Head of Facilities Operations in City of London

Head of Facilities Operations

Application Deadline: 3 November 2026

Department: Facilities

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: The Kia Oval

Reporting To: Director of Operations

Description

The Head of Facilities Operations you will be leading the strategy and execution of facilities management and venue presentation to ensure the Kia Oval remains a world-class destination for international cricket, domestic fixtures, and conferences and events.

As Head of Facilities Operations at the Kia Oval, you will lead on all elements of venue presentation, preservation, and overall operational running of the venue. This includes facilities strategy and management, maintenance, housekeeping and venue match day technology. You will lead all maintenance, cleaning and waste management strategies, ensuring the stadium’s match readiness for domestic and international cricket, alongside world class conference and event delivery. Partnering with Building Development Consultants, you will play a pivotal role in integrating major development projects into the venue in line with the club’s strategic vision.

Responsible for gold standard venue presentation, you will lead the internal and external venue presentation teams to deliver world class spectator facilities. You will set high standards of cleanliness to enhance fan experience, ensuring every touch point is reflective of the ambitions of The Kia Oval. This includes overseeing day-to-day cleaning requirements, C&E delivery, ensuring the venue is well prepared for each match and returned to a good condition post-match.

You will have full oversight of the facilities manager and maintenance team who oversee the preventative maintenance programme, ensuring the team delivers this programme across the venue, linking in with all departments to ensure progress is tracked.

Key Responsibilities

• Align facilities operations with the club’s long term strategic vision and ambitious sustainability goals.
• Develop and maintain buildings, grounds and services to the highest standard and at appropriate cost
• Ensure that maintenance regimes and preventative maintenance is carried out to ensure compliance with the needs of the business and all health and safety obligations
• Ensure the venue is ready to host domestic and international fixtures, overseeing pre match checks and post match turnarounds
• Develop and execute detailed project management plans to guarantee timely delivery, alignment with the SCCC strategic vision and regulatory compliance with all relevant stakeholders.
• Lead the internal and external venue presentation teams delivering efficient and sustainable cleaning and waste management teams, with full oversight of these relationships and strategies
• Define and uphold standards of cleanliness and venue presentation across all areas of the venue including staff offices, spectator facilities, hospitality areas and C&E event spaces
• Oversight of the integration of venue match day technologies, including digital signage, screens, and other match-day infrastructure
• Development and delivery of the venue’s HV and LV power strategies in line with the club’s technological ambitions
• Partner with the Building Development Consultants to seamlessly integrate major stadium developments into live operations without disrupting the spectator experience.
• Management and delivery of commercial partnership obligations in close collaboration with the commercial partnerships team
• Deliver excellent cross departmental collaboration, ensuring all relevant information is passed on to teams so it can be collated and distributed around the business
• Provide inspirational inclusive leadership of the team including full-time, part-time and casual staff ensuring all staff maintain the appropriate qualifications and CPD
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement, learning and development across all departments, ensuring effective succession planning and building talent pipelines for the future.
• Drive savings, efficiencies and ensure continuous improvement with the service delivery model
• Review all procurement processes and make recommendations for change
• Provide ongoing assessment of all facilities/maintenance contracts including re-tendering where necessary, liaising with contractors as required
• Responsible for management and delivery of the ground operations yearly budget, working closely with the finance department to deliver projects on budget, ensuring club processes and escalation procedures are always adhered to
• Liaise with C&E Sales and Co-ordination teams to ensure non-match day business is not impacted by facilities where possible
• Provide proactive and reactive internal and external stakeholder relationship management working collaboratively across with the Operations function

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

• Extensive experience in large-scale operations and facilities management.
• Third level qualified or demonstrable experience in property, facilities, and operations or engineering.
• A transformative leadership style with experience of managing multiple line reports.
• Working knowledge of HV and LV power systems, building management systems and mechanical and electrical services.
• Extensive experience working with licensing and safety authorities.
• Proven experience of managing significant operational budgets, with astute financial control and a track record of delivering savings and efficiencies.
• Experience of delivering sustainability and energy reduction initiatives within a large venue.
• Experience navigating construction and development environments alongside day-to-day operations.
• Experience of tendering and re-tendering facilities contracts and managing supplier performance.
• Experience of supporting conference and events delivery alongside commercial partners.
• Experience working under the pressure of live event day environments and flexibility to work evenings and weekends.
• Advanced Microsoft Office experience (Excel, Word, Outlook).
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including presentation and negotiation skills.
• Ability to read and interpret CAD drawings and building plans (e.g. AutoCAD) and construction programmes (e.g. Microsoft Project or Asta Powerproject).
• Experience of developing and overseeing waste management and recycling strategies, including managing external waste contractors

Desirable Skills

• A recognised health and safety qualification (e.g. NEBOSH or IOSH).
• Knowledge of sports grounds safety legislation
• Understanding of venue technology and integration into stadium operations and fan experience.
• Membership of a relevant professional body (e.g. IWFM) and/or a project management qualification (e.g. PRINCE2 or APM).
• Deep understanding of premium service environments and high-touch guest experience models.

Job Benefits

At Surrey County Cricket Club, we are proud of the Clubs values, offering a friendly working environment where we want everyone to feel like they belong. No matter which area of the business you join, you’ll find there are plenty of opportunities to learn new skills and develop a rewarding career.

We also offer a comprehensive package of benefits including private healthcare, a performance-based bonus, life assurance, a non-contributory pension scheme, an employee assistance programme, up to 28 days holidays each year, complimentary staff tickets and membership passes, a free staff restaurant and local discounts.

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