Interim Head of Maintenance

About the company

Your new company You will be joining a prestigious Oxford-based organisation with a diverse and historic estate comprising listed buildings, residential accommodation and operational facilities across multiple sites. The organisation is looking for an experienced Interim Head of Maintenance to provide strong leadership and stability to its maintenance function during an important period. This is an excellent opportunity for an established estates, facilities or maintenance professional who enjoys improving services, bringing teams together and taking ownership of a varied operational estate. Your new role As Interim Head of Maintenance, you will take overall responsibility for the day-to-day leadership and management of the maintenance function for an initial six-month period.A key priority will be to bring together and develop a currently fragmented maintenance team, establishing clear direction, improving communication and ensuring the department delivers a professional and responsive service. Alongside the people-management element, you will ensure the estate continues to operate safely and effectively, maintaining oversight of statutory compliance, planned and reactive maintenance and smaller in-house projects._Key responsibilities will include:_

Your tasks

• Leading, motivating and developing the maintenance team, creating greater cohesion, accountability and consistency.
• Overseeing day-to-day planned, reactive and cyclical maintenance across the estate.
• Maintaining oversight of statutory compliance, health & safety and contractor management.
• Reviewing existing maintenance processes and identifying practical opportunities for improvement.
• Ensuring maintenance requests are appropriately prioritised and effectively managed.
• Reviewing planned preventative maintenance arrangements and recommending improvements where required.
• Managing maintenance budgets, expenditure, procurement, tendering and contractor performance.
• Overseeing small works, refurbishment and internal maintenance projects.
• Providing professional advice to senior stakeholders on estate condition, operational risks and maintenance priorities.
• Working with external consultants, contractors, architects and specialists where required.
• Ensuring appropriate emergency response and business continuity arrangements are maintained.

The compliance function is already well established, so the brief is not about rebuilding it from scratch. Instead, you'll provide effective oversight while bringing a fresh perspective and identifying opportunities to strengthen existing processes. For this six-month assignment, the focus is expected to be predominantly day-to-day maintenance, compliance, operational leadership and smaller projects, rather than major capital works. What you'll need to succeed You will be an experienced maintenance, estates, facilities or engineering professional with demonstrable experience leading an operational maintenance function and managing teams.Ideally, you will have:

Requirements

• Significant experience managing a maintenance, estates or facilities function.
• Strong people leadership skills, including experience bringing teams together and leading through periods of change.
• Experience managing planned and reactive maintenance programmes.
• Good knowledge of statutory compliance and maintenance-related health & safety.
• Experience of contractor management, procurement and budget control.
• Experience delivering maintenance works, refurbishments or smaller projects.
• A relevant qualification in construction, building services, engineering, facilities management or a related discipline.
• The confidence to work with senior stakeholders and provide clear professional advice.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to balance immediate operational demands with longer-term improvements.

Experience within a listed, heritage, higher education or historic estate would be advantageous but is not essential. The organisation is also open regarding technical background, so candidates coming from M&E/engineering, building fabric, estates/FM or construction environments will all be considered where they can demonstrate strong maintenance leadership and operational experience. Membership of a professional body such as IWFM, CIOB or RICS would also be advantageous. What you'll get in return This is an initial six-month interim opportunity, offering a rate of approximately £300-£400 per day depending on pay type and experience, working 37.5 hours per week.You'll have the opportunity to take ownership of a significant and varied Oxford estate while making a tangible impact within the first few months. The role offers a particularly strong opportunity for someone who enjoys team leadership, operational improvement and creating structure within a busy maintenance environment. There is also the potential for the arrangement to be extended depending on future operational requirements. What you need to do now

How to apply

If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now. If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career.

Other

Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and employment business for the supply of temporary workers. By applying for this job you accept the T&C's, Privacy Policy and Disclaimers which can be found at hays.co.uk