Soft Services Manager (Facilities Management)

What You'll Be Doing

• Lead and oversee the delivery of soft FM services across the Colindale campus, ensuring consistently high standards are achieved and maintained.
• Work closely with service providers to monitor performance, conduct audits, and drive service improvements.
• Support the development and implementation of operational plans, schedules, and service strategies.
• Manage and monitor contracts, ensuring compliance, value for money, and adherence to agreed service levels.
• Contribute to procurement and tender processes for outsourced soft services.
• Support financial management activities, including purchase order approvals and oversight of utilities expenditure.
• Work with stakeholders across the site to balance operational requirements with wider estate and accommodation planning objectives.
• Chair the Food Forum Committee, fostering collaboration between service providers and representatives from across the campus.
• Lead the Accommodation Strategy Group, helping to shape space planning and workplace solutions.
• Support business continuity planning by developing and maintaining robust operational processes and procedures.
• Participate in fire safety and emergency preparedness activities, ensuring soft services teams are trained and informed on site-specific procedures.
• Collaborate with finance colleagues to manage utilities contracts and expenditure, including water and sewerage services.

Essential Criteria:

• Educated to degree level in Facilities management or equivalent level qualification or significant experience of working at a similar level in specialist area.
• Significant successful facilities management experience in a demanding environment, particularly in design and operations of scientific facilities, including experience at senior management level.
• Significant experience of running FM services through both NEC and CCS contract models.
• Management / supervisory qualification or demonstrable equivalent experience within a similar role.
• Must be able to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information; negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues, and present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups.
• An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships, both in terms of day-to-day working practices, but also in relation to management systems.

Desirable Criteria:

• Full membership of appropriate Professional Body e.g. CMI, CIBSE, BIFM
• Significant knowledge of estates, facilities and building management systems, their implementation and management, e.g. CAFM, Planet, Maximo
• Emergency Planning experience.
• Comprehensive experience of project principle techniques and tools such as PRINCE2 and Managing Successful Projects.
• Previously responsible for managing a large budget spend, involved in budget setting and working knowledge of financial processes.
• Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands.
• Demonstrated capability to plan over short, medium and long-term timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly.
• Must be able to prioritise own work effectively and be able to direct activities of others.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office with intermediate keyboard skills.
• Adaptability, flexibility and ability to cope with uncertainty and change.
• Professional calm and efficient manner able to demonstrate a strong desire to improve performance and make a difference by focusing on goals.