Estates and Facilities Manager

Reporting to the COO, the Head of Estates & Operations will manage the preservation of two high-profile, Grade 1 Listed sites (St James’s Church, Piccadilly and St Pancras Church, Euston Road), and ensure their safe and effective running for multiple users/purposes/ activities.  This, during an exciting period of change as we progress towards implementation of the Wren Project, our £20m capital project that seeks to transform St James’s into a site that is relevant to today’s needs, whilst preserving and celebrating its heritage.

Church Profiles

St James’s Piccadilly

St James’s Church building, designed by Christopher Wren and consecrated in 1684 is Grade I listed.  The site includes a garden, (the Green Churchyard), a courtyard (the Paved Churchyard), a Rectory and a building at the west end which is currently a café and a flat.

The building enables a lively, inclusive, and diverse church in central London that welcomes everyone, of all faiths and none, and draws together a wide set of activities, projects, and aspirations.

For over 30 years we have had a significant creative arts programme with exhibitions, major festivals and music concerts taking place across the year, as well as debates and lectures.  We have a major community outreach programme to support those experiencing homelessness, mental health issues, or seeking asylum, and work actively in prison reform, training, and employment.  We provide eight music scholarships every year to support the ongoing work of the church including weddings and memorial services.

St James’s has also been actively engaged in environmental initiatives for many years, through its thriving Earth Justice Programme, and was the first urban church to achieve an Eco Church Gold Award.

Over 40,000 people visit St James’s every month.

St James’s is at an important moment in its 339-year history. We’re currently fund raising for a £20m capital project (‘The Wren Project’) which was launched towards the end of 2021.  Planning permission and faculty permission are secured and around 50 % of funding has been secured. The main features of the scheme are restoring the church building, making the site accessible and opening up to the south and the east.

St Pancras Euston Road

St Pancras Church building, designed by  William Inwood was consecrated in 1822 and is Grade I listed. It is a fine Greek revival church and comprises nave, apse, north and south caryatid porches, north and south vestibules and west portico. The church is clad with Portland Stone with terracotta bands of decoration under a combination of lead and latterly a slated nave roof.

The church community has reduced during the pandemic to around 10 active members. A weekly service on Sundays at 10am attracts an average of 25 people. The musical tradition is strong with a professional choir.  The church sponsors a very significant food bank provision, located in the parish.  The latest quinquennial inspection noted that the building is sound, with no major urgent issues although repair of the historic and distinctive caryatids is a priority over the next 5 years.

The Head of Estates and Operations will play a pivotal part in the plan for St Pancras to open up the church and site, find new income generation opportunities, develop an activities programme, and revitalise the life of the church as the heart of its community.

This post will be located at St James’s Piccadilly, but the responsibilities extend over both churches. The vision, values and strategy driving this appointment are from St James’s Piccadilly which is helping St Pancras revive its community and church life.

St James’s Vision

Rooted in God’s earth, we envision a just society and a creative, open-hearted church.

St James’s Values

Contemplation. Action. Adventure. Kindness. Courage.

Role Details 

Role Title – Head of Estates & Operations

Hours of work – 35 hours per week (full time employment contract – fixed term for 24 months – potential to extend in time)

Responsible to – Chief Operating Officer

Key relationships – SMT, Churchwardens, PCC, Wren Project Board, Business Partners (incl. Café & Food Market), Tenants, Sub-Contractors, and Local Partners (incl. Prince’s House, St Pancras Church Euston Road, WCC & HOLBA).

Purpose of the role 

Leading site teams at St James’s Church, Piccadilly and St Pancras Church, Euston Rd, the Head of Estates and Operations will have specific responsibility for the preservation, of two Grade 1 Listed sites and ensuring their safe and effective running for multiple users/purposes/activities.

They will ensure delivery of efficient, client centred estates planning, management, income generation schemes and facility support services, whilst managing the development and delivery of Net Zero Carbon planning in consultation with key stakeholders and in line with the Church of England’s Route Map to Net Zero by 2030.

They will also be called upon to support the planning, delivery and reporting of all phases of St James’s transformational £20m Wren Project as required, working with the Project Board to navigate the challenges this project will present to both sites and to ensure that the benefits of the project are realised.

Responsibilities

The Head of Estates and Operations will typically be expected to:

Manage site staff and sometimes volunteers. 

