University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Associate Director of Estates & Facilities Operations

The closing date is 04 May 2026

Job summary

The Associate Director of Estates & Facilities Operations has overarching accountability and responsibility for the Trust's Estates and Facilities operational services. The role is responsible for providing the professional leadership and operational management across the Estates and Facilities portfolios. The role will ensure that both the Estates and Facilities services remain fit for the future, and adapt to changing healthcare needs.

Reporting to the Director of Infrastructure & Site Services, the Associate Director of Estates & Facilities Operations will hold corporate responsibility for ensuring suitable and sufficient governance arrangements are embedded into the Estates and Facilities Directorate. The role will provide assurance to the Trust Executive and the Trust Board in relation to the built environment and Estates and Facilities services, including statutory and other risks that will impact on the delivery of a safe, responsive, cost-effective service.

This is a senior corporate leadership role, involving close collaborative working with the Executive Team, senior clinical staff, the Chief Operating Officer, Chief Nurse & Director of Integrated Professions, Infection Control team, and Director of Finance. Managerially the post holder carries significant responsibility for financial management and regulatory compliance. Effective engagement with system partners, the Local Authority, and other external agencies is also a key part of the role.

Main duties of the job

***Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as 'Priority' and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.***

The Estates and Facilities Department is responsible for providing and managing the built environment and range of services that enable all clinical and non-clinical users to fulfil their function in a safe and effective way so far as is reasonably practicable.

The post-holder will be responsible for the staff directly employed in the division, comprising senior managers, administrators, estates and facilities staff including technically skilled staff, alongside the Contractors who are working on the site. This includes:

  • 750+ FTE NHS employed Staff
  • Contractors working across the Trust estate

The post-holder will be responsible for significant revenue and capital budgets, including:

  • £5M per annum of external income
  • £41M net revenue budget
  • £6M backlog maintenance capital budget

About us

We are a people business - where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY. If you have any issues with applying online and need additional support including reasonable adjustments with the application process please contact the recruitment manager for this post who will put you in touch with the recruitment team. We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants around less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. Please contact the recruiting manager to discuss this prior to your application submission. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

Details

Date posted

20 April 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8d

Salary

£94,356 to £108,814 a year Per Annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

216-LH-CO7872455

Job locations

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Plymouth

PL6 8DH


Job description

Job responsibilities

The following are not deemed to be prescriptive and may change from time to time to reflect any change in local or government policy or statutory orders:

Estates and Facilities Strategy

Formulate long term strategic plans for Estates and Facilities services, which have wide ranging impact across the organisation and the entire local healthcare system.

Lead the delivery against the Trusts key Estates and Facilities strategic priorities and set short and long-term corporate objectives that deliver to these priorities.

Formulate and deliver a strategic plan for the vertical integration of Estates and Facilities functions and services across the Western Locality, responding to the Service implications of the delivery of new models of care.

The Trust Estate

Hold corporate responsibility for the built physical assets for the entire organisation.

Hold corporate responsible for keeping the Trusts land and property in good repair.

Hold corporate responsibility for a wide range of high impact services that directly affect every patient, visitor and staff member who comes into contact with the organisation every day of the year.

Hold corporate responsibility for fire safety.

Hold corporate responsibility for Safe Water Management.

Hold corporate responsibility for the management of parts of the Estates where there may be Asbestos Containing Materials.

Estates Management

Ensure the Trust complies with all relevant Health Technical Memoranda and Health Building Notes.

Ensure that there are relevant policies, plans and procedures in place to ensure delivery of a safe and compliant estate.

Ensure that suitably qualified Authorising Engineers, Authorised and Responsible Persons, who are appointed in line with recognised guidance.

Ensure that all members of the Directly Employed Labour team are suitably trained, certified and competent.

Ensure that the Trust maintains an up-to-date assessment of the backlog maintenance, based on 6-facet, or other appropriate methodology.

Ensure that there are appropriate processes in place for stakeholders to report defects or failures, and that there are processes in place to risk assess and resolve these in priority order.

Ensure the management of an effective emergency on-call and out of hours service is available to the Trust to ensure business continuity across all Estates and Facilities services.

Facilities Management

Ensure that the Trust Facilities services deliver compliance with the Hygiene Code, and associated standards.

