Soft Services Manager (Facilities Management)

About this role

Contract: Fixed term: 24 months (24 months from start date)

Soft Services Manager

Make an Impact on the UK's Health Security Infrastructure

The Facilities Management Department (FMD) at UKHSA's Colindale site plays a critical role in supporting the organisation's mission of protecting public health and delivering health security for everyone.

Our team provides a wide range of essential services that keep one of the UK's leading scientific and research facilities operating safely and efficiently. These include catering, cleaning, waste management, pest control, grounds maintenance, front-of-house services, stores, porterage, engineering maintenance, validation, calibration, repairs, and capital projects.

Working within a complex and highly regulated environment, FMD supports research laboratories, pharmaceutical production facilities, specialist storage environments, and office accommodation. We work closely with stakeholders across the campus to ensure facilities and engineering services meet the highest standards of safety, compliance, sustainability, and operational excellence.

As Soft Services Manager, you'll have the opportunity to influence service delivery across a nationally important site, ensuring our facilities continue to support the vital work carried out at Colindale every day.

Reporting to the Head of Site Services, the Soft Services Manager is responsible for overseeing the delivery of high-quality soft facilities management services across the Colindale campus.

You'll work collaboratively with contracted service providers, internal stakeholders, and specialist teams to ensure services are delivered efficiently, meet contractual requirements, and provide an excellent experience for staff and visitors.

This is a varied and visible role that combines operational leadership, contract management, stakeholder engagement, financial oversight, and strategic planning. You'll play a key role in maintaining service standards, driving continuous improvement, and helping shape the future workplace and accommodation strategy for the site.

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.

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