Workplace Services Manager

Job summary

The Government Property Agency is the largest property holder in government, with more than £2.1 billion in property assets and over 55% of the government’s office estate.

We are transforming the way the Civil Service works by creating great places to work, leading the largest commercial office programme in the UK, working towards halving carbon emissions from government offices, and achieving greater value for taxpayers. And we are looking for innovative, solutions-focused people to join our team.

Representing the best covenant in the UK – His Majesty’s Government – we are leading significant transformational programmes such as the Government Hubs Programme, Whitehall Campus Programme and Net Zero Programme. We are also delivering cost-effective property services such as asset management, lifecycle replacement and workplace services.

Innovation and progress underpin our behaviours. We foster a culture of lifelong learning, where curiosity and self-improvement are encouraged. Our four core values are at the heart of everything we do. They shape our culture and guide how we work, lead and grow together:

• Striving for excellence- We always aim to deliver great results
• Empowering through respect- We insist on fair treatment for all, always
• Acting with integrity- We consistently do the right thing
• Succeeding together- We rely on each other to achieve success

We are committed to representing the communities we serve by making Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) part of everything we do. Our strong emphasis on EDI is not just about driving inclusion across our organisation, it is also about ensuring our services meet the needs of government departments and the civil servants who use our spaces. To ensure that we are always recruiting and retaining a diverse mix of talent, we are particularly inviting applications from candidates who are disabled, ethnically or gender diverse, and people who identify as being part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Join our dynamic and diverse team that leads with purpose, improving sustainability, nurturing social value, driving inclusivity and flexibility, and kickstarting economic growth. We are driven by purpose, and you can be part of it too: where you make a meaningful impact; where you influence; where your voice really matters; where you help to shape our future direction.

Job description

The Workplace Manager (WPM) is a pivotal position within the Workplace Service Delivery Team. Reporting to the Area Workplace Manager, the post holder will have responsibility for coordinating the delivery of high quality customer services for a cluster of sites within an area and/or Hubs within our four GPA operational regions (North, Central, South and London).

Passionate about customer service excellence, the successful candidate needs to be able to coordinate business and accommodation support activities within their responsibility and liaise externally with the wider community. As we expand our Hub portfolio, we are seeking an adaptable and diverse team of Assistant Workplace Managers who the post holder may have responsibility for in the capacity of line management:

• Strong customer ethos with the ability to build communities within our GPA managed portfolio supporting customer organisations, between our internal and external communities and their places, and between multiple delivery partner organisations (commercial and non-commercial)
• Excellent change management to support senior leaders with the transformation of our workplace services
• Experience of workplace and facilities management, including health and safety, would be advantageous, with the stakeholder engagement and skills to help customers get the best from their workplaces and the relationships between property, technology, people policies and organisational culture

Our estate is migrating towards smarter working environments with Hubs leading the way and the WPM will champion smarter working, offering guidance and advice to enable customers to get the best out of their spaces and services and maximise their use of available space, challenging ways of working and behaviours as appropriate and necessary.

Key Responsibilities

• You will put customer service excellence at the heart of everything, and:
• Lead, organise and coordinate the delivery of workplace business and accommodation support services within the responsible location(s)
• Be responsible for creating and inspiring the customer community and support the delivery of a workplace that:
• Encourages relationships and connections amongst customers
• Is a vibrant, friendly and social culture
• Supports our customers health and mental well being
• Is an integral part of the local community
• Ensure the community experience is accessible to all and support a thriving digital community across our Hub portfolio.
• Build strong stakeholder relationships with clients and suppliers, ensuring that continuous and effective engagement is in place
• Be responsible for managing a team of FTE’s either directly and via the supplier organisations, leading and inspiring team members to consistently deliver excellent customer service across our portfolio
• Undertake robust contract management to achieve quality service standards and value for money, exercising commercial terms to drive performance where needed
• Take initiative and ownership of business and accommodation issues and escalations, providing clear direction to WS delivery partners and your WS colleagues and stakeholders
• Work closely with other regional peers and Customer Experience team to drive consistency across teams, combine and share ideas for continuous improvement driving VFM and performance enhancements
• Support the Regions Workplace Service Managers and Area workplace Managers in leading the effective integration of new assets, services and teams as part of the ongoing GPA on boarding programme and the delivery of projects in the Hubs and Whitehall Campus programmes
• Support your Workplace Services colleagues in monitoring and assuring FM performance at your site. Ensuring that FM delivery standards remain high, owning any issues or escalations within the post holder’s responsibility to ensure they are dealt with effectively by the GPA Service Delivery partner(s).
• Maintaining a culture of responsiveness, responsibility, continuous improvement, mutual support and pride in where we work.
• Have strong organisational skills, a proven track record of managing diverse competing priorities/changing deadlines and are resilient when working in a changing and fast paced environment.
• Representing the Workplace Services team by attendance at business meetings as required.
• Responsible for the management, forecasting and reporting of the allocated budget
• Ensures adherence to the governance model, holds contractual meetings with suppliers in line with requirements and informs management of activities within their location(s)
• Utilise the data and information to make decisions and close collaboration with the data team to identify areas of improvement
• Drives GPA initiatives within their responsible operations
• Ensures alignment to GPA strategies
• Responds to client queries within the allocated SLA
• Supports the provision of information to enable responses to FOIs and PQs within the set timescales
• Responsible for incident management and reporting for sites within scope
• Identifying vacant and poorly used space.
• Advising GPA customers on the correct process to enable their full business requirements to be cap