Purpose of the Role

People, Planet, Performance, Progress – King’s Cross’ ambition is to be a global exemplar of progressive city life. Inclusive, humane, modern urban city living.

We are looking for an exceptional person to join our team as Head of Estate Operations, who will serve as the principal public face of all operational aspects of the day to day running of the public realm of the Estate. This includes management responsibility of King’s Cross’ Safety, Security, Cleaning, Waste and Landscaping functions. The Head of Estate Operations will also be responsible for supporting the activities of Office and Retail occupiers where there is an interface with the Estate, such as facilitating logistics and access for deliveries, waste management operations and fit outs of buildings and development.

There is an expectation of the Head of Estate Operations to become immersed in the day to day life of the King’s Cross Estate, supporting the ongoing work in making positive changes to the lives of local residents and playing an active role in delivery of the wider King’s Cross ESG plan.

This is a customer facing role and the customer will always remain as the focus. A key aspect of this role is to ensure that excellent quality, consistent service delivery and value is provided across the public realm.

To drive innovation on the Estate, bringing fresh ideas and thinking to the role and actively seeking ways to drive operational standards, embracing new technology and having a problem solving mindset in all matters.

Key Responsibilities

Operations

• Drive the services for public realm of King’s Cross Estate, focusing on exceptional operational standards.
• Understand and manage the successful implementation of Savills' obligations within the Property Management Agreement for King’s Cross and identify, recommend, and champion areas for improvement.
• Ensure that King’s Cross is managed in a proactive and customer focused manner which exceeds client and occupant expectations and is ahead of benchmarked schemes in terms of the services and value that it offers.
• Ensure compliance with the Property Management Agreement, KPIs and SLA's, industry best practices, RICS Professional Statement and statutory obligations.
• To ensure all direct reports and service partners deliver reports and meetings in line with the timescales specified and are presented in a clear professional and coherent fashion.
• To ensure the team effectively communicate any works that effect Estate operations, the school, Residents and occupiers are sent in a timely manner.
• To oversee any public realm complaints and feedback, responding to issues as they arise in the prescribed time scale and to learn lessons from such issues, bringing new thinking and ideas to minimise the likelihood of these issues occurring in the future.
• Develop excellent relationships with representatives of the client and investors, reporting to the Operations Director on all aspects of the management of the estate through regular formal written reports and at site meetings in addition to ad-hoc communication as required.
• To oversee the procurement and management of all service contracts that may be required for the Estate in accordance with KCES best practice, policies and procedures.
• Have overall responsibility for the production of service specifications, contracts and associated documentation properly represent the service requirement of the Estate and are presented and executed in accordance with company guidelines.
• To deliver enhanced waste management of the public realm through the management and delivery of the waste sorting table in support of driving improved recycling rates.
• To deliver enhanced service and increased usage of the Multi use sportsground area (MUGA) and other community focused spaces on the Estate.
• Undertake regular weekly inspections of the estate.
• Update records on all Savills platforms.

M&E & Development

• To liaise with the Head of Technical Services to ensure all plant, including fountains and lighting are fully operational, and escalating any reoccurring faults and recommending long term solutions.
• Liaise with all construction development leads and manage the interface between their activities and mitigate any negative impacts on the operational estate during their construction and fit out phases and ensure all stakeholders are advised on development progress and changes that affect estate operations.
• Oversee conformity with the King’s Cross development section 106 agreements.

Health And Safety

• Work in collaboration with the Health and Safety Manager and Head of Purpose and Enablement to ensure Environmental policies and procedures and ensure these are adhered to throughout all levels of the estate operational teams and that every incident and accident is fully recorded, reported (including to insurers) and investigated and any remedial measures diligently attended to.
• Ensure the team achieve full compliance with the statutory legislation and ensure that all records are fully maintained and available for client inspection.
• Ensure appropriate policies, procedures and resource are in place to ensure operational risk is minimised and that contingency plans and BCP / procedures are in place and refreshed on a regular basis.
• Ensure, as far as reasonably practical, the health & safety of all occupiers, visitors, members of the public and the management team when on the Estate areas, ensuring that emergency procedures and safe working practices are established and maintained.
• Advise the client and Operations Director immediately of any potential threats or reputational damage, major incidents or accidents.
• Establish emergency procedures and safe working practices to ensure as far as is reasonably practical, the health and safety of all residents, occupiers, visitors, members of the public, estate employees and service providers.

Financial

• Be responsible, with the Surveyors and Savills head office financial support team, for all financial matters regarding the operational management of King’s Cross Estate including the overseeing of all service charge budget development and reconciliation and Managing Agent financial obligations.
• As the Budget Holder for the Estate you are responsible for setting the annual service charge budget in draft format three months prior to the start of the service charge year. In setting your annual budget you are required to benchmark against industry standards and provide a detailed explanation for all cost centres utilised within your budget. Once your budget is approved by the General Manager, Operations Director and Surveyor, authorisation is required from the client (landlord) and you will then be responsible for managing, authorising and controlling expenditure to deliver the service required.
• Be responsible for monitoring your budget carefully and regularly. Detailed budget monitoring is required on a monthly basis and you are to report your budget outturn figures monthly to your Surveyor and Client Accountant, identifying actions being taken to address any overspend and risk/factors that may affect your forecast outturn, in addition to providing recommendation for remedial action necessary to bring your budget in on target.
• As the Budget Holder you have overall responsibility for the management of the Estate budget within the service areas under your control.
• Ensure the service charge reconciliation process is completed within three months of the service charge year end and all reports are provided to the client’s team detailing actual expenditure against budget, highlighting and providing an explanation for any key variances and confirming any necessary recoding has been completed.
• To prepare and propose a capex projects for each year and present this to the client (landlord) for approval.

Leadership

• Be a naturally engaging, articulate and positive leader who can drive outstanding performance through others, whether direct reports, the wider team or service partners
• Understand and interpret the strategic goals and vision for the estate
• Develop the estate teams, to ensure the delivery of excellent customer focused service, aligned to the wides King’s Cross strategy.
• Ensure at all times that the team have the resources, support and advice needed to deliver a consistently excellent service.
• Ensure strong relationships with the management teams of all site delivery partners and ensure all parties work in a harmonious manner.
• To conduct regular 121’s, hold team meetings and complete thorough probationary, interim and annual performance reviews as per company guidelines
• Support the Operations Director and wider Estate Management Team with ad hoc projects as required.
• Act as an ambassador for the King’s Cross values, ensuring they are embed in estate operations.

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

• An exceptional leader who has instant credibility and gravitas at a senior level, ideally within a mixed use real estate environment.
• A natural people manager, able to inspire, motivate and communicate effectively.
• Comprehensive service charge management and budget setting experience.
• A comprehensive understanding of the best-in-class customer service, both B2C and B2B.
• An understanding of the operations of commercial and residential property management.
• Be able to adapt style and approach depending on the audience.
• An outstanding commercial and financial awareness with excellent financial management skills.
• Be able to innovate and drive change when required.
• Discretion and sensitivity in dealing with confidential matters.
• Able to manage a variety of people both directly and via service providers
• To be experienced in working alone and or as a part of an integral team to deliver the Vision and Values of King’s Cross.
• Holds a minimum of H&S qualification IOSH
• Experience of working on a mixed-use development and engaging with other stakeholders.

This Job Description is not an exhaustive list of duties, and you will be expected to perform different tasks as necessitated by your role within the organisation and the changes in the wider King’s Cross Estate development.

Working Hours - Monday – Friday: 09:00 –17:30 Core Hours. On call and some out of hours required 

Please see our Benefits Booklet for more information.