Principal Surveyor in Newcastle upon Tyne

Creating working environments and collaboration spaces that people want to use and that make them more productive. Keeping people safe and enhancing their wellbeing. Connecting people from across the Defra group. Attracting a diverse and talented workforce. Achieving sustainable, aspiring to the highest environmental standards. Meeting the needs of the business and customers it serves now and in the future.

To achieve this, we deliver a range of property services and projects on behalf of Defra Group and its partner organisations. These activities range in scale and complexity across circa 300 property holdings, from offices to laboratories, and projects encompass new builds, refurbishments, refits, life cycle replacement works and everything else in between. We have a strategic workplace and property plan with our key projects and works now agreed, so there’s never been a more exciting time to join DgP.

The Corporate Property Team provides property management services, transactional services and property advice to the Defra Group organisations. Your role will be to support the efficient and effective management of property interests, and central to that will be the opportunity to use your skills and experience to protect the interests of the Defra group as an owner and occupier of property.

The Corporate Property function is both a supervisory and transactional business which combines in-house knowledge and experience with outsourced market expertise. You will be involved with and be expected to advise organisations within the Defra Group on the property matters impacting their business area, as well as supporting a Group wide estate transformation programme through the delivery of property transactions and disposals.

The primary purpose of a Principal Corporate Property Surveyor role is to provide technical leadership, provide clear consistent and reasoned advice on property matters to all parts of the Defra Group as required; commission, manage and assure professional services and facilitate and support the delivery of strategy designed to make workplaces more efficient and to minimise costs. A value-added service, the post holder will be a technical expert and possess the professional knowledge, skills and experience required to manage the property portfolio and deliver commercial transactions that provide value for money.

The post holder may also provide advice to support the delivery of the Strategic Workplace and Property Plan, Capital Investment plan, disposals and acquisitions as well as advising on ownership issues connected with the delivery of FMR (forward maintenance for asset management). This role will work closely with each team within group property to provide specialist strategic asset management advice, give recommendations and inform decision making to ensure the operational estates is operationally effective, sustainable and efficient. The Principal Property Surveyors may also be required to mentor, coach and challenge colleagues in order to build wider capability over time. High quality, transparent outputs will be a key deliverable for the Principal Corporate Property Surveyor role.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert property advice across the diverse property portfolio to a broad spectrum of government bodies each with its own business objectives; matrix managing differing priorities to ensure outcomes consistent with Defra Group objectives: interest management (legal interest on freehold, leasehold, MOTOs (inter-government leases), disposals and acquisitions; advising on lease compliance; interpreting legal ownership information, titles and leases; and interpreting government policy and strategy in the context of Defra Group's aims and objectives.
• Through the commissioning, management and assurance of outsourced property service provider, or directly where appropriate, provide advice and guidance on such activities as rent reviews, lease renewal, landlord/tenant queries, recharging, property acquisition and disposal and land law.
• Provide environmental & sustainability advice relevant to commercial property and commercial property transactions (including policy development & consultation across departments, input into project specifications and compliance issues across the estate).
• Provide specialist advice/or produce papers for briefing submissions and official correspondence (complex Parliamentary Questions, Freedom of Information, National Audit Office (NAO), Internal Audit (IA), public enquiries).
• Contribute advice/input into inform Defra Group Workplace Strategy to keep pace with Government Estates Strategy.
• Measure performance against agreed KPIs (key performance indicators) for contracted property advice, taking immediate remedial action where there is failure to achieve agreed standards, widely applying lessons learnt where positive performance is achieved and undertaking "deep dive" into KPI data to identify trends that can drive and enhance performance for customer benefit.
• Contribute to Defra Group workplace planning to define portfolio changes and to develop future strategy implementation, having regard to sustainability, safety and other professional property advice.
• Provide joined up management: Responsible for working within a team and across Defra Group Property to ensure join-up of activities, priorities and shaping strategic thinking.
• Personally and through the team, develop and implement improvement and innovation to working practices, processes and systems across Defra Group, driving consistency and best practice, developing a model to do things once and right in a way that customers recognise and appreciate.
• Use management information to develop a strong understanding of delivery, portfolio and team across Network Estates using data to drive up performance.

Qualifications

• Provide environmental & sustainability advice relevant to commercial property and commercial property transactions (including policy development & consultation across departments, input into project specifications and compliance issues across the estate).
• Ability to interpret legal ownership information, titles and leases; understand government policy and strategy in the context of Defra Group aims and objectives.
• Experience in commissioning, managing and assuring outsourced property services, and advising on rent reviews, lease renewals, landlord/tenant queries, recharging, property acquisition and disposal.
• Proven capability to deliver guidance on property matters to the Defra Group and support estate transformation programmes.
• Mentoring, coaching or developing colleagues to build wider capability.
• Strong use of management information and data to drive portfolio and team performance.

A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer.