Chartered Building Surveyor – Built Environment in Bristol

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) are the public sector’s property valuation experts and advisers with a vision to be a world-leading provider of public sector valuations. As one of the largest employers of surveyors in the country, our work is vital to the collection of over £60 billion of revenue which goes back into communities, touching every citizen and every business across England and Wales.

We champion the values of professionalism, integrity, respect and innovation. We are committed to providing a collaborative and supportive working environment that encourages every colleague to contribute, grow and excel together. With opportunities to drive your own development and growth, we empower our colleagues to succeed by ensuring support at every step of their career journey.

The Valuation Office is seeking a RICS-qualified Chartered Building Surveyor to join our Built Environment and Minerals Surveying (BEAMS) team. The BEAMS team prides itself on its professionalism, customer focus, and the provision of independent and impartial cost and surveying services. Our team comprises Chartered Surveyors specialising in Minerals & Waste Management, Quantity, and Building Surveying, providing impartial advice relating to cost and repair.

Our services are essential for maintaining the Agency's non-domestic rating list. BEAMS also extends its professional services to other government bodies. BEAMS are responsible for the provision of surveying services encompassing a diverse portfolio of properties and specialist building structures, varying significantly in complexity and scale. Professionals within our team may be assigned to projects involving historically significant buildings, as well as unique and specialised structures such as lighthouses, government facilities, and nuclear sites.

This opportunity would form part of our core operational delivery, in the specialist surveying area of:

• Building Surveying - This encompasses comprehensive assessments, including pathology analysis, cost scheduling for repair works, dilapidation surveys, condition assessments, insurance reinstatement evaluations, disrepair cost estimations, and depreciated reinstatement cost advice. Our expertise extends to the preparation of Agency Cost Guides, incorporating detailed specifications, evidence-based cost data, and the provision of cost information to support contractor basis valuations. We also provide development viability assessments and cost appraisals for various government bodies.

The training we offer will support you to enhance your technical knowledge and further your career.

Key Responsibilities

• Providing specialist advice on the cost and repair of buildings, infrastructure, and associated attributes. Preparing schedules of costs and professional reports.
• Maintaining knowledge through CPD (Continuous Professional Development) in areas of legislation, case law, codes of practice and professional standards relevant to your area of expertise and the work undertaken within the Built Environment Team.
• Managing and mitigating risks and issues, ensuring timely escalation to senior colleagues.
• Managing and supporting the delivery of single jobs or projects to ensure time, cost, and quality deliverables are met.
• On occasions you may be called upon to act as an expert witness at Valuation Tribunal and other courts as required (Training and support in appearing as an expert witness will be provided).
• Provide mentoring, technical advice and training to support graduates and apprentices on their APC pathways and to support the development of others within the immediate team or wider agency as required.
• Working knowledge and application of Microsoft Office Excel and Word is essential to enable the preparation of reports and cost estimates.

The Built Environment and Mineral Surveyors Team (BEAMS) seeks a highly motivated and technically proficient RICS Chartered Building Surveyor to join its dynamic team. The role holder must consistently achieve project milestones and meet client expectations. This role therefore requires the capacity to effectively manage multiple tasks simultaneously within a dynamic, high-pressure environment. This includes adhering to delivery deadlines established in consultation with both clients and technical leads.

The successful candidate will effectively self-manage and function autonomously, working pro-actively to mitigate risks and ensure a timely escalation of potential issues to senior colleagues. The role holder will support the successful delivery of projects, adhering to predetermined time, cost, and quality standards, maintaining their current knowledge through Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

Essential Requirements

• Possession of a full FRICS or MRICS (Fellow or Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) qualification in Building Surveying.
• Proficient in building technology is essential. This includes competency in generating building cost estimations and repair reports, coupled with a fundamental understanding of building services and systems.
• Demonstrate strong communication and interpersonal skills, able to build and manage working relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
• To mentor and provide technical guidance to colleagues and contribute effectively within a collaborative team environment.
• Demonstrate strong analytical and decision-making skills by interpreting a range of evidence to provide relevant advice and reach sound conclusions, using initiative when problem solving with limited information.
• The successful candidate will be required to travel, which will include overnight stays. We are reasonable with our expectations and provide flexible working arrangements to support this need.

Please note that due to specialist requirements of this role, the successful candidate will be expected to:

• Initiate the application process to attain Registered Valuer status within twelve months of commencing the role.
• Obtain Developed Vetting (DV Level) security clearance. Due to the sensitive nature of our work with various public sector organisations this must be applied for within 12 months of commencing the role.
• Undertake an enhanced DBS check.

Licences

A full UK Driving Licence is essential to this role. However, if you are considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010 and do not hold a full driving licence, we will consider your application. Please contact resourcingteam@voa.gov.uk with your details to discuss this further.

Qualifications

Possession of a full FRICS or MRICS (Fellow or Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) qualification in Building Surveying is required.

Memberships

The successful candidate must initiate the application process to attain Registered Valuer status within six months of commencing the role.

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Developing Self and Others
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process: These will be Technical Questions focusing on Skills relevant to a Chartered Building or Quantity Surveyor - these are not provided in advance of interview.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £48,886, VOA contributes £14,162 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. We offer:

• A range of flexible working options, a generous leave allowance that starts at 25 days (increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days) and a Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.
• Learning and development tailored to your role.
• An environment with flexible working options.
• Family friendly policies including 26 weeks full pay for maternity, adoption or shared parental leave.
• Employee Assistance Programme offering comprehensive wellbeing support.

If you would like further information and details on how to apply, please follow the apply button to the civil service jobs website.