Work with St James’s and St Pancras’s SMT & PCC, to advise them on estates issues and support their planning and decision-making processes with estates expertise.

Oversee the development of the estate, to make sure it's being effectively run to meet the church’s strategic objectives.

Work to improve areas such as site accessibility, ecology, or social integration.

Fulfil the role of project lead on site-related environmental initiatives, including development of external areas for biodiversity and implementation of Net Zero Carbon Plan.

Ensure that longer-term site issues and needs are planned for, including planning for climate resilience.

Deliver planned preventative maintenance and repairs.

Manage the department budget effectively, ensuring best value is achieved on all expenditure.

Project-manage site renovations and improvements.

Solve problems and maximise financial returns from the estate.

Plan, commission, and manage the work of contractors such as gardeners, tree surgeons, building services engineers, fire specialists, alarm specialists, cleaners or security guards.

Manage contracts and licences for various aspects of use of the estate.

Maintain good and effective relationships with neighbours, tenants and other site users.

Keep up to date with HSE legislation and regulations that affect the estate and help to maintain our compliance.

Quantify site and operational risks, formulate mitigating actions, and ensure they are carried out in a timely way.

Ensure the appropriate provision of site staff and contractors for key events, in support of event managers.

People Management

Responsible for building and leading the site team at St James’s and St Pancras churches, with line management responsibility for the Head Verger, Site Manager and Gardener at St James’s, and the site team at St Pancras (currently caretakers and gardener). 

Expected to collaboratively work with staff to develop them, as well as recruiting new teams as required. 

This includes:

Day to day line management

Induction of new staff

Implementation of appraisal processes

Formulation of training and development plans where necessary

HR administrative requirements e.g. managing Annual Leave plans and staff rotas

Person Specification 

Essential Qualities: 

To be in sympathy with and actively support St James’s mission, ethos and practice. (Refer to our website for details).

A qualification or commensurate experience in Estates Management.

Experience of managing a heritage or similarly high-profile public site.

Experience of leading a successful, multi-function, operational team. 

Strong project management/planning experience and the ability to build strong relationships with a wide variety of stake holders.

Excellent organisational skills with the ability to multi-task and manage delivery of agreed service levels across 2 sites simultaneously.

Excellent commercial negotiation skills with a demonstrable ability to secure best value from site sub-contractors and boost the income generating potential of our sites.

Excellent communication skills, both verbally and in writing, able to present timely management data and reports to senior management and church council when required.

Competent user of MS Office products (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook).

Desirable Qualities: 

Experience of implementing Net Zero projects or initiatives and familiarity with developing climate resilience.

Experience of working within a faith-based organisation or charity.

Up to date knowledge of HSE rules and guidance as it applies to site operations.

Experience of producing Risk Assessments and managing Risk Registers.

Equity, Inclusion and Diversity at St James’s

It is important that we are representative of people and communities from across society. We actively welcome applications from people who are currently under-represented in our community including people with global majority heritage, people with lived experience of poverty and people who identify as LGBTQ+.

Safeguarding

St James’s is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All post holders and volunteers are expected to share this commitment.

Terms of Appointment

Title: Head of Estates & Operations

Employment contract: 2 years fixed term: Monday to Friday: 9.00am - 5.00pm (35 hours per week excluding lunch breaks) with flexibility for early/evening and weekend work as required.  Core expectation of 4 days per week on site (whether at St James’s or a partner church) and 1 day per week working remotely.

Remuneration:£50,000 pa: 7.5% employer pension contribution with .5% contribution by employee.

Leave entitlement: 25 days annual leave plus public holidays. 

Place of Work: The role is mainly based at St James’s Church, 197 Piccadilly, London W1J9LL, with regular visits to St Pancras Church, 165 Euston Road, London NW1 2BA.

Application Process

For further information please contact Nick Thasarathar, Operations Director 

Please complete the application form (details of referees required) – refer to our website - and forward to Jane Gray, HR consultant, by midday on Friday 15th March 2024. (Job description including person specification on our website too).

The review of applications and shortlisting for interviews will be complete by 18th March 2024 and applicants will be notified.  Shortlisting interviews will be held from 25th–28th March and the successful candidate will be confirmed by 29th March.  We are aiming for a start date as soon as possible.