Director of Property

Job Description

Discover yourself in Lewisham where what you do makes a difference to our vibrant and culturally diverse communities!

We have a rich history of welcoming people from all over the world and are proud to be recognised as the UK’s first Borough of Sanctuary, for our work in championing the rights of refugees and migrants.

Shape the estate. Enable services. Deliver social value.

Lewisham’s operational estate of over 750 assets underpins the services our residents rely on, from civic buildings and libraries to schools, depots and community assets. We’re seeking a Director of Property to set a clear, data driven estate strategy; deliver a safe, compliant and efficient portfolio; and unlock social, financial and environmental value.

This is a broad, visible leadership role. You’ll hold end to end responsibility for asset management, strategic planning and investment decisions, aligning footprint, utilisation and condition to service needs, modern ways of working and climate commitments. You’ll lead our facilities management activities (hard and soft) and the capital programme, to ensure rigorous compliance, and embed proactive lifecycle planning and risk management.

What’s the role?

This is a new role with the opportunity to shape the service, bringing together people, teams and processes into a coherent, customer centred corporate landlord model that:

• Uses strong data, KPIs and governance to drive decisions
• Delivers intelligent asset reviews, acquisitions and disposals
• Ensures safe, timely and value for money planned and capital works
• Strengthens contract and supplier management to deliver quality and social value

The current teams are c110 strong with combined annual revenue budgets of over £12m (split 40:60 staff and external spend) and annual capital spend in the region if £10m-£15m depending on level of inward investment secured. The team also manage corporate utility contracts of c£20m per year and an annual leasing income stream from commercial assets in the region of £6m.

Of note, the Council is excited to welcome Goldsmiths University’s commitment to be a new anchor tenant in Catford town centre in 2027. This requires a restacking of the civic complex for all tenants, including the Council, and a programme of investment to ensure the availability and condition of the complex meets their requirements for the coming 10-15 years at least.

What’s in it for you?

Excellent training and development opportunities, plus a range of benefits including:

• Generous holiday allowance
• Local Government Pension scheme
• Flexible working and family friendly policies
• Season ticket and bicycle loans
• A range of staff discounts including local subsidised gym memberships
• Supportive staff networks

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for a director who combines strategic judgement with operational grip. You’ll be commercially astute, analytically strong and experienced in managing large, complex portfolios. You’ll know how to get the best from in house teams and partners, and you’ll be confident working with Members, senior officers and communities on challenging decisions.

Lewisham is values led and people centred. In return, you’ll join a supportive corporate leadership team and have the licence to shape a portfolio that enables excellent public services.

Location

The job is primarily based in Laurence House, 1 Catford Road, London SE6 4RU, but we operate a hybrid approach where you will be required to work both in the office and from home on a regular basis.

Applicant handbook - please read the guidance in this handbook when applying. It is essential that you complete the application fully and that your supporting statement covers how you meet each of the person specification criteria listed.

For an informal discussion about this job, please contact our retained partners at GatenbySanderson: Frazer Thouard (frazer.thouard@gatenbysanderson.com) or Kembi Coakelin (kembi.coakelin@gatenbysanderson.com).

Please click here to view more information and to apply for the role.

Salary

£113,334 to £119,346 per annum (DIR 3)

N.B: All appointments will be offered at the minimum spinal column point (SCP) for the grade of the role. The only exception to this will be when matching current salary (up to the maximum of the scale), which is subject to evidential proof.

Diversity

Lewisham Council is a Disability Confident employer. We welcome and encourage job applications of all abilities. If you require any reasonable adjustments in the application or interview, please contact the lead contact on this advert. We will make reasonable adjustments to make sure our disabled applicants and those with health conditions are supported throughout our recruitment process. We support the access to work scheme, further details are available at www.gov.uk/access-to-work/apply.

The Council has a dedicated employment support service, Lewisham Works, which offers Lewisham residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you want to join Lewisham Works, please email JobsAndSkills@lewisham.gov.uk and an advisor will be in touch with you.

The Council reserves the right to close adverts early if there is a large response.

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