JOB SPECIFICATION PROPERTY DIRECTOR

Transcription

1 JOB SPECIFICATION PROPERTY DIRECTOR Birmingham is the UK s second city with the youngest urban population in one of the most lively and diverse regions. The Church of England Birmingham diocese, founded in 1905, is one of 41 dioceses in England. It covers an area of nearly 300 square miles, and includes parishes in the West Midlands including Birmingham and parts of Solihull, Sandwell, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Right at the heart of what we do there are over 187 Church of England places of worship with an average weekly attendance of 17,000 from a population of 1.5 million. In these churches are clergy and church-goers representing a wide scope of Church tradition and breadth of ethnicity. In addition we manage 155 residential properties for clergy housing. 1 Colmore Row in central Birmingham houses the diocesan and cathedral offices of the Church of England - Birmingham. The offices act as a resource centre supporting the cathedral and the parishes of the diocese and their communities. It is here that the Property Team is based. BACKGROUND TO THE ROLE There is a desire to develop a comprehensive buildings strategy for the Church of England in Birmingham to match the vision of Transforming Church and to increase income streams. The majority of the work and expenditure is on the portfolio of 155 residential clergy houses. This work was previously undertaken by the Diocesan Surveyor who retired in April 2016 after 25 years in post. This new role of Property Director has been created to incorporate the responsibilities of the Diocesan Surveyor, whilst taking a broader view over all the property assets of the Church of England - Birmingham. This is an exciting opportunity for someone to lead a small property team to make a significant difference to our property assets, making them suitable for 21 st century mission and ministry in the Church of England, whilst optimising the financial return. The opportunity is to improve the regular community use of our buildings strategically, as part of our Christian mission to Birmingham and the region. The property and land portfolio of the Church of England in Birmingham is held under various guises of ecclesiastical ownership, some of which are directly managed by the Property Director (clergy houses and investment property) and others which are held by parishes and schools, most with limited building expertise who would welcome help. The portfolio includes:

2 Around 155 residential houses for parish based clergy; Around 30 investment property sites, mainly agricultural land; 187 places of worship, of which around 100 are listed with 17 Grade 1 listed; Parish-owned church halls and houses; Around 50 Church Schools, managed by their Governing Bodies; Closed churches (currently none). Clergy housing in particular is regulated by the Repair of Benefice Buildings and the Parsonages Measures (Acts of Parliament). There is an expectation that the new role holder will have the ability to develop the big picture whilst being very hands-on as a Buildings Surveyor, both with clergy houses and property development projects. The Property Director will manage a small in-house property team and build up a reliable and trusted network of suppliers, including architects, surveyors, engineers, project managers and building contractors. Undertaking a review of which services are handled in house and which are outsourced will be an early imperative for the new role. Key responsibilities The role of Property Director includes responsibility for: Clergy Houses o Undertaking (or organising) the five yearly inspections; o Repair and maintenance (including emergency response); o Improvements, reducing our carbon footprint and advising on suitable security measures; o Major housing works during vacancies; o Maintaining suitable buildings insurance and managing claims; o Renting out vacant properties (currently through agents); o Buying and selling; o Managing small scale development projects. Investment Property (currently outsourced to Knight Frank) o Securing best terms for lease or licence agreements and renewals; o Liaising with legal advisors to conclude transactions; o Issuing invoices and collecting payments; o Fulfilling landlord s responsibilities; o Optimising financial returns; o Pursuing development opportunities. Places of worship, church halls and parish property (services currently provided piecemeal by various church architects or property consultants) o Overseeing the Faculty process for granting permissions in lieu of Listed Building Consent; o Providing consultancy services to parishes to develop their places of worship and church halls, making them welcoming centres used throughout the week; o Offering project management oversight for parish developments; o Providing advice to parishes on renting or buying curate-in-training housing; o Planning with parishes for serving new housing developments.

