Job Title: Head of Facilities & Estates
Reporting to: Chief Executive Officer
Direct Reports:  Maintenance Team

Key Relationship Management; External Contractors, surveyors, service providers.
Location: Office of St John’s Winchester, the Almshouses are all located within Winchester City
Centre Contract Type: Full-time, Permanent

What we are looking for

We are looking for an experienced Head of Facilities & Estates will lead the day-to-day management
of St John’s Winchester’s historic almshouse and investment property portfolio.  This is a unique
opportunity to contribute to supporting one of Winchester’s oldest charities at the heart of the City.

You will bring high standards of safety, compliance, sustainability and asset performance. Reporting
to the CEO, you will lead our in-house maintenance team supported by external contractors,
delivering a well-maintained, safe and welcoming estate for residents while supporting the charity’s
long-term mission and financial sustainability.

Purpose of the Role

The Head of Facilities & Estates is responsible for managing the effective and efficient provision of
facilities and estates management of St John’s Winchester’s property portfolio ensuring compliance
with all regulatory standards.  The postholder acts as the Charity’s Health and Safety lead for the
estate and provides guidance to the organisation in this area.

The role includes the strategic planning and management of the of the Almshouse Estate and
investment property, maintaining a fully costed rolling estates and facilities plan, and lead on its
implementation.

The role ensures the proper asset management procedures are followed including the control of
keys and the oversight of the maintenance of security and fire systems. The Head of Facilities &
Estates leads and manages a small in house maintenance team, promoting a positive culture and
developing and supporting team members and relationships with other stakeholders of the Charity.
They manage relationships and service level agreements with key external contractors, ensuring
value for money and excellent service.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Property & Asset Management

•  To support the senior leadership team (SLT) of the Charity in their role with regard to the
strategic running, management and monitoring of the Almshouse property, including
successful delivery of capital projects

•  To work with the SLT to develop and implement a long-term Estates Strategy (including 10–
30 year horizon) covering maintenance, investment, disposals, acquisitions, and energy
performance.

•  Maintain and review the complete asset register and stock condition dataset, ensuring

accurate data drives strategic decisions.

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•  Assess the performance of all assets, identifying poor-performing, high-cost, or non-

compliant properties for improvement, redevelopment, or disposal, ensuring that physical
assets are optimised for their use within the Charity.

•  Report regularly to the SLT, Property Committee and Trustees on asset performance, risks,

investment needs, and compliance.

•  Ensure that St John’s is fully compliant under relevant Social Landlord obligations,

Almshouse regulations, and applicable housing standards.

2. Operational Facilities and Estates Management

•  Oversee the repair, maintenance, and operational standards of all buildings and

infrastructure, across the estate, including the Almshouse stock and the investment
properties

•  Ensuring the grounds at all Almshouse sites are presentable and well maintained across the

seasons.

•

Lead the delivery of Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) schedules and reactive
maintenance ensuring works are scheduled and completed on a priority basis

•  Manage refurbishment, redecoration, and improvement projects, ensuring quality, cost

control, and sensitivity to heritage and conservation requirements.

•  Ensure all building systems — electrical, mechanical, heating, water, drainage — are

serviced, monitored and effective.

•  Conduct regular inspections across the estate and investment properties, ensuring issues are

identified and resolved quickly.

•

Lead on property and facilities-related complaints resolution, ensuring timely investigation,
learning, and compliance with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.

3. Environmental Performance & Sustainability

•

Lead the development of an Energy and Carbon Reduction Plan, aligning with national and
sector targets.

•  Work toward achieving and maintaining improved EPC ratings, including planning for Band C

or higher across investment assets where applicable.

•

•

Identify and deliver opportunities for renewable energy, improved insulation, energy-
efficient systems, and waste reduction.

Support the charity’s work towards reducing the carbon footprint of the organisation,
aligning estate improvements with long-term sustainability goals.

4. Health, Safety & Compliance

•  Act as the designated Health & Safety Lead for the estate, ensuring compliance with all

statutory and regulatory requirements.

•  Oversee landlord compliance obligations, including:

o  Fire safety

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o  Asbestos management

o  Water safety / Legionella

o  Gas and electrical safety

o  Accessibility and housing standards

•  Ensure all risk assessments, safety inspections, and RAMS documents are up to date and

fully implemented. Contribute to the quarterly update of the organisation’s central risk
register for estates and facilities risks.

