Estates Manager

We are working with a public sector organisation seeking an experienced Head of Office Estates to join them on an interim basis. This is a key leadership position responsible for overseeing the organisation's office estate, ensuring full compliance with statutory obligations, and delivering a high-quality, customer-focused estates service.

This assignment offers the opportunity to lead a small, dedicated team and drive the effective management of a diverse property portfolio. Experience on both landlord and tenant side is essential, with strong capability in lease management, negotiation, and estates strategy.

The Role

As Head of Office Estates, you will be responsible for the operational management of the organisation's Office Estates team and the ongoing maintenance of the office estate. You will ensure legal, statutory, and financial responsibilities are fully met while delivering an excellent service to internal stakeholders and external tenants.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, develop and support the Office Estates team, setting clear strategic objectives and managing performance effectively.
• Ensure compliance with legal obligations and internal policies across areas such as health & safety, equality & diversity, procurement, finance, and information security.
• Manage departmental budgets, ensuring spend aligns with organisational priorities and all procurement processes are adhered to.
• Oversee the full office property portfolio, including acquisitions, disposals, lease management, licences, wayleaves, easements and tenancies.
• Lead negotiations with landlords, tenants, and legal/professional advisors.
• Manage notices, covenants, rent reviews, lease renewals, property records, and tenant billing.
• Ensure landlord and tenant responsibilities are fulfilled, including management of business rates and due diligence of prospective tenants.
• Identify opportunities to increase income generation across the estate.
• Lead completion and submission of government reports and statutory returns (e.g., benchmarking reports, State of the Estate, departmental returns).
• Undertake additional duties as required by senior leadership.