Main Purpose of Job:

The main purpose of this role is to lead, administer and supervise the day-to-day operation of Estates and Facilities for the British Embassy in Colombia – (Embassy premises; Official Residence and up to 50 residential units) ensuring compliance and efficient working environment according to Policy and H&S standards, both local and the UK. This includes preventive & corrective maintenance works supervision, Health & Safety observance and implementation, e.g., Fire Safety Management, Risks Assessment, Technical Inspections, etc. in close liaison with HQ and Regional Technical colleagues. Contract, procurement and leasing management and stakeholders’ interaction; developing new projects in a full range of Estates duties as construction, maintenance, refurbishment, mitigations, sustainability and overall improvements observing best practices and VFM principle. Oversight the correct spend of Estates budget allocation.

This role also manages and command a team of 8 Estates colleagues and controlling Estates’ documentation, systems and files: Contracts, apartments’ leasing; HERA (Finance, HR and Procurement system); Planon (Property Management System); H&S reporting Portal (Evotix), among others. This position also supports residential portfolio renewal processes (purchase and sale) following local and UK procedures.

As a Corporate Goal, the Estates Manager provides a first-class service in support of Embassy staff across internal Sections and Departments and the Embassy’s wider objectives under the Country Business Plan, Post Housing Policy and Committee. This position reports to Head of Corporate Services.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Manage own time and workload effectively, and oversee the work of the Estates Team, in order to deliver on the following roles and responsibilities of the job:

1. General supervision and lead (Line Management) of Estates Team, contractors, counterparts and stakeholders: Accommodation Officer, Maintenance Officer, Projects and H&S Officer and their subordinates (3 directs reporting and 5 indirects) + third parties (30%)

• Supervise all the maintenance and operation of Embassy buildings, compounds and properties and responding to queries and requests related, ensuring they meet all the H&S standards.
• Lead a team of professionals and liaise with contractors to deliver high standards of customer service and responsive maintenance solutions.
• Manage estate-related budgets, procurement, and purchasing activities to ensure value for money and adherence to FCDO financial-acquisition guidelines.
• Management key Estates-related stakeholders, internally (Embassy, UK) and externally (Landlords, suppliers, contractors); new rentals (apartments) + contract forms control.
• Technical support: conduct periodic inspections and take preventive-corrective actions for all properties and BE offices understanding Health & Safety concerns, attending to RTL, TWS and UK Contractors’ recommendations.
• Deliver and manage regular maintenance works supervision ensuring all estate activities/works/projects are run suitably in properties before UK Based staff (UKBS) arrivals and during their staying in country and after departure.
• Perform strategic communication with internal and external stakeholders as a leader to reach the objectives, identifying their needs and manage their expectations.
• Estates Control inventory maintaining an accurate data of Estates items and assets register (including furniture) at the Embassy, outer offices, external storage facilities, Residence, and accommodation using Planon system as appropriate and dealing with documentation and archives accordingly.
• Purchase and sale of Real Estates when required.
• Auction control for disposal Estates items.

2. General supervision & management of the Estate and Facilities (15%)

• Bogota: Official Residence x1; Offices x1: three floors; Officer’s accommodation x 49.
• Cartagena: Officer’s accommodation x1.
• Ensure all Estates purchasing/contracts are carried out according to the Procurement guidelines. Liaising with Procurement Hub and HQ when necessary.
• Property Compliance Assessment (H&S – PCA – GMP) projects.
• Corporate Services Charter and Service Level of Agreement (SLAs) compliance
• Control records of properties for handing back in correct conditions by UK Based Staff and/or Land Lords.

3. Promote and develop main projects required by the Embassy (10%)

• Refurbishments: Ensure all minor and major projects works adhere to UK and Procurement guidelines and H&S standards.
• New projects: Lead on project management having proactive planning, prioritisation, sustainability, obtaining quotations and tendering out, observing the conceptual and practical delivery and completion of H&S, environmental and budgetary parameters, and under required standards in close consultation with the Regional Technical Lead (RTL), Health & Safety Committee, Regional Operational Security Manager (ROSM) and other relevant stakeholders.
• Liaise with key stakeholders ensuring all documentation, manuals, plans, etc (soft/hard copies) are presented for all Estates contract projects.
• Implementation of Compliance Reports and Risk Assessments for all works and projects.
• Deliver value for money, efficiencies and compliance (with H&S requirements, audit requirement, legal requirements, and SLAs for PAGs in line with FCDO policies)
• Health & Safety projects in line with local and UK regulations.
• Sustainable projects (energy savings, green initiatives, etc. )
• Fire Risk Assessment Projects and General Risk Management Plan                             

