Estates Director

Department:
PFM Management

Location:
Birmingham

Description
Estates Director – Brindleyplace, Birmingham
About Brindleyplace:
Brindleyplace is one of Birmingham's go-to destinations for business, leisure, and culture.

The 17-acre estate welcomes over 5.2 million visitors per year, attracted to a unique mix of must-see attractions including the National SEA LIFE Centre, Ikon Gallery and Crescent Theatre, along with an amazing selection of bars and restaurants.

Alongside this, Brindleyplace is home to over 8,500 employees, many of whom have relocated both from within the UK and abroad. Major employers offer both apprenticeships, graduate schemes and ongoing professional development, making Brindleyplace a strong location for employee retention, growth and lifelong learning.

Role:
Since 2023, the majority of Brindleyplace has been owned and managed by Praxis. We are now seeking an experienced Estates Director to lead the on-site facilities management teams delivering 24/7 cleaning and security operations across the 17-acre estate.

The Estates Director will hold overall responsibility for the operational, financial and reputational performance of Brindleyplace and have the opportunity to help shape strategy.

Responsibilities will include:

• On-site leadership of team of 70+ colleagues
• The delivery of contractual obligations, ensuring KPIs and SLAs are met or exceeded
• Ensuring compliance with all relevant legislation (health & safety, environmental etc.)
• Stakeholder engagement with asset and property managers, tenants, occupiers, local authorities and community partners.

Strategic Leadership

• Contribute to and deliver the Brindleyplace FM Strategy, aligned with asset management and investment objectives.
• Lead transformation initiatives across all FM disciplines (hard and soft services, sustainability, technology, and service innovation).
• Act as the senior accountable person for day to day estate operations, compliance and risk management.
• Drive a culture of operational excellence, service innovation and tenant visitor experience.

Operational & Technical Management

• Oversee all estate operations both through in-house delivery and supply chain partners including M&E services, cleaning, security, waste, front of house, energy and utilities, and public realm management.
• Ensure statutory and regulatory compliance across all assets and facilities.
• Embed sustainability and ESG objectives into FM delivery — including energy performance, waste reduction, biodiversity and social value outcomes.
• Lead business continuity, resilience and crisis management planning.

Commercial & Financial Management

• Manage multi-million-pound operational FM budgets and contribute to the service charge budget and reconciliation process with the property management team.
• Oversee procurement, tendering and performance management of FM contracts and supply chain partners.
• Identify efficiency opportunities, cost savings, and operational improvements.
• Support asset management and leasing teams in service charge modelling, occupier negotiations and operational due diligence.

Stakeholder & Occupier Engagement

• Build and maintain strong relationships with occupiers, from major corporates to leisure operators and retail tenants.
• Act as senior point of contact for operational matters, ensuring a consistent, high-quality occupier experience.
• Effectively collaborate with Asset Management and Property Management colleagues to deliver strategic objectives and address operational challenges
• Partner with marketing and events teams to support estate activation and community engagement.
• Collaborate with city stakeholders including Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Police, utilities, transport and planning bodies

People Leadership & Culture

• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary estate and service delivery team (including cleaners, security operatives and other service delivery staff as well as the estate management team), fostering collaboration, accountability and innovation.
• Inspire service excellence among in-house staff and contractors.
• Establish and communicate clear goals for the FM team aligned with the asset management objectives. Monitor, measure and report on performance continuously to ensure goals are achieved. Take corrective action as required to ensure that overall goals and objectives are met.

Transformation & Innovation

• Modernise FM systems, data platforms and performance reporting.
• Drive digital transformation of estate management and customer engagement processes.

Introduce smart technology and predictive maintenance practices to improve performance and transparency.

Key Responsibilities

• On-site leadership of team of 70+ colleagues
• The delivery of contractual obligations, ensuring KPIs and SLAs are met or exceeded
• Ensuring compliance with all relevant legislation (health & safety, environmental etc.)
• Stakeholder engagement with asset and property managers, tenants, occupiers, local authorities and community partners.