Building Services Manager in Maidstone

Location: Dover Castle, Dover, Kent, CT16 1HU or Homebased

Salary: £40,852 p.a., depending on skills, experience and location / 36hrs per week / permanent

Heritage is for everybody, and we are here for heritage. Heritage lives in places and people, memories and stories, artefacts and traditions. It can connect us all to the past, and to each other. It can make us happier, strengthen every community, and help shape society for the better. Everybody should be able to enjoy the benefits it brings.

We are looking for a Building Services Manager to join our team. This is a full-time, permanent role, working 36 hours per week. We offer flexible working arrangements where the role allows. This role covers Kent and East Sussex and is based at our Dover Castle office or homebased.

The Benefits:

• Salary from £40,852, depending on skills, experience and location
• 25 days' holiday plus bank holidays, pro rata, rising to 28 days after 3 years
• Matched pension contributions up to 10%
• Flexible hours
• The opportunity to progress your career within the heritage sector
• Apprenticeship opportunities
• Subscriptions to professional bodies
• Free access to all English Heritage sites for you and up to six friends and family members
• 25% discount in our shops and cafes
• Enhanced maternity, paternity or shared parental leave
• Options to buy additional leave
• An inclusive working atmosphere where everybody is supported from all backgrounds, religions and with different needs
• Opportunities to go to some of our great live music and history events

English Heritage cares for the monuments, buildings and places that bring the story of England to life for over 10 million visitors each year. This is a great opportunity for a dedicated Mechanical and Electrical professional to join the South and East Team as a Building Services Manager supporting our Kent and Sussex portfolio, which includes Dover Castle, Walmer Castle, Deal Castle and Battle Abbey.

The Building Services Manager's primary purpose is to provide a high-quality building services maintenance provision and associated facilities management support for the National Collection of Historic Properties and Estates. It is a busy and varied role which makes the everyday interesting, with no two days the same.

The Estates Department is made up of four Regions with teams providing professional expertise to conserve and maintain a range of properties from country houses and ruined castles to hill forts and Roman temples. Working from either Dover Castle or remotely from home, you will be part of the South & East Region team, supporting a diverse portfolio of historic sites across Kent and Sussex.

As Building Services Manager, you will manage mechanical and electrical assets across historic properties and modern visitor facilities. Working with Estate Managers, the Senior Estate Manager, site colleagues and the Facilities Manager, you will use condition information to prioritise maintenance and plan the timely replacement of end-of-life infrastructure, keeping services safe, compliant and reliable.

To do this, the role requires strong project/contract management skills and a working understanding of health and safety regulations in a construction environment (CDM Regulations etc.). It also requires competence in operating within the constraints of heritage and planning policies and statutory requirements, as well as being able to demonstrate a robust understanding of historic building conservation best practice principles.

As a confident communicator, you will work collaboratively with Estate Managers, the Senior Estates Manager and site colleagues across the Kent and Sussex portfolio, including the Facilities Manager for the Kent area based at Dover Castle. You will build strong working relationships to coordinate maintenance, projects and day-to-day building services priorities.

You will have experience of working with both internal stakeholders and managing contractors in procuring, administering and supervising M&E measured term contracts and associated budgets. You will be confident in preparing works instructions and managing and auditing the quality of work on site.

You will also ensure that asset information, maintenance schedules, service records and statutory certification are accurately recorded and kept up to date in the K2 CAFM system, in line with statutory compliance requirements and English Heritage Safety Critical Reporting standards.

To be considered as a Building Services Manager, you'll need:

• Minimum HNC/HND level qualification in mechanical and/or electrical engineering and/or equivalent relevant experience in Building/Construction
• Experience of client-side administration of M&E term maintenance contracts and schedules of rates, including budget control and management of KPIs
• Experience of developing and delivering small to medium M&E capital projects such as boiler and lift replacement
• Ability to prepare schedules of work, specifications, simple working drawings and diagrams
• Working knowledge of current legislation and regulations covering an extensive range of mechanical and electrical systems, including fire safety/firefighting equipment, gas safety, pressure systems, legionella controls, security systems and works and other relevant statutory regulations and bylaws

Interviews will be held on 22nd October 2026 at Dover Castle. If you would like to talk to us, e.g. about workplace adjustments or working patterns, please contact Karen Eakers, Estates Manager. No agencies, please.

Closing date: 04/10/2026 23:59:59