Estates Director

The Royal Ballet and Opera continues to lead the way in opera, ballet, music and dance both live on stage and through multiple digital platforms, from live streaming to worldwide cinema screenings. Our Covent Garden theatre has been at the heart of London and British cultural life for three centuries. We are home to two world‑class companies: The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera.

The Estate of the Royal Ballet & Opera comprises three buildings: the main site in Covent Garden includes a 2,200+ seat theatre dating from 1858, and redeveloped stage and newly developed rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms, workshops offices and ancillary spaces dating from a large‑scale capital project completed in 1999, and a second theatre and refreshed front‑of‑house spaces delivered via the Open Up project in 2018. The RBO’s Production Workshop and Costume Centre are located in Thurrock, Essex and a 14,000m2 store in Aberdare, Wales.

We are now seeking an Estates Director to provide technical expertise and insight into the organisation’s Masterplan for the next 8‑10 years – supporting the transition to new infrastructure & technology. They will also effectively lead the department responsible for ensuring our buildings are maintained, safe, compliant and safeguard RBO’s demanding operation. As a member of the Executive team the post holder is expected to ensure day‑to‑day management of the Estate whilst contributing to the strategic development and resilience of the organisation in collaboration with other Executive team members.

Therefore, the successful candidate will need to be collaborative, strategic and hold an influential approach with staff, artists, Trustees, contractors and statutory bodies.

• Excellent active listening, communication, negotiation and advocacy skills.
• Confidence in producing reports and papers for a range of stakeholders.
• Empathy for the demands of an Estate which is both a workplace for staff and artists and a public Grade 1 listed building.
• A professionally qualified engineer/building professional, or able to demonstrate proven competence through practical experience.
• Practical understanding of MEP infrastructure and technology.
• Experience of managing and developing an estate with the ability to drive innovation and identify opportunities alongside an understanding of their practical implementation within a demanding daily operation.
• Commitment to the sustainability agenda in relation to building operations and energy efficiency.
• Numerate with strong budgetary understanding and control.
• Experience in a leadership role in a large or multi‑site organisation with an ability to drive performance and innovation.
• Confident people management skills to ensure the team has the requisite skills and knowledge and are competent and supported through training and coaching to achieve consistently high standards of performance.
• Able to manage a wide portfolio of concurrent tasks and projects with demonstrable experience of translating strategic objectives into estate operations and development.

The Royal Ballet and Opera is one of the UK’s leading arts organisations and our aim is to inspire imagination, ignite emotion and make the extraordinary for everyone. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion underpin all that we do. We want our people to be representative of the diversity in the UK. We understand the creativity and innovation that diversity can bring and strive to create an inclusive environment in which everyone can thrive. We encourage applications from people with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and skills to join our teams. We particularly welcome applications from those who are from a global majority background and/or those who are disabled, as they are under‑represented within our organisation.

We are a Disability Confident Employer, which means that we are actively working to ensure that candidates with disabilities and long‑term health conditions feel supported, engaged and able to fulfil their potential in the workplace. We will endeavour to offer an interview to candidates who tell us they wish to participate in the scheme and who demonstrate in their application that they meet the essential criteria for the role, though sometimes due to the volume of qualified candidates with declarations this is not possible.

The RBO is also committed to safeguarding and protecting all children, young people, and adults and we implement robust safer recruitment practices. Due to our safeguarding promise, certain roles will be subject to a DBS check before commencing employment with us, which will be indicated in the advertising.

Closing date for applications: 11:59pm, Thursday 5th March 2026. To ensure a fair process, late applications will not be considered under any circumstances. Applicants must have work authorisation for the UK. No agencies.