Head of Facilities, Fleet and Equipment

Head of Facilities Fleet and Equipment

Salary:  £60,885 - £67,743 – Grade 10

Location – Service Headquarters, Calcot, Reading

Excellent annual leave allowance of 29 days plus public holidays, Flexible Working and Onsite Gym Facilities

We provide cover 24 hours a day, 365 days a year from 18 fire stations across the County. We are responsible for an area of around 125,914 hectares, from Slough and Langley in the east to Lambourn and Newbury in the west. We employ more than 600 staff who serve a population of approximately 860,000 people.

Our highly-trained fire crews deal with incidents ranging from road and rail accidents to fuel and chemical spills, aviation and waterway accidents, collapsed buildings, large animal rescues and, of course, fires.

We are seeking to appoint an individual of exceptional calibre to the position of a Head of Facilities, Fleet and Equipment who can join our senior leadership team and help deliver an efficient and effective service to the people of Berkshire.

The successful candidate will be responsible for the strategic management and maintenance of all our properties, which includes 18 fire stations, training facilities and Service headquarters alongside the operational fleet and equipment and engineering departments.

As an emergency service, we put the community at the heart of our decision-making; we are looking for someone with excellent interpersonal skills, who has a proven track record in creating and developing relationships with internal and external stakeholders. In order to deliver a value for money service, the successful candidate will have a high degree of personal resilience and professional expertise to challenge the status quo, providing confident and inspiring leadership.

The key focus of this role is:

• To develop the Services’ fleet, equipment, engineering and Facilities Management strategies and ensure policies are developed, reviewed and updated to deliver the overall Service purpose and aims.
• Develop and deliver objectives through the business planning process, operating within the devolved budget and meeting agreed service targets, working closely with the Head of Finance and Procurement Services to ensure the accuracy of all records
• Maintain clear and positive relationships and involvement with peers and managers across fire stations and other buildings to ensure appropriate commitment, management and leadership to managing assets and meeting frontline service requirement
• To ensure the development of robust Business Continuity arrangements and manage these effectively during business disruption
• Deliver service plans and performance management information in line with corporate guidelines and deadlines, ensuring collaboration with other members of the Joint Management Team.
• To provide clear direction and support to your teams, ensuring clarity of purpose
• To be a member of the senior leadership team working closely with elective members to deliver the organisational objectives and strategic commitments.
• Responsible for the effective management, performance and delivery of Fleet partnership working arrangements with partner services.

Key role requirements:

• Minimum of 5 years proven experience of facilities and/or fleet management at a senior management level.
• Demonstrable experience of managing and leading a multi skilled team to ensure delivery to defined performance standards, demonstrate value for money and ensure operational effectiveness of physical assets to support the overall delivery of the business
• Proven experience of formulating, leading and implementing strategies and improvement programmes
• Experience of effective budget management, contract negotiation and cost reductions whilst improving services
• Able to cultivate effective relationships with a wide range of people including elected Members, based on trust and mutual respect
• Ability to deal with problems that arise and manage through to resolution.
• Ability to work under pressure
• Enthusiastic and energetic with a positive 'can do’ outlook
• A high level of competence in written and verbal communications