3 Church schools o Providing advice to the diocesan education department and church school governing bodies on school building developments. Diocesan Office o Health & Safety, including statutory risk assessments; o Maintenance of services provided by the leaseholder, with as built plans; o Supplier management, including cleaning, access control, demise maintenance, decoration, improvements, catering areas, fixtures and fittings; o Liaison with Landlord s agent to fulfil leaseholder responsibilities. Principal Duties and Accountabilities Development and oversight of a property plan which supports the delivery of the diocesan strategic agenda; Leadership of the property team, external suppliers and consultants in order that the strategy is delivered and developed over time; Ensure that our clergy feel valued by providing, maintaining and improving housing that will attract and retain people into the diocese, whilst carefully managing our costs. A flexible response is required in order that we can meet the changing needs of our paid ministry team; Identify, build and maintain relationships with key partners and stakeholders including developers and council planning teams; Identify and promote development opportunities; To support the leadership teams in our parishes, offering advice and support to clergy, wardens and others as appropriate, either personally or through the identification of particular skills within the team, external suppliers or consultants; Oversight of the Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC) for the Care of Churches to ensure that the Faculty process provides a high level of service to our parishes and supports the mission of the church; To be the property budget holder, take overall responsibility for the preparation of the annual property budget, reporting quarterly to the Finance, Investment and Property Sub-committee (FIPS) and ensuring expenditure is kept within budget; Accountable for ensuring the diocese meets internal and external legal requirements in relation to its properties.

4 Key Relationships The Property Director works closely with the Diocesan Secretary, the Archdeacon of Birmingham, the Archdeacon of Aston and Birmingham Cathedral s Director of Resources. The Property Director will relate directly to: o The Property team o Incumbents and other Parish clergy o Bishop of Aston, Dean and Cathedral Canons o Churchwardens o Finance Director and the finance department o HR Director and the HR department o Diocesan Registrar and legal advisors o Director of Education and the church schools team o The Transforming Church team and The Community Regeneration team o The Chair of the DBF and the Chair of the DAC The Property Director will be an ex officio member of the Finance, Investment and Property Sub-committee (FIPS), a key sub-committee of Bishop s Council and the Birmingham Diocesan Board of Finance. The role is enhanced through regular liaison with the network of Diocesan Surveyors in other dioceses of the Church of England. PERSON SPECIFICATION Experience, knowledge, training and qualifications Essential o RICS (or equivalent body) qualified chartered building surveyor with 3-5 years post qualification experience, with a requirement for Continuing Professional Development; o Managing a housing portfolio as a building surveyor; o Creating specifications of works, issuing tenders, negotiating best value and managing contracts with suppliers; o Ability to deliver multiple projects concurrently on time and to budget; o Property legal transactions and obligations, including landlord/tenant and health & safety; o IT skills: good knowledge of Outlook, Word, Excel and Powerpoint. and an ease with using technology such as smart phones, tablets, laptops; o Experience of managing a team Desirable o Degree level education or equivalent; o Leading and managing a property department with expenditure budgets of around 1m; o Building a network of trusted suppliers and consultants; o Managing small scale residential housing planning & developments; o Optimising return from property and land assets; o House sales, valuations and disposals; o Developing a strategic property plan; o Appreciation of the constraints when developing heritage buildings; o Experience of managing and motivating volunteers

5 Aptitudes and abilities A passion for making a difference to the mission and ministry of the diocese Able to identify problems and opportunities, shape solutions, successfully implement, with colleagues and stakeholders on board. Prepared to take well assessed risks Effective communicator who is creative and imaginative. Able to listen, converse and influence at all levels of interaction - from one to one meetings to large gatherings Excellent written communication skills, including letters, inspection reports, proposals, tenders and policies. Ability to form effective working relationships in a complex environment with a diverse range of people and organisations including colleagues, clergy (at all levels) suppliers and consultants. Able to work on own initiative as well as part of a team when required. Excellent customer service A capacity to be flexible and to work under pressure, with good levels of personal organization, attention to detail and a focus on delivering results to deadlines; Able to travel by car widely around the diocese, and nationally when required, with a full, clean driving licence A compelling, warm and open demeanour with a collaborative working style; Comfortable working in an open plan, modern office environment; An ability to model a responsible and healthy life balance; Resilience and good humour. TERMS and CONDITIONS This is a full-time post: 35 hours per week Salary: up to 60,000 (depending on skills and experience) Pension: Membership of the Church Workers Pension scheme with 12% employer contributions Holidays: 25 days per year plus Bank Holidays plus 3 additional Diocesan Discretionary Days The post holder will report to the Diocesan Secretary The employer is the BDBF (Birmingham Diocesan Board of Finance) APPLICATIONS To download an application form please go to: (all applications must be made using the specified application form, CVs will not be considered) Deadline for Applications: Sunday 3 rd July 2016 Interviews: Friday 15 th July 2016 (To be held in our offices at 1 Colmore Row, Birmingham B3 2BJ) Please send completed applications to: [email protected]