Manager - Service Asset and Configuration Management

Today it is a vibrant and diverse borough, with a long history and strong cultural and community heritage. Kingston's riverside location, fantastic retail offer, historic market place and church, parks and gardens all make Kingston town centre the vibrant space it is, and each of our district town centres (Surbiton, New Malden, Tolworth and Chessington) have something unique to offer.
Situated in Zone 6, Kingston is among the best-connected town centres in London – with direct train links from Kingston and Surbiton stations to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and Tramlink.
Kingston’s people are innovative and entrepreneurial, and have a strong sense of community pride. The borough has been home to great industry and creativity for many years, reflected in assets such as the Rose Theatre, the International Youth Arts Festival and Kingston University, which boasts more new graduate business start-ups than any other.
We have seen tremendous generosity and compassion within our communities, particularly in response to COVID-19, which is a demonstration of Kingston’s key strength. The council offers a strong level of support to vulnerable groups and those who need additional support, which has also increased significantly as a result of the pandemic. Like most places, the average age of our population is rising as more people are living longer, so we are working closely with residents to help them maintain their independence and further improve the cost effectiveness of our service to meet the ongoing rise in demand.
Kingston is home to people from diverse and interesting cultures and backgrounds, which helps to create the rich sense of community shared across the borough. In particular, Kingston has a large Sri Lankan Tamil community and is home to more people from Korea than any other part of the UK.
As theSpace Utilisation Manager,you will lead on efficient space planning across the corporate property portfolio. You will ensure the corporate property portfolio is well equipped to meet staff requirements and procure office furniture and design office furniture layouts where necessary. In addition to this, you will also instigate and develop a centralised system for all office moves and re-configurations and lead on the delivery of these projects. A working knowledge of space standards and workplace regulations will be required to ensure accommodation provided is compliant.
Projects identified in order to make best use of property assets
Devise and implement a central booking system for requests for office reconfiguration and new space/layout requirements
A day in the life of ourSpace Utilisation Manager will include working closely with a range of teams but mostly working within the Property Team, Future Workplace Team and Facilities Management colleagues, leading on changes to corporate property accommodation. You will also be working with external contractors and suppliers to procure services and equipment. You will identify where changes can be made to improve the use of property across the portfolio and manage projects from start to finish.
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is focused on delivering the best possible outcomes for its communities. To do this the Council needs employees who thrive in an agile and networked organisation and who can support continuous improvement within a constructive organisational culture.
Facilities Management (FM) manages the built environment to ensure safety, efficiency and comfort for all users as well as playing the key role in maintaining the Council’s assets in optimum condition. The need for a highly skilled and experienced, strategic and operational management team, with vital back up from suitably skilled support staff, is critical to its success, as is a progressive and forward thinking team operating in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
We're looking for a confident professional with experience in spatial planning and utilisation of office space. You will be able to analyse data relating to property assets, be competent in drafting floor plans and uploading them into data systems. You will also be a confident communicator who can work on their own initiative and demonstrate a flair for finding compliant spatial solutions and maximising the potential of property assets for service delivery and customer experience.
Ideally be educated to degree level or demonstrates appropriate level of work experience to lead on space planning projects
Have advanced AutoCad experience and skills set used in a similar role and advanced IT skills to record and manipulate data
Prior experience within a similar senior space planning position working within a corporate setting
Demonstrate experience of project management office moves with working knowledge of space standards
Be a clear and confident communicator both verbally and written, demonstrates good stakeholder management abilities with robust customer service skills
Be highly proficient in working with and analysing data using property data systems and spreadsheets.
Demonstrate experience in budget management and supply chain management
Have good knowledge of the broader corporate landlord agenda and national/regional/local priorities around estate management, sustainability and asset utilisation
Demonstrate advanced analytical skills to be able to interrogate data relating to space analysis and organisation
Demonstrate commitment to own personal and professional development to meet the changing demands of the role
As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.
In addition we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff supported by our IT infrastructure, Google Chromebooks and Google Apps, which have acted as a key enabler for collaborative and streamlined working. We operate hybrid working, a flexible working model which allows staff to work from a variety of locations and staff are not required to work within the office 5 days a week. It enables staff to achieve a work life balance whilst still meeting the needs of the organisation.
Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
Flexible and agile working arrangements
Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
Interest free season ticket loans
Local Government Pension Scheme
Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
Zip car scheme
Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
Subsidised gym membership
Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. We are committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) so all personal information that can identify job applicants e.g. name, title etc is completely anonymised during the shortlisting process. Our HR Shared Service with Sutton Council was recently recognised nationally for having the ‘Best Inclusion and Diversity Programme’ at the PPMA Excellence in People Management Awards 2023, something that we’re incredibly proud of.
Hiring managers are encouraged to ensure that their interview panel is diverse, and representative of a range of protected characteristics, to help remove unconscious bias and ensure candidates are treated fairly during the selection process. We have a number of measures in place to inform and support our approach, including mandatory EDI and unconscious bias training for all staff, safer recruitment training for diverse panel members, engaging with our staff networks and encouraging allyship. We are fully committed to removing barriers and enhancing the diversity of our workforce.
Our aim is to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and staff feel a sense of belonging. As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to thinking differently about disability and taking action to improve how we recruit, retain and develop disabled people. We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.
We are an accredited London Living Wage Employer and this means that everyone working at the Royal Borough of Kingston, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers receive the London Living Wage. The real Living Wage is higher than the government’s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living.
The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. UK website for right to work guidance.
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