Estates Contract and Lifecycle Manager

Job description

NHS Band 8b Salary: £66,582 - £77,368 per annum Hours Per Week: Full Time 37.5 hours Contract Type: Permanent Location: Queen Alexandra Hospital, Southwick Hill Road, Cosham, Portsmouth, PO6 3LY Bring your technical expertise to one of the most complex and high‑profile estates in the public sector. Queen Alexandra Hospital is a major acute site and a large‑scale PFI environment where engineering, compliance and strategic asset management genuinely shape how the organisation operates. If you’re an experienced Estates or Technical FM professional looking for a role with real influence, this is an opportunity to step into a senior position at the heart of a high‑performing directorate. At PHU, you’ll join a respected Estates & Facilities team known for strong governance, collaborative working and intelligent clienting. You’ll play a central role in our established tri‑party PFI relationship, working closely with Project Co and the FM provider to ensure the estate remains safe, resilient and future‑ready. As our Estates Contract & Lifecycle Manager, you will lead Hard FM contract performance, lifecycle planning, compliance assurance and technical governance across the QA estate. You’ll guide a skilled team, chair key safety groups, and provide senior technical advice that shapes operational and strategic decisions across the Trust. We welcome applicants from healthcare, MOD, defence, commercial FM or any other regulated technical environment where you can demonstrate the skills and experience required for this role. You’ll bring strong engineering or technical FM grounding, confidence navigating complex contracts, and the ability to influence at all levels. If you’re ready for a role where your expertise truly matters, we’d be delighted to hear from you. Our organisation is committed to creating a safe, inclusive and supportive working environment, and to contributing to the NHS ambition for a Greener NHS. What you’ll bring You’ll bring a blend of technical credibility, commercial awareness and leadership confidence that allows you to operate effectively in a complex, high‑profile estate. You’ll be someone who is comfortable taking ownership, guiding others, and influencing decisions that matter. Strong technical grounding — whether in engineering, estates management, building services or technical FM, with the ability to understand safety‑critical systems and infrastructure. Experience in a regulated environment — such as healthcare, MOD, defence, commercial FM or similar, where compliance, governance and assurance are central to how services are delivered. Confidence managing complex contracts — able to interpret obligations, challenge constructively, and work collaboratively with partners to achieve the right outcomes. A calm, analytical approach — capable of interpreting technical data, assessing risk, and making sound decisions even when issues are contentious or time‑critical. Leadership that brings people with you — guiding a multi‑disciplinary team, supporting development, and building strong relationships across organisational boundaries. Excellent communication and negotiation skills — able to translate complex technical issues clearly and influence senior stakeholders with confidence. A mindset for improvement — always looking for better ways of working, stronger governance, smarter use of data, and opportunities to enhance estate performance. Professionalism and integrity — someone who takes pride in doing things properly, safeguarding compliance, and ensuring the estate remains safe, resilient and future‑ready. For full job details please refer to enclosed Job Description Essential Relevant degree, equivalent level qualification or experience. Technical studies and qualifications in relevant disciplines. Desirable Continuing Professional Development. Professional Registration (Engineering Council, Chartered/Incorporated Engineer, IWFM, or similar). Corporate membership of a relevant Professional Institution. Formal management or accredited Project Management qualification (e.g., PRINCE2, APM). Experience Essential Minimum of 5+ years’ experience in an Estates, Technical or contract management role within an estate’s environment preferably within Healthcare/MOD or other regulated environment. An understanding of legislation/guidance such as Health Building standards (HBN’s & HTM’s) Demonstrable experience of leading and working effectively as part of a multi professional team, often involving complex and contentious information. Track record of delivery to tight deadlines Desirable Experience in an NHS setting Experience in people management Experience in a related asset planning or contract variations area in a senior capacity for a relevant period of time. Skills and Knowledge Essential Strong, comprehensive understanding of legislation/guidance such as Health Building Standards (HBN's & HTM's) and statutory health and safety regulations. Knowledge of strategic infrastructure lifecycle planning, data management, and asset care models. Understanding of complex contract frameworks (including PFI, NEC, or bespoke healthcare service level agreements). Demonstrable project management skills with a track record of delivering technical schemes to tight deadlines. Strong analytical, data management, and problem-solving skills; ability to interpret complex technical and compliance information. Excellent interpersonal, communication, and negotiating skills, able to convey highly contentious/complex technical issues to persons at all levels. Confident in understanding, evaluating, and tracking financial and lifecycle data. Desirable Overall understanding of current health service sector issues. Understanding of Private Finance Initiative contracts and contract management from a client’s perspective. Skill in developing technical policy and procedural documentation. Ability to think and act strategically as well as practically. The health and wellbeing of our staff is at the forefront of everything we do. We are proud to be able to offer our staff some fantastic benefits including our on-site Nursery, access to our free Beach Hut for those long summer days, our on-site Wellness Centre including a gym and a swimming pool, access to our fantastic staff networks including LGBTQ, Race Equality and Disability, and awards ceremonies to recognise your achievements. We believe we can offer support to all of our staff when they need it the most. We welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, colour, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs. For more information, please see our People and OD Strategy 2026 Working as a partnership, both Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust have a shared vision for excellence in care for our patients and communities; with a set of strategic aims underpinning how we will achieve this. The single corporate service is delivered across both organisations. You may be based at either IWT or PHU and individuals may be required to undertake business travel between sites. For leaders managing staff across multi-site locations, you will need to be visible and provide in person leadership. The arrangements and frequency will be agreed locally.