4. To establish routines and negotiate maintenance contracts (10%)      

• On preventive maintenance contracts
• On corrective contracts
• On Frame Work Contracts
• On external work orders or services
• On review of rental contracts

5. Management of budgets and compilation of estimates on Estates expenditure (10%)

• General Estates budget: Control, monitor and forecast, including Utilities, Maintenance & Running costs, Furniture, Security and Capital Works allocations above £650K
• Direct Responsible for the Estates maintenance budget of £280K, ensuring proper forecast provision on quarterly basis or when required by Head or Deputy of Corporate Services. Flagging issues around budget pressures, overspendd or underspends.
• Value for money (VFM) purchasing of Estates and maintenance items.
• Project Management of the budget, ensuring spend is in line with Post/UK priorities.
• Accomodation budget oversight (Accomm. Oficer directly in charge)
• Minor maintenance budget oversight (Maintenance Officer in charge)

6. Post Health & Safety Coordinator – PHSC. (10%)

• Policy making and updating: in close co-operation with the RTL and H&S Committee, proactively manage Estates H&S policies, keeping files and records, and providing advice and instruction to staff and contractors at the contractual stage of maintenance or projects and while works are taking place.
• Inspection + implementation of H&S recommendations for all properties producing reports with considerations that Post Housing Committee will need to take into account when selecting a final property.
• First contact point in case of any incident/accident

• Implementation of FCDO’s new technical standards
• Electrical British Standard (BS) implementation in all properties
• Active contribution as leader member of the local Health and Safety Committee (COPASST)
• Main point of contact and response for the UK as Post Health and Safety Lead (NHSC) managing the new H&S system Evotix and the UK H&S Reporting Portal.
• Incident/accident reporting to Evotix and ARL local counterpart 

7. Payments authorization within delegated authority and overall supervision of Estates expenditure (5%)                                                                                                                                                     

• Surveillance of Requisitions and procurement procedures of Estates services and goods.
• Hera Core User: Requisitioner – Approver / Receiver responsibilities in line with policies and paremeters, managing and distributing budget and charging instructions, correct set up of Suppliers and monitoring Receipt of Goods and Services on HERA.
• Planon Core User: User responsibilities, data capture, monitoring and supervision.

8. Corporate responsibilities (5%)

• Be part and key member of Post Housing Committee and H&S COPASST in the Embassy.
• Active participation in the Embassy on a corporate level, including Crisis Response (Crisis Committee) and other Corporate activities
• Perform other activities that required trust and reliability linked to this role.
• Other ad-hoc tasks as required by the Head of Corporate Services and/or DHCS.

9. Embassy’s representative at owned properties building’s meetings: (2%)

• General Assemblies
• Administrative Councils for residential and Embassy Office.

10. Learning and Development (3%)

• Develop and implement effective and relevant personal and collective Performance Development Plan (PDP) as part of the annual appraisal cycle for the Job Holder and the Estates Team ensuring they have the correct understanding Estates priorities for and Policies.

• Excellent leadership and strong team management skills (at least 3 years of experience)
• Proactive profile and proving solving
• Ability to work with a multifunctional team
• Strong customer service skills and customer expectations management
• Proven experience in facilities management, Estate management, or a related field.
• Experience managing budgets, contracts, and procurement processes.
• Ability to work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders, including technical experts and contractors.
• Excellent project management skills
• Excellent communication skills
• Excellent delivery with eye on details
• At least 3+ years’ experience in a similar or related role (e.g. Project Management, Architecture, Facilities Manager, properties maintenance)
• Strong organisational skills and ability to prioritise and manage concurrent tasks and conflicting deadlines
• Strong knowledge of local and UK Health & safety regulations.
• Adaptability to work with others, some overseas
• Proficient knowledge of MS Office suite. 
• Resource Management
• Cost management
  
• Leve of Lanuage: Fluent written and spoken English and Spanish. English: between B2 and and C1 (under the CEFRL or equivalent)
• Must have the legal status to live and work in Colombia.