The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is one of the government’s largest public service departments with a sizeable annual budget, serving over 20 million citizens.
The estate spans 1.4 million square metres across 800+ sites and supports around 78,000 colleagues.
Our vision includes DWP colleagues, supply chain, partners and, most fundamentally, the customers the Department exists to serve. They are the reason for our existence.
We are responsible for the day-to-day operation of our vast Estate by managing a private sector supply chain that delivers essential services such as Security Guarding, Maintenance, Property and Leasehold Management, Construction, Cleaning and Facilities Management.
DWP Estates is not just about maintaining buildings - it’s about transformation. Our strategic goals include:
- Transitioning to a smaller, more affordable, and adaptable estate to meet future needs
- Investing in infrastructure through planned replacement works
- Embedding sustainability in line with Government Greening Commitments (GGCs)
- Delivering cost-effective services while maintaining high standards
- Creating a professional, best-in-class working culture across the Government Property profession
Our Estates strategy ambitions have been refreshed to take us through to 2030:
• OPTIMISE: Continue to transition to a more affordable and adaptable DWP estate that creates productive environments
• INVEST: Investment in an improved environment that better meets the needs of customers and colleagues and minimises service disruption
• SUPPORT the drive for sustainability throughout DWP
• DELIVER: Expertly deliver improving, cost-effective services for DWP
• THRIVE: Continue to develop a working culture for DWP Estates that is best in class across government
There is no better time to join the award winning DWP Estates team.
As a Senior Leasehold Property Manager you will be a key member of the Leasehold Team during this exciting time when DWP is modernising and investing in its estate. We have an ambitious programme of work to deliver over the next few years, including high volumes of lease acquisitions, divestments, lease renewals, regears and landlord consents, on top of the day-to-day work of managing the largest estate in Government.
Working to the Head of Leasehold or Lead Leasehold Property Manager in achieving the Department’s strategic objectives, this senior role will lead a team and manage and direct expert suppliers (property consultants and solicitors). You will be given the opportunity to lead on specific projects and areas of specialism where you will act as DWP’s leasehold subject matter expert.
For jobs located in Wales, the ability to speak Welsh is desirable.
Government Property Profession Career Framework (Link) This role sits within the following: - Job Family – Strategic Asset Management
- Core Role – Property Portfolio Management
- Level – Senior Practitioner
Key accountabilities - To provide leadership and oversight of all DWP’s leasehold responsibilities including:
- Property transactions required to deliver strategic change eg: acquisitions and disposals, lease regears and landlords’ consent
- Lease event management eg Rent reviews & lease renewals
- Day to day estate management duties to ensure compliance with lease obligations
- To act as a subject matter expert, providing advice and direction to the senior stakeholders to shape strategy in accordance with best practice
- Drive financial performance to meet in year budget targets, providing accurate annual and monthly forecasts within their region or building portfolio and identify and proactively address opportunities for cost reduction including:
- Exploiting lease event opportunities to keep operating cost to a minimum
- Maximise opportunities to recover business rates and service charge costs
- Identifying opportunities to increase revenue from the estate and vacant space
- Accountability for commercial assurance and approval of financial commitments for commercial property transactions within Delegated financial levels and provide recommendations to governance forums where required, to ensure value for money and commercial probity
- Providing development and leadership for your team, embedding new ways of working and fostering a culture of ‘One Team’ that includes supplier partners and wider teams in DWP Estates, role modelling the civil service behaviours
- Instruction and management of third-party supplier partners including building commercial relationships and ensuring appropriate challenge and professional rigour is applied to recommendations and decisions
- Accountability for accuracy of lease data, governance reports and supplier management reporting through regular audit and assurance activitie
- Collaboration with other DWP Estates teams to review, develop and continuously improve cross team end to end processes to ensure effective hand-offs of responsibilities are clear and align with each area of expertise
- Key stakeholder engagement and management, acting as subject matter expert and point of escalation on all aspects of leasehold management
- To keep abreast of wider Government property initiatives and other government departments strategic intentions, to determine their impact on the DWP Estate eg One Public Estate, MEES/sustainabilit
- To keep up to date with market trends, understand and interpret benchmark information about “best in class” solutions to drive efficiencies across the estate when undertaking transactions and financial and supplier management
- Undertake scenario planning exercises that analyse long term market and economic trends, considering how this might influence and develop the future DWP estates strategy
- To ensure consistency in approach and continuous improvement throughout the extended team by regularly reviewing methodology, process, and approach, identifying lessons learned and sharing knowledge as and when required
- Ensure succession planning for the Leasehold team by managing capability assessment, professional development of the existing team
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