The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) plays a vital role at the heart of UK life. The wide-ranging work we do includes safeguarding the natural environment, supporting the UK’s world-leading food and farming industries, sustaining a thriving rural economy and leading the engineering of the nation’s defences against natural threats and hazards. Join Defra and you will be part of a department that is responsible for the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe.

This is your opportunity to make your mark within Defra group Property and Corporate Strategy which delivers Property Management services across the corporate estate, including our network of 158 offices as well as our depot and laboratory assets. As a Facilities Operations Officer, you’ll ensure that we provide safe, well maintained, legally compliant and productive workplaces for our staff as well as delivering a range of business support services to help everyone work safely, effectively and efficiently. Essentially, you’ll enable us to make this a great place to come to work.

In particular, you will:

• Provide facilities management for a portfolio of buildings and workplaces, including contract and supplier management, and act as the Site Responsible Officer for larger and more complex properties
• Support the delivery of on-site services, making sure that they comply with all health and safety legislation, and keeping track of any sustainability initiatives
• Plan and schedule Compliance Assurance Visits to ensure each site is following all relevant statutory, safety and contractual requirements
• Encourage and develop a safety conscious culture to minimise risk, and develop and deliver ‘Toolbox Awareness Training’ to drive best practice across our Network Estates teams
• Act as a key point of contact for customers and stakeholders, developing and maintaining good working relationships, and owning and resolving any issues
• Monitor the management of records and financial data to ensure the team always works according to defined processes and procedures

You’ll be central to the smooth running of our vital organisation, so we’ll want to see solid experience of working in a customer facing role within a facilities management or building services environment. That should be backed up by IOSH and IWFM membership (or equivalent), and a good knowledge of health and safety management, especially in terms of delivering a safe and compliant estate. With good attention to detail, you’ll be adept at managing and analysing data, and carrying out research to identify trends and inform decisions. Meanwhile, your excellent communication skills mean you’ll be confident in advising colleagues and stakeholders on procedures and processes as well as recommending improvements and alternative courses of action. Strong IT skills are essential and, ideally, you’ll bring some project management experience, including coordinating and overseeing quality and budgets within set deadlines.

Because this role involves some travel to different sites, you’ll need to have a full driving licence.

Candidates who are interested in this opportunity will be assessed against the ‘Success Profile Framework’ in which your suitability for the role will be matched against a variety of elements. This flexible framework is the new application process for all civil service roles, and will include your ability to perform the role, your relevant experience, your strengths and behaviour, and your technical skills, knowledge or qualifications.

We aim to support the professional and personal wellbeing of everyone in Defra. Our benefits include generous annual leave, a contributory pension, staff bonuses and recognition, salary sacrifice benefit options, and an employee discount scheme. We also offer flexible working and a variety of learning and development opportunities.

*The post holder will be expected to be based at either Ely office, Brampton or Kings Lynn and work from any site within the Brampton hub.