Ensure that the Trust has an appropriate Security Management Strategy, and that the Trust has appropriately trained and competent staff to fulfil statutory security responsibilities. Chair the Security Strategy Group for the Trust.

Ensure the safe, compliant and sustainable delivery of the Trusts Waste Management business Derriford Waste Management Services.

Hold accountability for the delivery and development of commercial facilities services which reduce the net cost of running the estates. This includes responsibility for car parking, retail income, staff residential accommodation, and health and leisure facilities provision.

Take responsibility for the Trusts Portering resource, and deliver a transformation programme that delivers efficiency, productivity, staff engagement and financial improvements.

Deliver compliance with the NHS Food Standards for all inpatient catering.

Deliver compliance with the Department of Health NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking principles.

Compliance and Assurance

Formulate appropriate policy and governance arrangements across the entire spectrum of Estates and Facilities services.

Hold corporate responsibility for estates and facilities policies and provide assurance to Board with respect to compliance with these policies.

Hold accountability for all financial, contract, business and performance aspects of Estates and Facilities functions, managing and minimising financial and performance risk and creating business opportunities.

Ensure that the Trust has an appropriate Premises Assurance Model, and that this is fully aligned to all legislation, regulation and good practice, and that this is used to provide assurance to Trust Board and external stakeholders and regulators.

Hold responsibility for audit functions associated with estates and facilities, including cleaning, patient catering safety, legionella control, fire safety, asbestos management.

Ensure that there are appropriate controls in place for contractors working on Trust premises, and that these are appropriately monitored and controlled.

Information and Reporting

Analyse, interpret and present highly complex data and build business cases supported by clear evidence using advance multivariate analytical techniques.

Communicate highly complex and sensitive estates and facilities technical information and policies involving high level negotiations to all levels of staff across the Trust and across the healthcare system (including Department of Health, NHS England, NHS Improvement, and other providers).

Hold corporate responsibility for all information systems that are used to deliver Estates and Facilities services, ensuring that robust contingency and business continuity plans are in place.

Ensure that all information governance and data protection standards are met for Estates and Facilities functions.

Risk Management

Hold corporate responsible for determining and managing the risks associated with the estate backlog maintenance liability, providing information and reports to the Trust Executive and Trust Board as necessary which clearly sets out the level of risk and associated mitigation plans.

Ensure that a comprehensive Risk Register is maintained across all services, which is regularly reviewed; and ensuring that all Incidents and near misses are appropriately investigated and lessons learned.

Ensure that there are appropriate business continuity plans in place across all estates and facilities services, and that these are regularly reviewed and updated.

Continuous Improvement and Patient Experience

Develop programmes to modernise and re-design functions and services which improve efficiency and/or effectiveness of the built environment.

Develop programmes of continuous improvement for Estates and Facilities Services, maximising opportunities to work across the organisation to integrate support services to deliver efficiency, productivity and financial improvements.

Financial

Own the Trust revenue budgets for all Estates and Facilities Services, delivering within annual financial targets.

Ensure that there is an appropriate scheme of delegation in place across Estates and Facilities.

Develop and deliver Financial Improvement Programmes which mitigate Cost Pressures and reduce the overall cost of delivery of Estates and Facilities Services.

Lead the annual and long-term business planning for estates and facilities services, and ensure that these are aligned to, and respond to the needs of Care Groups and Service Lines across the organisation.

Staff and Professional Leadership:

Lead the Estates and Facilities Directorate and manage, motivate and develop staff so as to maintain the highest level of staff morale and to create a climate within the Trust characterised by high technical and professional standards and transparency.

Support and drive projects to improve performance and satisfaction levels of all Estates and Facilities staff based on Staff Survey and other staff engagement and feedback mechanisms.

Deliver effective appraisals and personal development plans for all staff in line with best practice across the trust and using these and other tools to develop the team to their full potential and the benefit of the Site Services Directorate and the Trust.

Manage, motivate and develop staff within the Site Services Directorate to ensure that they are able to deliver the responsibilities of the department.

Take responsibility for line management for all Estates and Facilities staff employed by the organisation.

Develop succession planning for the services, ensuring that there are both short term plans in place to provide cross-cover, but also that there are long term plans in place to recruit, develop and retain staff in critical skills areas.

