At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead engineering strategy and infrastructure for a charitable organisation supporting military veterans.
- Company: A respected charity dedicated to improving the lives of military veterans.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, generous leave, pension contributions, and hybrid working options.
- Other info: Collaborative culture with opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- Why this job: Make a real difference while shaping the future of vital estate services.
- Qualifications: Strong engineering leadership experience in multi-site environments required.
Use your engineering expertise to shape the future of an organisation that supports military veterans. This is a rare opportunity to take ownership of the engineering strategy, infrastructure investment and long-term development of a respected charitable organisation's multi-site estate portfolio.
Reporting directly to the Director of Operations, you will become the organisation's senior engineering authority, providing technical leadership across multiple sites while helping to shape future investment decisions, sustainability initiatives and asset management strategies. This is not a traditional facilities management position. The successful candidate will play a key role in influencing how buildings, engineering systems and infrastructure evolve over the coming years, ensuring environments remain safe, sustainable, compliant and fit for the future. Most importantly, every decision you make will positively impact the lives of military veterans and their families.
Why this role is different
As Head of Estates, you will sit at the heart of the organisation's leadership team, acting as the bridge between technical engineering requirements and operational delivery. You will have the opportunity to:
- Lead the long-term engineering and estates strategy across a diverse property portfolio
- Influence significant capital investment and infrastructure improvement programmes
- Develop asset lifecycle and replacement strategies
- Drive sustainability and environmental initiatives
- Provide expert engineering advice to senior leadership
- Shape future estate development and investment decisions
- Deliver meaningful improvements within environments that support military veterans
This is an opportunity to leave a lasting legacy while leading engineering decisions that genuinely matter.
The Role
As Head of Estates, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across building services, infrastructure, engineering systems and estate assets. Working across multiple locations, you will oversee a small engineering team and specialist contractors while ensuring the estate remains safe, compliant, efficient and future-ready.
Key responsibilities will include:
- Engineering Leadership & Strategy
- Act as the organisation's senior engineering and technical advisor
- Develop and implement long-term engineering and asset management strategies
- Support senior leaders with technical decision-making and investment planning
- Build strong engineering governance and compliance frameworks
- Lead infrastructure and sustainability initiatives
- Asset Management & Capital Planning
- Develop structured asset lifecycle and replacement programmes
- Create long-term capital expenditure plans and investment roadmaps
- Assess infrastructure condition, risk and future viability
- Support business case development for major projects and upgrades
- Prioritise engineering investment to maximise value and operational resilience
- Estates & Infrastructure Management
- Oversee building services, HVAC, mechanical and electrical systems
- Lead infrastructure improvement and upgrade projects
- Ensure estates services support operational excellence across all locations
- Manage planned maintenance strategies and contractor performance
- Drive continuous improvement across engineering operations
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Build collaborative relationships across Operations, Sustainability and Senior Leadership teams
- Communicate technical information clearly to non-technical stakeholders
- Work closely with site leadership teams to ensure engineering solutions support resident wellbeing
- Foster a culture of openness, collaboration and shared decision making
About You
We are keen to hear from candidates who bring strong engineering leadership experience within multi-site environments. You may currently be working as a:
- Head of Estates
- Estates Manager
- Senior Estates Manager
- Technical Services Manager
- Building Services Manager
- Engineering Services Manager
- Regional Engineering Manager
- Facilities Engineering Manager
- Head of Building Services
- Senior Engineering Manager
Experience gained within healthcare, care, facilities management, defence, hospitality, education, commercial property, manufacturing, engineering services or other regulated environments will be considered.
What You'll Bring
- Strong mechanical and electrical building services knowledge
- Experience managing engineering or estates functions across multiple sites
- Asset management and lifecycle planning expertise
- Capital expenditure planning and budget management experience
- Contractor and supplier management capability
- Strong understanding of compliance, risk and engineering governance
- Experience delivering infrastructure upgrades and improvement projects
- Ability to influence and engage senior stakeholders
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts clearly
Experience of HVAC systems, water infrastructure, sustainability initiatives and regulated environments would be advantageous.
