DIO – Estate Surveyor (Europe Wide)

Job summary

Do you want to work for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) and play a key role in keeping our country safe through caring for the Defence estate and those that depend on it? DIO manages the Defence estate, one of the UK’s largest and most diverse property portfolios, enabling the armed forces and Defence civilians to live, work, train and deploy. From net carbon-zero accommodation to runways for the F35 fighter jets, our outputs are unique in the UK and across the globe!

If you are a suitably qualified property professional who would be interested in working client-side with Military colleagues on one of the largest estates in the country and/or across an extensive overseas portfolio, and you are motivated by the prospect of working on a diverse range of exciting, interesting and often-challenging projects of National interest in support of the UK Defence Mission, then the DIO Estates Team is for you!

The Role

DIO Estates have a vacancy for an Estate Surveyor to work within Specialist Teams – Overseas division based in Mons, Belgium, and we are seeking a highly motivated individual with the ability to plan, manage and lead all aspects of their delivery area.

The Estates Surveyor will join an established team that is responsible for delivery of Leasehold residential accommodation, lease management and provision of related property advice to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) across its Europe & Turkey portfolio.

In addition to your basic salary there are overseas travel, relocation and living allowances as well as rent and utility free accommodation at your duty station in/near Mons, Belgium provided (entitlement according to status).

This is an exciting opportunity to join and be a part of our international network of highly skilled Surveyors, and we are looking for motivated suitability qualified property professional to join an established team, working closely with military and civilian colleagues delivering exciting, varied estate activities, programmes, and subject matter professional advice.

Job description

Main Responsibilities

All Surveyor roles within Estates support the management of a wide range of programmes and services alongside the provision of subject matter expert advice and communications with all key stakeholders.

The work is extremely varied and wide ranging, but key activities for this role will include:

• Assisting the Senior Estate Surveyor in delivering the agreed Estates delivery programme primarily focusing on the Isolated Detachments in Portugal, Poland, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia with regular travel to these destinations.
• Providing property consultancy services and advice to customers and stakeholders.
• Acquisition of residential real estate, including initial property search, lease negotiation, transactional due diligence & preparing schedules of condition in preparation for handover.
• Surrender of premises, serving relevant legal notices, agreeing dilapidations & liaising with FM departments.
• Property management, conducting periodic property inspections, liaising with property owners in connections with repair and maintenance obligations.
• Lease Management, completing lease renewals and rent reviews, ensuring property compliance,
• Data management, record keeping and financial accounting across a large portfolio of Leasehold residential accommodation in Europe & Turkey.
• Preparing and approving residential rental valuations or transactions undertaken by a team of locally employed staff.

Tour Length:

• 3 Years + up to 2 Years extension at Line Manager discretion

Location

The role is based at Mons, Belgium and the successful candidate will be expected to attend the office on a daily basis for face-to-face meetings, interaction with colleagues, customers and collaboration with other SMEs.

There may be a requirement to travel back to the UK on duty and/or to the overseas locations covered by the role on an ad hoc basis, which will involve overnight stays. If travelling outside your base location for duty reasons, you will have access to flights, hire cars, rail tickets and overnight accommodation. You can also claim 45 pence per mile if a pool vehicle is not available and you have to use your own vehicle for business travel.

DIO Business Area – Estates

The Defence estate is one of the largest landholdings in the UK and covers an estimated 1.8% of the UK land mass (200,000+ ha). This is complemented by a significant UK Defence presence overseas.

Estates are the in-house real estate team within the DIO (part of the UK Ministry of Defence) supporting infrastructure needs across a high-profile Public Estate. We acquire, manage, safeguard, and dispose of Defence real estate. Our unique customer knowledge and insight of the Defence Estate enables our in-house team of property professionals to provide in-depth advice to our Military customers.

The Team

DIO Estates - Specialist Teams includes Chartered Surveyors, Registered Valuers and Safeguarding Officers who, between them, provide comprehensive land, estate and property management services to the Overseas Estate, Estate wide Valuation & Rating Services and Safeguarding of Defence assets and operational capabilities.

The Overseas Team provides the full range of DIO Estates services globally (across 50+ countries) including much of Europe, Cyprus and Gibraltar and further afield such as Kenya, Nepal and the US. The Overseas Team HQ is at RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire, but also has staff located in 10 overseas offices providing the opportunity to live and work abroad, playing a hands-on role managing UK MOD interests held under Lease, Licence and Inter-Government Agreement, or delivering these from the UK, supplemented by periodic travel. An ability to cultivate local partnerships and an expeditionary approach in this team are a must.

Person specification

Essential Experience:

Relevant, suitable experience and knowledge at an appropriate level in General Estate Management of a wide and varied portfolio, including:

• Landlord and Tenant
• Rent and debt management
• Estate utilisation and rationalisation
• Property Transactions
• Property Valuation

Desirable Experience:

• Working in a Defence environment
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office
• Working overseas/International context

Desirable Membership:

• Full membership of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS/FRICS)

It is an essential condition of this role that you have AssocRICS or full membership of RICS Or will obtain it within 3 years of joining.

