Estates Manager: Argos in City of London

Argos stores are at the heart of how millions of customers shop, and behind every one is a property strategy that keeps it in the right place, on the right terms and ready to grow. As our Estates Manager, you'll own that strategy for your region. You'll take a proactive, commercial approach to managing and growing a designated part of the Argos property portfolio. That means protecting continuity of occupation, optimising property costs, keeping the estate flexible and finding new ways to create value. You'll also find and secure new store opportunities that shape what the Argos estate looks like in future. This is a high autonomy, high impact role. You'll balance the needs of individual stores against the long term performance, cost and risk of the wider portfolio. Your recommendations will go to the Property Board, and your negotiations will have a direct effect on our commercial position.

What you'll be doing:

• Driving asset strategy: developing and delivering asset and portfolio strategies for your region, covering lease restructures, cost reduction and value creation across the existing estate.
• Owning lease events and risk: anticipating key lease dates and property risks, and putting the right strategies in place well ahead of time.
• Leading negotiations: taking charge of complex landlord and tenant discussions, including rent reviews, lease renewals, break options, regears and variations.
• Growing the estate: identifying, assessing and progressing new store acquisitions, from heads of terms through to securing the right property solution.
• Influencing at senior level: building commercially robust recommendations and presenting papers to the Property Board and other governance forums.
• Working with key partners: collaborating with Operations, Finance, Legal, Construction and Facilities Management to deliver new stores from opportunity through to handover, and to resolve estate issues with minimal disruption to trading.
• Managing advisers: instructing, managing and challenging external agents, consultants and professional advisers to deliver strong outcomes and value for money.
• Forecasting and reporting: leading regional budget and forecast preparation, keeping portfolio data accurate, and tracking performance, risks and opportunities.

What experience you'll bring (essential skills):

• Property and asset management expertise: strong experience, ideally from a large and complex operational property portfolio, such as retail.
• Professional credentials: RICS membership is desirable, or equivalent relevant professional experience.
• Landlord and tenant knowledge: strong knowledge of rent reviews, lease renewals, regears, break options, dilapidations and lease restructuring.
• Acquisition and negotiation skills: experience of property acquisitions and negotiating new leases, plus the confidence to lead complex discussions with landlords, tenants, agents and advisers.
• Commercial judgement: an understanding of how property decisions affect asset value, occupancy cost, operational needs and risk, and the ability to turn opportunities into deliverable outcomes.
• Market insight: strong property market knowledge, ideally including property investment and valuation principles.
• Influence and communication: the ability to build clear, evidence based recommendations, influence senior stakeholders and build strong relationships across the business and externally.
• Autonomy and problem solving: the ability to prioritise across multiple lease events and transactions, protect continuity of occupation, and find creative commercial solutions to complex property challenges.

At Argos, we’re a digital-led UK retailer that keeps pushing boundaries to meet every generation with what they want, how and when they want it. As a market leader in general merchandise, serving millions of customers through our website, app, same-day delivery and Click & Collect services, we offer real opportunities to learn, grow and shape your career. With roles spanning Commercial, Buying, Merchandising, Design and Supply Chain, through to Digital, Operations, Customer Experience, Marketing, and People and Transformation, you will work with brilliant colleagues and directly shape how we serve our customers every day.

We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new — whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them:

• Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to save 10% on your shopping online and instore at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat, and we regularly increase the discount to 15% at points during the year.
• We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover.
• You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 20% of salary, depending on how we perform.
• Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy up to an additional week's holiday, and we provide private healthcare.
• We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, interest free car loan of up to £10k, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, salary advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers.
• And if you ever need it there is also an Employee Assistance Programme.
• Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave.