Head of Operations Support - London or Manchester

Purpose of the Role

Savills Property Management is seeking a strong leader of FM Operations Support. The successful candidate will be instrumental in the further development of the existing national operations team and enhance the function and practices of the team. They will be responsible for the overall performance of service delivery of the unit, and will act as the lead representative on all systems and process developments that impact Savills' FM service delivery and Safety+ operational teams. They will play a key role in the development of strategies and innovation which will continuously advance the performance and delivery of the teams.

Our Safety+ and Facilities Management teams have grown significantly over the last few years and are crucial to the effective management of Property Management; managing a national portfolio of retail parks, offices, industrial estates and residential schemes. The Head of the Operations Support plays a pivotal role in the overall strategy to delivering our FM and Safety+ principles consistently across the UK.

To be the successful candidate:

You must be an confident leader, capable of getting the most out of multi-disciplinary teams comprising of senior stakeholders, administration, operational, site and coordinator teams plus the various internal and external teams who support Property Management service delivery. Your approach must consider evolving practices and processes, statutory obligations, and client care. You must possess drive and determination and challenge practices to evidence best practice in the industry. There will be a drive to identify areas of potential development and create the necessary strategies to address compliance, operational and consistency development opportunities.

Although this is not a dedicated Health & Safety specific role, you will also possess a high level of health & safety and operational aptitude, being able to lead the team to develop effective and accurate reporting, governance and data management whilst aligning the operational needs with the wider business strategy. You will have a high level of hands on experience of all operational systems such as CAFM, source to pay and compliance platforms.

You will be an excellent people and performance manager.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensuring that people, processes and systems are continuously reviewed and updated to ensure that regulatory and service KPIs are met and that more efficient working practices are adopted.
• Ensuring consistency in approach to operational and statutory compliance management across the Division
• Driving consistency and best practice across all operational teams by developing reporting and processes to monitor in real time the compliance across FM Network, Shopping Centres and Demised and Occupier Services initially
• Develop and manage a triage approach to incident management
• Develop and implement first stage incident investigation process
• Represent the the Hub at Safety+ board level
• Setting clear and defined facilities and HSE objectives, KPIs and targets for continuous improvement in line with company and industry standards
• Oversee the development and delivery of training making sure it is up to date with legislation, guidance and best practise and changes in the marketplace.
• Identify new ways of working and new systems/ technology that could develop the service offering
• Provide specialist advice related to FM operations, services, systems and process mobilisation and operational delivery across the portfolio.
• Maintain up to date knowledge of all relevant legislation and best practice.
• Identify and implement innovations and drive efficiencies through technology to keep us ahead of our competitors.
• Smooth relationships when difficult circumstances arise and develop a culture of trust both within and outside the team.
• Create a culture of continuous improvement and formulate partnerships with a view to influence policy and positive change.

People Leadership:

• Line management of the senior operations team within the Ops & Compliance Hub and develop the team structure to reflect the growth and development of individuals, the HUB and the business
• To set clear objectives in line with company/Divisional/team strategy and to measure performance against these
• To conduct regular 121s, hold team meetings and complete thorough probationary and annual appraisals as per company guidelines
• To support team members in career development via training (to ensure high skill levels both technically & behaviourally), coaching, mentoring and the promotion and succession/talent processes
• To adhere to all company processes with regards to people management and to role model professional behaviours at all times
• To ensure recruitment is completed professionally and in line with team/divisional/company goals, thinking strategically re: future needs and in line with our diversity goals

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

Technical experience, able to evidence:-

• No less than 5 years experience of working at Senior Management level within the FM/Property Management sector.
• An in depth knowledge of Property Management systems such as Source to Pay, compliance systems, CAFM, process mapping etc
• An in depth understanding of relevant health & safety legislation and in possession of a relevant H&S qualification (IOSH/NEBOSH).
• Membership of recognised FM industry body (IWFM/RICS).

People management and leadership experience, able to evidence:-

• Proven ability to develop skills and enable personal and professional growth of individuals
• Able to delegate effectively for maximum results
• A motivator, able to create successful team working and individual performance and engagement
• Experience of successful conflict management and performance management

Skills and Knowledge

• Strong interest and understanding of operational compliance: impact and consequence
• Interest in systems, processes and people and how they interact to deliver operationally
• Focussed: commits to challenging goals and delivers consistently against these
• Continuous improvement: delivers efficiency in addition to effectiveness
• Evaluate situations, calculate risks whilst justifying and championing best practice.
• Diplomatic and challenging with the ability to influence others
• Confident with a positive outlook
• Strong decision maker who gives assurance
• Ethical with strong integrity