Space Utilisation Manager

This special place in South West London between the capital and the country has been a Royal borough longer than anywhere else - it is where the first kings of England were crowned.

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.

About the Role  

As the Space 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. 

When joining us, you will be working on:

• Leading on changes to the workplace environment across the corporate property portfolio
• Projects identified in order to make best use of property assets
• Property Review whereby the utilisation of the corporate estate is to be assessed and optimised
• Devise and implement a central booking system for requests for office reconfiguration and new space/layout requirements

A day in the life of our Space 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 be using great communication skills ensuring all relevant teams are kept informed of timelines and any planned changes. 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.

This role will report to the Head of Property & FM.

About Us  

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 are a fairly new team and this is a great opportunity to be part of the success story of the FM team. We take a very collaborative approach and welcome contributions from every team member whilst we set procedures in place. No input is too big or too small and we have an all hands on deck approach!

About You  

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. 

In addition to this, to be successful in the role, you will:

• 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
• Have strong knowledge of property and health and safety legislation and its strategic application
• 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
• Demonstrate a high level of innovation and creativity

For more information, please refer to the Job Description.

Our Offer To You  

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. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; 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.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
• Three volunteering days per year in Kingston
• Flexible and agile working arrangements
• Comprehensive learning and development programme
• 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

Application Process  

Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.
The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. 

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 hiring managers review applications based on the knowledge, skills and experience demonstrated in your application, and how well these match the job profile. 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. Some characteristics may not be obvious, but our panels are diverse wherever possible. 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.

Additional Information  

We are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough. Our aim is to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and staff feel a sense of belonging. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, particularly Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, and disabled candidates, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce.

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 guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role.

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. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.