•  Oversee the safe management of contractors on site.

•  Ensure compliance with insurance requirements, safeguarding considerations relating to

buildings, and data protection protocols.

•  Ensure the organisation has appropriate estates IT systems for asset management,

compliance monitoring, PPM scheduling, and workflow tracking.

•  Maintain the key register and be responsible for the control of keys across all sites. Be

responsible for opening and lock up procedures at the office, delegating responsibility where
necessary.

Function as the Responsible Person for the control of the estate CCTV operations, recommend any
developments or improvements required.

5. Leadership & Team Management

•

Line manage the Maintenance Team and provide strategic direction and operational
oversight to the in-house team, ensuring the department deliver an efficient and
professional service for the residents.

•  Define clear roles, responsibilities, and workflows within the department to ensure

efficiency and accountability.

•

•

Lead on recruitment, training, and professional development across the property and
estates team.

Foster a positive team culture focused on safety, professionalism, communication, and
resident-focused service.

6. Contractor, Supplier & Supply Chain Management

•  Procure and manage external contractors, consultants, surveyors, and suppliers, ensuring

value for money and high-quality delivery.

•  Maintain and develop a trusted approved contractors list.

•

•

Improve supply chain efficiency by building long-term partnerships with key suppliers and
specialists.

Lead tendering processes for major works, ensuring transparent and robust procurement.

7. Financial & Asset Investment Management

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•  Develop and manage annual budgets for facilities and estates maintenance, capital projects,

and compliance.

•  Monitor expenditure, produce forecasts, and identify savings or efficiencies without

compromising safety or standards.

•  Prepare specifications, tender documents, and project plans for major works and capital

investments.

•

Support Trustees and the CEO in financial planning relating to property, including long-term
capital expenditure planning and reserves strategy linked to estate needs.

8. Governance, Reporting & Organisational Contribution

•  Prepare and present reports for the CEO, Property Committee, and Board of Trustees.

•  Ensure that risks associated with the estate are identified, mitigated, and included within the

organisational risk register.

•  Provide out-of-hours estates and facilities support, including acting as an emergency on-call

response for urgent property, safety, or security issues.

•  Develop and implement up-to-date policies relating to asset management, health and

safety, compliance, sustainability, and repairs/maintenance.

•  Contribute to wider organisational strategic planning, ensuring property decisions support

the charity’s mission and long-term vision.

•  Deputise for the CEO on estate-related matters when required.

•  To undertake additional duties as required, commensurate with the levels of the job.
•  Maintain positive, professional relationships with all stakeholders.

For the avoidance of doubt, the duties and responsibilities contained within this job description may
change from time to time according to the requirements of the role and it is not intended to have
contractual effect.

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Person Specification

Essential

Desirable

Qualifications, Education and Training

Experience of Facilities and Estates Management

Membership of or working towards BIFM/IWFM qualification

IOSHH certificate

Y

Y

Good standard of general education (5 GCSEs at Grade C or above)  Y

First Aid training

Skills, knowledge and experience

Strong working knowledge of UK landlord and property
compliance requirements, including fire safety, gas and electrical
safety, asbestos, water safety/Legionella, and general health and
safety legislation.

Relevant qualification in one of the following areas, plumbing,
carpentry, painting and decorating or building work.

Competency in IT and Microsoft Office 365 and use of facilities
management systems such as FaultFixers

Experience of team management, supervision and development

Experience of producing and monitoring budgets and producing a
long-term budgets and capital project budgets

Experience in procurement process for contracts and capital
projects

Proven experience of acting as a Health & Safety lead or
responsible person for estates or facilities

Ability to identify, assess, and mitigate estates-related risks and
contribute to organisational risk registers.

Experience of managing sustainability initiatives, carbon reduction
projects, or renewable energy installations.

Experience working with Listed Properties

Experience of complaints management

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

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Personal attributes

Enthusiasm and desire to work within a charitable organisation
with a portfolio of heritage properties

Excellent communication skills with the ability to communicate to
a wide variety of different stakeholders

Excellent customer service skills

Excellent organisation skills

A positive and flexible attitude towards work

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

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