Main Purpose of Job:

Corporate Services is the engine room of the Embassy, providing a broad range of essential services to support delivery of British Government objectives in Japan. We provide services to around 200 staff from 7 government departments in Japan and provide the lead for Corporate Services policies across both posts in the Japan Network (the Embassy in Tokyo and the Consulate-General in Osaka).

We are currently looking for an Estates Manager to join our team in Corporate Services. The selected candidate will report directly to the Head of Corporate Services. The Estates Manager is responsible for working with our facilities management provider to ensure that all users have a positive experience working in our offices and that the accommodation provided to our diplomats is safe and kept to a high standard. The Estates Manager is our designated legionella and fire safety responsible person and takes the lead on ensuring we meet our health and safety duties across the UK diplomatic estate in Japan.
 
This role will appeal to a candidate who is willing to develop and improve services creatively and innovatively, use their facilities management or estates knowledge and experience to support a wide range of staff in both Japanese and English, and is confident to provide direction and advice to our directly employed staff as well as to the FM provider.

What the Jobholder will be Expected to Achieve:

Estates Management (30%)

• Work closely with service providers, including the FCDO Estate Operations team and the Facilities Management (FM) provider to ensure that any necessary estates and maintenance works are carried out by the FM team, to an agreed standard.
• Take a lead in coordinating office moves, understanding staff requirements from the estate, and in making improvements to the office environment.
• Bring together stakeholders engaged with our official Ambassador’s Residence, ensuring that maintenance and improvements are value for money and delivered with the minimum disruption to events and operations in the Residence.

Residential Accommodation (35%)

• Working through our FM provider, ensure housing is provided on arrival of diplomats, prepared to a good standard and fully equipped, and in line with the FCDO housing policy.
• Communicate policies to staff before they arrive and respond to any questions or concerns. Take an active role in understanding customer perceptions of the service provided and work with the FM provider on continuous service improvement.
• Maintain an oversight of accommodation leases proposed and executed by the FM provider. Ensure leases meet FCDO requirements and are signed or renewed in a timely manner.
• Review the state of furniture and housing packs, conduct sample checks on our housing portfolio, and ensure that central accommodation policies are being followed and documentation kept.

Health and Safety (25%)

• Lead on health and safety issues for the FCDO in Japan (including building standards, workstation assessments, and fire wardens).
• Organise regular H&S training for the Japan Network.
• Lead on the completion of our annual H&S reporting duty, as well as responding to H&S incidents as they happen.
• Act as our “responsible person” for legionella, asbestos, and fire safety. Working through the FM provider, ensure that regular checks and risk mitigation are carried out.

Planning and Procurement (5%)

• Support the Head of Corporate Services in producing and delivering the estates elements of our annual plan, supporting Country Plan objectives and delivering a safe, modern, and pleasant working environment for staff.
• Responsible for the management and forecasting of the post estates-related budgets ensuring resources are used in line with FCDO guidance.
• Provide input on supplier selection, service level agreements, and management to our FM provider.

Corporate (5%)

• Assist the Head of Corporate Services in updating policies and procedures, and their implementation, to ensure cost effective management.
• Work closely with other corporate teams including Community Liaison, HR and IT to deliver a joined up approach to estates management.
• Collect and review feedback from customers of the estates and accommodation services provided in Japan. Lead of the development of improvement plans as necessary.

Resources Managed (staff and expenditure): 

• Directly line manage one AO Estates and H&S Officer

• Experience working with a facilities management provider to deliver safe and high-quality office accommodation
• Has managed a variety of H&S responses, working to keep people safe
• Enjoys being part of a busy team but can work independently with little supervision and able to help cover for the head of department and others in their absence
• Has experience influencing behaviours and persuading others, and is adept at building and maintaining good working relationships
• Is confident in working with our contractors both in developing our estates arrangements and in responding to H&S incidents
• Is a good communicator and people-person, who takes pride in good service and enjoys working in a busy team
• Has evidence of working at pace and managing multiple projects at the same time

Language Requirements:

This role requires written and spoken proficiency in both English and Japanese. fluency (minimum of C2 level for CEFR framework*) in one language and business level (B2) in the other. 

*Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages sets the following mastery or proficiency levels:

• C2: Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express themself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.
• B2: Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in their field of specialisation. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.