Lead the development of apprenticeship and other training, development and employment models that support the Trust, the wider City and the system to secure the skills needed for the management and maintenance of the future estate.

For further details please see the attached JD & PS.

Job description

Job responsibilities

The following are not deemed to be prescriptive and may change from time to time to reflect any change in local or government policy or statutory orders:

Estates and Facilities Strategy

Formulate long term strategic plans for Estates and Facilities services, which have wide ranging impact across the organisation and the entire local healthcare system.

Lead the delivery against the Trusts key Estates and Facilities strategic priorities and set short and long-term corporate objectives that deliver to these priorities.

Formulate and deliver a strategic plan for the vertical integration of Estates and Facilities functions and services across the Western Locality, responding to the Service implications of the delivery of new models of care.

The Trust Estate

Hold corporate responsibility for the built physical assets for the entire organisation.

Hold corporate responsible for keeping the Trusts land and property in good repair.

Hold corporate responsibility for a wide range of high impact services that directly affect every patient, visitor and staff member who comes into contact with the organisation every day of the year.

Hold corporate responsibility for fire safety.

Hold corporate responsibility for Safe Water Management.

Hold corporate responsibility for the management of parts of the Estates where there may be Asbestos Containing Materials.

Estates Management

Ensure the Trust complies with all relevant Health Technical Memoranda and Health Building Notes.

Ensure that there are relevant policies, plans and procedures in place to ensure delivery of a safe and compliant estate.

Ensure that suitably qualified Authorising Engineers, Authorised and Responsible Persons, who are appointed in line with recognised guidance.

Ensure that all members of the Directly Employed Labour team are suitably trained, certified and competent.

Ensure that the Trust maintains an up-to-date assessment of the backlog maintenance, based on 6-facet, or other appropriate methodology.

Ensure that there are appropriate processes in place for stakeholders to report defects or failures, and that there are processes in place to risk assess and resolve these in priority order.

Ensure the management of an effective emergency on-call and out of hours service is available to the Trust to ensure business continuity across all Estates and Facilities services.

Facilities Management

Ensure that the Trust Facilities services deliver compliance with the Hygiene Code, and associated standards.

Ensure that the Trust has an appropriate Security Management Strategy, and that the Trust has appropriately trained and competent staff to fulfil statutory security responsibilities. Chair the Security Strategy Group for the Trust.

Ensure the safe, compliant and sustainable delivery of the Trusts Waste Management business Derriford Waste Management Services.

Hold accountability for the delivery and development of commercial facilities services which reduce the net cost of running the estates. This includes responsibility for car parking, retail income, staff residential accommodation, and health and leisure facilities provision.

Take responsibility for the Trusts Portering resource, and deliver a transformation programme that delivers efficiency, productivity, staff engagement and financial improvements.

Deliver compliance with the NHS Food Standards for all inpatient catering.

Deliver compliance with the Department of Health NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking principles.

Compliance and Assurance

Formulate appropriate policy and governance arrangements across the entire spectrum of Estates and Facilities services.

Hold corporate responsibility for estates and facilities policies and provide assurance to Board with respect to compliance with these policies.

Hold accountability for all financial, contract, business and performance aspects of Estates and Facilities functions, managing and minimising financial and performance risk and creating business opportunities.

Ensure that the Trust has an appropriate Premises Assurance Model, and that this is fully aligned to all legislation, regulation and good practice, and that this is used to provide assurance to Trust Board and external stakeholders and regulators.

Hold responsibility for audit functions associated with estates and facilities, including cleaning, patient catering safety, legionella control, fire safety, asbestos management.

Ensure that there are appropriate controls in place for contractors working on Trust premises, and that these are appropriately monitored and controlled.

Information and Reporting

Analyse, interpret and present highly complex data and build business cases supported by clear evidence using advance multivariate analytical techniques.

Communicate highly complex and sensitive estates and facilities technical information and policies involving high level negotiations to all levels of staff across the Trust and across the healthcare system (including Department of Health, NHS England, NHS Improvement, and other providers).

Hold corporate responsibility for all information systems that are used to deliver Estates and Facilities services, ensuring that robust contingency and business continuity plans are in place.

Ensure that all information governance and data protection standards are met for Estates and Facilities functions.