The Person
Cultural fit is critical to this appointment. You will be:
- Collaborative and approachable
- Humble and respectful
- Values-driven and people-focused
- Comfortable working across teams and disciplines
- Emotionally intelligent with strong relationship-building skills
- Able to influence through expertise rather than hierarchy
- Passionate about creating positive environments for residents and colleagues
This role requires someone who understands that they are supporting people's homes, not simply managing buildings.
Working Pattern
This is a multi-site role covering locations including:
- Solihull
- High Wycombe
- Surbiton
- Worthing
The role typically involves:
- Visiting approximately two sites per week
- Three to four days site-based
- One to two days working from home
Travel is an essential part of the role. Travel time is paid from the point you leave home and mileage is reimbursed.
Benefits
- Salary of £60,000 - £65,000
- 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
- 7.5% employer pension contribution
- Life assurance (3x salary)
- Professional membership fees paid
- Blue Light Card discounts
- Occupational sick pay scheme
- Additional paid leave for Reservists and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers
- Mileage reimbursement
- Paid travel time
- Hybrid working
Apply Now
If you are an engineering leader looking for an opportunity to shape the future of a multi-site estate portfolio while making a genuine difference to the lives of military veterans, we would love to hear from you. Apply today to find out more about this unique leadership opportunity.
Head of Estates in High Wycombe employer: Castle Employment
Join a respected charitable organisation dedicated to supporting military veterans, where your engineering expertise will directly influence the future of their multi-site estate portfolio. With a strong focus on collaboration, sustainability, and employee growth, you will enjoy a supportive work culture that values your contributions and offers opportunities for professional development. Benefit from a competitive salary, generous leave, and a commitment to making a meaningful impact in the lives of those who have served our country.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Head of Estates in High Wycombe
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the engineering and estates sectors. Attend industry events or webinars where you can meet potential employers and showcase your expertise. Remember, it’s all about who you know!
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the organisation thoroughly. Understand their mission, values, and recent projects. This will help you tailor your responses and demonstrate how your engineering vision aligns with their goals.
✨Tip Number 3
Showcase your leadership skills during interviews. Be ready to discuss past experiences where you influenced decisions or led successful projects. Highlight how you can bring that same energy to the Head of Estates role.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets noticed. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are proactive about their job search!
We think you need these skills to ace Head of Estates in High Wycombe
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter to highlight your engineering expertise and how it aligns with our mission to support military veterans. Use specific examples from your experience that demonstrate your leadership in multi-site environments.
Showcase Your Impact:When detailing your previous roles, focus on the tangible impacts you've made, especially in areas like sustainability initiatives and infrastructure improvements. We want to see how your decisions have positively influenced environments and people.
Be Clear and Concise:Keep your application straightforward and to the point. Use clear language to explain your technical skills and experiences, ensuring that even non-technical readers can understand your contributions and value.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website for a smoother process. This way, we can easily track your application and ensure it gets the attention it deserves. Plus, it shows you're keen on joining our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at Castle Employment
✨Know Your Engineering Stuff
Make sure you brush up on your mechanical and electrical building services knowledge. Be ready to discuss specific engineering systems and how they can be improved or maintained across multiple sites. This role is all about technical leadership, so show them you know your stuff!
✨Showcase Your Strategic Thinking
Prepare to talk about your experience with asset management and lifecycle planning. Think of examples where you've developed long-term capital expenditure plans or investment roadmaps. They want to see that you can think ahead and make decisions that will positively impact the organisation's future.
✨Communicate Clearly
You’ll need to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders. Practice simplifying your language and using relatable examples. This will demonstrate your ability to bridge the gap between engineering and operational delivery, which is crucial for this role.
✨Emphasise Collaboration
This position requires a collaborative approach, so be prepared to discuss how you've built strong relationships across teams in the past. Share examples of how you've fostered a culture of openness and shared decision-making, especially in multi-site environments.