We recognise that not everyone has had the opportunity to secure AssocRICS/MRICS prior to application, and therefore we will consider those who have worked or are currently working in an Estate Management role. You may already be working towards AssocRICS or full membership of RICS. If not, we can support you in achieving a recognised professional qualification by funding the cost of any fees and subscriptions, and will allow time for studying/preparation, provide mentoring/counselling, and fund additional professional development training to enable you to achieve AssocRICS, MRICS within 3 years of joining.

Desirable Qualifications:

• RICS accredited qualification
• Degree or equivalent in estate management related subject.

Desirable Languages:

• Any European language would be advantageous.

Licences

Essential Licences:

A full driving licence - Post holders will be required to travel to the sites covered by the post on a regular basis and some sites are difficult/impossible to access via public transport.

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Technical: Government Property Profession Career Framework: - 1: Property Professional Expertise - Practitioner Level
• Technical: Government Property Profession Career Framework: - 3: Stakeholder Engagement - Practitioner level

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,720, Ministry of Defence contributes £10,927 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Discover My Benefits:

Please follow the link to visit the Discover My Benefits site which showcases the benefits and discounts offered when working as a civilian for the MOD. https://discovermybenefits.mod.gov.uk/civilian/

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• 25 days annual leave rising (1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of 5 years’ service.
• Successful candidates will become members of the Government Property Profession, with benefits including opportunities for Government and industry led CPD events; access to a diverse community of property professionals across government for sharing knowledge and ideas; and a comprehensive career framework and learning and development curriculum to support your career journey.
• A tax-free Cost of Living allowance (COLA) paid with salary of between ‘£8901 - £16235 p.a. depending on family status (NB rates correct as of 01 March 2026)
• Rent free accommodation (scale based on family need/entitlement) inclusive of utilities and local taxes for period of approved overseas tour.

This post offers full relocation allowances subject to availability. Cost of Living Overseas Allowances is payable based on personal circumstances and marital status.

Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.

This is an established MOD post within SHAPE, which is a NATO base. Due to the provisions of the NATO Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), any non-married dependent/partner will not be eligible for NATO medical or dental facilities or Service Furnished Accommodation (SFA).

To learn more about our full range of benefits, view our Candidate Information Guide.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.

Please ensure that at the application and interview stages of the campaign you review the Success Profiles Framework to assist you in the demonstration of your skills and experience.

Your suitability for the role will be assessed using the Success Profile elements that have been chosen for this campaign. Each element will be scored accordingly, and the successful candidate will be appointed on merit.

At application you will be assessed against the following:

Experience:

• CV including Job History, Full Qualification Details and Previous Skills & Experience: Please ensure that you explain all skills and experience that are relevant to the advertised role as detailed within the Essential experience within the personal specification section of the advert.

Personal Statement:

• Please provide a statement to demonstrate your suitability for the role and to demonstrate your skills and experience set out in the essential criteria, detailed in the job description

At interview you will be assessed against the above PLUS the following:

Technical Skills:

Government Property Profession Career Framework:

• 1: Property Professional Expertise - Practitioner Level
• 3: Stakeholder Engagement - Practitioner level

We want to offer opportunities to all who are successful at interview for our roles, but this isn't always possible, so we do hold candidates on an active reserve list for 12 months. It is also possible that we may offer similar lower graded role/s to reserve candidates or, if no reserves are appointed, candidates that meet the lower grade criteria in merit order.

Application sifting is scheduled to take place on week commencing 22nd June 2026.

Interviews are currently taking place via Face to Face or remotely through a digital platform, this will be confirmed with the successful candidates who are invited to an interview and will be conducted week commencing 29th June 2026.

A minimum of 2 full working days’ notice will be provided for interviews. We endeavour to stick to these dates, but these are subject to change around business needs.

To assist with your application please find attached/ Links below:

1. DIO Candidate Information Guide
2. GPP Career Framework

For help and support with your application check out our Civil Service Careers Homepage and the How to apply section.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical.

The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected, and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigation's can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – we may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Noel Gibson
• Email : noel.gibson108@mod.gov.uk
• Telephone : +32 471 178804

Recruitment team

• Email : dbscivpers-resourcingteam1@mod.gov.uk

Further information

See attached further information sheet

Attachments

DIO Candidate Information - Guide - Overseas (CS Jobs) Opens in new window (pdf, 2230kB)20241009 - Further Information - External Opens in new window (docx, 37kB)Ministry of Defence – Revised Terms and Conditions of Service (TACOS) Opens in new window (pdf, 298kB)Defence Civil Service Offer (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 1562kB)