Risk Management

Hold corporate responsible for determining and managing the risks associated with the estate backlog maintenance liability, providing information and reports to the Trust Executive and Trust Board as necessary which clearly sets out the level of risk and associated mitigation plans.

Ensure that a comprehensive Risk Register is maintained across all services, which is regularly reviewed; and ensuring that all Incidents and near misses are appropriately investigated and lessons learned.

Ensure that there are appropriate business continuity plans in place across all estates and facilities services, and that these are regularly reviewed and updated.

Continuous Improvement and Patient Experience

Develop programmes to modernise and re-design functions and services which improve efficiency and/or effectiveness of the built environment.

Develop programmes of continuous improvement for Estates and Facilities Services, maximising opportunities to work across the organisation to integrate support services to deliver efficiency, productivity and financial improvements.

Financial

Own the Trust revenue budgets for all Estates and Facilities Services, delivering within annual financial targets.

Ensure that there is an appropriate scheme of delegation in place across Estates and Facilities.

Develop and deliver Financial Improvement Programmes which mitigate Cost Pressures and reduce the overall cost of delivery of Estates and Facilities Services.

Lead the annual and long-term business planning for estates and facilities services, and ensure that these are aligned to, and respond to the needs of Care Groups and Service Lines across the organisation.

Staff and Professional Leadership:

Lead the Estates and Facilities Directorate and manage, motivate and develop staff so as to maintain the highest level of staff morale and to create a climate within the Trust characterised by high technical and professional standards and transparency.

Support and drive projects to improve performance and satisfaction levels of all Estates and Facilities staff based on Staff Survey and other staff engagement and feedback mechanisms.

Deliver effective appraisals and personal development plans for all staff in line with best practice across the trust and using these and other tools to develop the team to their full potential and the benefit of the Site Services Directorate and the Trust.

Manage, motivate and develop staff within the Site Services Directorate to ensure that they are able to deliver the responsibilities of the department.

Take responsibility for line management for all Estates and Facilities staff employed by the organisation.

Develop succession planning for the services, ensuring that there are both short term plans in place to provide cross-cover, but also that there are long term plans in place to recruit, develop and retain staff in critical skills areas.

Lead the development of apprenticeship and other training, development and employment models that support the Trust, the wider City and the system to secure the skills needed for the management and maintenance of the future estate.

For further details please see the attached JD & PS.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Membership of a relevant professional body.
  • Post-graduate qualification (Masters or equivalent), or appropriate equivalent demonstrable experience, plus managerial, financial and specialist, and proven strategic knowledge over a range of disciplines.

Aptitude & Abilities

Essential

  • Highly developed leadership, negotiation and influencing skills with the ability to motivate, challenge and engage individuals and teams.
  • The ability to set out a clear direction, to inspire others and assume command.
  • Ability to self-manage workload and work well in a busy environment

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

  • Significant demonstrable experience in Estates and Facilities management.
  • Significant demonstrable experience of operating in senior level positions.
  • Track record of managing and delivering large scale, complex and technically demanding projects or services.

Desirable

  • Demonstrable Business Development experience and track record of securing funding.
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Membership of a relevant professional body.
  • Post-graduate qualification (Masters or equivalent), or appropriate equivalent demonstrable experience, plus managerial, financial and specialist, and proven strategic knowledge over a range of disciplines.

Aptitude & Abilities

Essential

  • Highly developed leadership, negotiation and influencing skills with the ability to motivate, challenge and engage individuals and teams.
  • The ability to set out a clear direction, to inspire others and assume command.
  • Ability to self-manage workload and work well in a busy environment

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

  • Significant demonstrable experience in Estates and Facilities management.
  • Significant demonstrable experience of operating in senior level positions.
  • Track record of managing and delivering large scale, complex and technically demanding projects or services.

Desirable

  • Demonstrable Business Development experience and track record of securing funding.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Address

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Plymouth

PL6 8DH


Employer's website

https://www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Address

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Plymouth

PL6 8DH


Employer's website

https://www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Director of Infrastructure & Site Services

John Stephens

john.stephens3@nhs.net

01752431300

Details

Date posted

20 April 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8d

Salary

£94,356 to £108,814 a year Per Annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

216-LH-CO7872455

Job locations

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Plymouth

PL6 8DH


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

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