Head of Estates Operations South

3 days ago

Harwell, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom UKRI Full time £81,457 - £89,601

Science and Technology Facilities Council

Salary: £81,457 – £89,601 per annum | Open Ended | Full Time | Closing Date: 11th January 2026

Location: Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early once sufficient applications have been received, so we encourage interested candidates to apply promptly.

Together, our scientists, technologists, engineers and business support team explore the unknown and turn what they find into work that changes the world around us. Whether it's sending probes into space or finding new ways to treat cancer, everyone here plays a vital role in making a positive difference to society. 

Come and discover how much you can achieve when you're surrounded by world-leading experts, encouraged to constantly learn and empowered to explore your curiosity. 

STFC is seeking a strategic, delivery-focused Estates professional to lead maintenance and minor works across the South portfolio at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. This is a pivotal leadership role in a science-critical environment, ensuring the estate remains safe, compliant, resilient and ready to support world-class research.

You will provide clear direction to in-house maintenance and minor works teams, while setting and leading the resourcing strategy across employed capability and the procured supply chain. You'll drive performance across both models, ensuring innovative, value-engineered and cost-effective services, with health and safety, compliance and environmental sustainability embedded in everything you do.

Working as a senior member of the Estates Leadership Team, you will collaborate closely with the Head of Estates North to align maintenance strategy and performance nationally, enabling a consistent STFC-wide approach. A key part of the role is preparing and presenting performance reporting and business cases at executive level, providing assurance on delivery and highlighting emerging risks and opportunities.

What you'll do

  • Lead safe, compliant delivery of maintenance and small works programmes, ensuring high-performing day-to-day operations.

  • Set and deliver a resourcing and procurement strategy aligned to public sector regulations, optimising in-house capability and supply chain performance.

  • Act as Principal Accountable Person, owning statutory compliance assurance and the Estates Health and Safety Management System.

  • Embed environmental sustainability and whole-life cost/carbon thinking into operational delivery and investment decisions.

  • Use performance intelligence to inform short-, medium- and long-term planning and continuous improvement.

  • Build trusted, productive relationships with scientific customers, senior stakeholders and suppliers.

  • Produce executive-level reporting, performance insights and business cases to support strategic decisions.

  • Champion inclusive leadership, organisational values and service transformation across hard FM services.

About you

You'll be an experienced Estates/FM leader with a strong track record of delivering services through mixed delivery models. You'll be confident leading people, contracts and performance in complex environments, and comfortable advising at senior and executive levels. You bring a whole-life mindset to assets and sustainability, and you're motivated by enabling science through excellent services.

Working with the Head of Estates North, you'll align performance nationally and present assurance, risks and opportunities at executive level.

If you're an Estates/FM leader who combines operational grip with strategic thinking, strong stakeholder skills and a commitment to safety and sustainability, we'd love to hear from you. Please provide a CV and covering letter detailing your suitability for the role. Applications without a covering letter will not be considered.

STFC values their employees by offering a benefits package designed to provide an excellent work/life balance including 30 days' annual leave, 10.5 public and privilege holidays, flexible working hours, a workplace nursery, exceptional average salary pension scheme, social and sporting activities and societies and a subsidised restaurant.

As one of Europe's largest research organisations, this is a place where there's always something new to learn about the world around us, about your career, but most of all, about yourself. Join us and discover what's possible.

Please note: if you will require sponsorship to work in the UK, as part of your sponsorship application, you (and any dependants travelling with you) will be required to pay costs directly to the UK Home Office for the application before you start your role with us. UKRI is normally able to reimburse some, or all of these fees after you have become an employee, and this can be discussed with the Hiring Manager. For more information, please visit  or contact  

This role requires an additional National Security Vetting check, which requires all applicants to have been resident in the UK for at least the last 5 years. Please note: this applies even if you currently have the right to work in the UK. Any candidate who has not been continually resident in the UK for the last 5 years is ineligible for this role (regardless of their right to work or visa status).

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