Estates Officer 2 Year FTC/Secondment

About this role:

A varied role for a Property Manager or Estates Manager who will lead on acquisitions and disposals as well as share responsibility for the portfolio management of the West Midlands Police’s estate. Internally at WMP, this role is known as Estates Officer.

Reporting to the Estates Manager, you will be part of the team providing professional property management support for the Force’s estate. In particular, you will be responsible for professional advice and guidance in support of all property management activity including strategic project work. You will be experienced in managing competing deadlines across multiple projects with exceptional prioritisation and organisation.

Whilst this is an agile role, there is the expectation of some travel to various sites across the West Midlands.

Main Responsibilities:

To assist the Estates Manager in appointing external real estate consultants and specialists so that acquisition and disposal work can be appropriately managed.
To oversee all professional valuation work and to ensure external suppliers are provided with appropriate instructions and supporting documentation
To manage and support the work of external real estate consultants and intervene where necessary to ensure that advice is appropriate and outputs meet specification.
To provide professional advice and guidance to support estates projects and operating model in a timely manner
To recruit and manage the real estate consultants needed to assist with Business Rates including resolving any performance or payment problems and dealing with rates appeals and rebates.
To provide support to the planning consultants across the entire estate and 7 Local Authority geographical areas.
To lead on leasehold activity events including break options, expiries, dilapidations and rent reviews.
To maintain accurate, secure, well organised and up-to-date property records (freehold and leasehold) to support the wider Corporate Asset Management team and internal systems.
To provide professional advice and guidance to colleagues within Property Services and the wider Corporate Asset Management team
To represent the Estates Manager at meetings and produce reports and briefing papers when required.
To ensure that the Force’s policy and plans for diversity are properly realised in all aspects of the role.
To engage in continuous professional development and to keep skills and knowledge relevant and up-to-date, including market intelligence and wider UK property market awareness.

Essential Skills:

Excellent interpersonal and negotiating skills.
Proven ability to manage diverse tasks in a multi-site environment.
Proficient in the use of common IT tools such as Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Office applications
Ability to work with minimum supervision and prioritise workloads.
Comprehensive understanding of property and planning legislation in particular the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954
A good general knowledge of property law and ability to negotiate and produce Heads of Terms.
Ability to be flexible and meet the changing needs of the work environment.
Good problem-solving skills, including the ability to plan and prioritise workloads.

Desirable Requirements:

Member of RICS (Royal Institution of Charted Surveyors)
A property related degree. One year's post degree experience
Access to a suitable vehicle for business use.

Prospective officers and staff must be held to a higher standard of behaviour and accountability than members of the public, and that therefore their right to privacy can be fettered in certain circumstances. This is to ensure that members of the police are fully aware and accountable for the unique powers entrusted to them and the standards of professional behaviour they swear to uphold.

Vetting: Successful applicants will be required to pass Recruitment Vetting and Counter Terrorism Clearance scrutiny prior to commencing their role, this will include a full background & financial disclosure as part of the vetting process.

Medical: Appointment to this role will be dependent upon successfully medical checks, which may include a drugs test and if required a fitness test.

Contact: For any queries regarding this role, please contact Sharon Fountain at sharon.fountain@westmidlands.police.uk

By choosing to join West Midlands Police you will receive an enhanced benefits package including:

- Fair remuneration with progression opportunities, and access to a very competitive pension scheme

- Enhanced annual leave in additional to public holiday entitlements

- Discounts across travel, parking, daily costs of living and leisure activities

- A comprehensive wellbeing package including 24/7 support, free eye tests and flu jabs

West Midlands Police is a Disability Confident Leader - the highest level an organisation can achieve under the scheme run by the Department of Work and Pensions. As part of our commitment we operate a ‘Disability Confident Interview Scheme’ - all candidates who declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role will be offered an interview.

It is important to note that there may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled people who meet the essential criteria for the job. For example: in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. In these circumstances, the employer could select the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job, as they would do for non-disabled applicants.

"Diversity and Inclusion Vision: Maximise the potential of people from all backgrounds through a culture of fairness and inclusion to deliver the best service for our communities"