• Significant post-qualification professional experience in Rural Estate Management, including property management, valuations (including Fixed Asset Valuations for Accounting purposes) and transactions.
• Significant experience of undertaking Strategic Reviews of Rural Estates, including a high level of knowledge of current market trends and best practice, and of formulating Strategy and Policy advice for major landowners.
• Successful track record of business development in commercial and private sector markets, including high level client interaction, with experience of working with the private sector and driving commercial opportunities from property assets.
• Significant experience of managing public sector agricultural assets, including the delivery of operational Rural property management, valuations, and transactions, to represent the Council within internal and external environments in respect of operational property matters, and to represent the interests of key Shareholders and customers at all levels, including direct engagement with Executive Directors and Members.
• Experience of direct responsibility for budget management and reporting, and successful delivery of financial targets.
• Experience of bidding for contracts, and enabling lasting and profitable relationships with customers.

Please apply with your updated CV ensuring that any gaps in employment are explained.

At this point, may we take this opportunity to thank you for the interest you have shown in this role. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications that we receive, it is not always possible to respond to everyone. Therefore, unless you hear from us within the next 7 days, your application for this vacancy will have been unsuccessful.