Contents Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information Location New Haw, South East England, KT15 3NB About the job Job summary Are you passionate about facilities management? Would you like the opportunity to develop your own skills and future career? If so, this could be your next big opportunity. Defra Group Property (DgP) manages the provision of facilities management services to Defras executive agency; the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). APHA uses a wide range of specialist facilities as part of its aims to safeguard animal and plant health for the benefit of people, the environment and the economy. These specialist facilities include biocontainment laboratories across the UK with the main laboratory campus being located at Weybridge. The Defra Weybridge site is the largest facility in terms of size and complexity across the Defra network and is currently going through a process of major investment (over £1b) and redevelopment in order to enhance its scientific capability. The site is at the forefront of research and diagnostic testing for animal and zoonotic diseases and leads on disease outbreak response for Defra. The DgP Technical Services team at Weybridge fulfil the role of Intelligent Client Function (ICF) for FM services across DgPs Science Estate. Job description We are looking for a Soft Facilities Management Manager to facilitate the smooth running of the Operations Team at the Weybridge site. You will be responsible for managing the client side interface and providing office management support to the Operations Team. In addition to core supporting functions, this varied role offers opportunities for personal development including managing minor projects, working with our supply chain to ensure the delivery of soft services, and managing operational site coordination activities. Please note that this role is full time only. Person specification Managing soft services, including grounds maintenance and the cleanliness of site, catering, front of house, pest control and land management; Monitoring management information (data and transactional activity) identifying trends, to ensure the Operations team is working to defined processes and procedures; Producing weekly and monthly operational reports and communicating outcomes to the business; Engaging with the APHA business by running weekly and monthly client meetings and ensuring actions from meetings are completed; Holding weekly facilities management meetings with the FM provider, tracking work items and their progress; Liaising with IFM to provide visitors and staff with site security passes; Acting as the main point of contact for customers and stakeholders of the Weybridge site, including managing any complaints or issues raised by local residents and ensuring issues are resolved; Contributing to the billable works process; Providing general support to the head of operations team, managing and tracking work and actions as needed; Experience of providing an efficient support function within a facilities management or building services environment, with customer facing experience; Experience of coordinating a complex portfolio of services and tasks together with managing small to medium sized projects; Excellent organisational and time management skills will be the ability to prioritise tasks; Excellent communication skills both written and verbal; The ability to build strong relationships with stakeholders and work well within a team; and Evidence of continually improving processes, policies and ways of working. Essential Experience / Key Criteria: Please provide evidence on your application form of how you meet the following criteria and why you are applying for the role: Managing soft services, including grounds maintenance and the cleanliness of site, catering, front of house, pest control and land management; The ability to build strong relationships with stakeholders and work well within a team; Experience of coordinating a complex portfolio of services and tasks together with managing small to medium sized projects; and Evidence of continually improving processes, policies and ways of working. Qualifications IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety & Health) - Managing Safely Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Making Effective Decisions Working Together Managing a Quality Service Delivering at Pace Benefits Alongside your salary of £37,480, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £10,857 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. Learning and development tailored to your role An environment with flexible working options A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97% Flexi Time Policy - Our Flexi-time policy allows you to vary your hours from day to day, within the requirements of your role, to suit your needs and to offer a better work/life balance. Leave - If you work full time at Defra you are entitled to 25 days leave (rising, over 5 years, to 30 days). If you work part time it will be pro-rated. Privilege day - You are also entitled to a privilege day off in May to mark the Kings birthday (date varies), plus time off for the 8 public holidays a year. Career breaks - We recognise that your work-life balance can extend beyond the short-term to the longer-term, and to support this you are able to apply for career breaks. These are unpaid extended breaks from work, granted at the discretion of the department. Volunteering leave - 3 days paid volunteering leave every year (pro-rata). Once you have passed probation. Season ticket loan for an interest free season ticket loan, if you have worked within the Defra for more than three months. This can be used to purchase train and bus season tickets, as well as station car parking. Tenancy deposit loan for an interest free loan, to assist you in meeting the deposit costs for your privately rented home. Salary advances and loans for other circumstances for salary advances and loans in the following circumstances: for new entrants, for the purchase of bicycles, holidays and religious holidays. Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme Since the closure to new entrants of the employer childcare voucher scheme, the government introduced the Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme. In this scheme, working parents open an online childcare account and for every £8 they pay in, the government adds £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 a year for each child or £4,000 for a disabled child. Parents then use the funds to pay for registered childcare. Support to buy a bicycle we run two schemes that can help you buy a bicycle for your commute: The Cycle to Work Scheme you can apply for a bicycle for your commute, up to the value of £6,000, which is recovered from you through salary sacrifice, as a tax-free benefit. At the end of the repayment period, you have the option to buy the bike if you wish, saving around 30% of the original cost. Bike loan if you are not eligible to apply for the Cycle to Work Scheme, you can apply for a loan of up to £1,000 towards the cost of a bike using the Bike loan Scheme. This however is not a salary sacrifice scheme. High-street and online discounts - Offers through SmartSpending which is accessed through the STaR platform. Accessible 24/7, you can save at hundreds of top retailers. Maternity leave, paternity leave and shared parental leave - We offer generous maternity leave, paternity leave and shared parental leave a total of 52 weeks leave to look after your new baby, regardless of your length of service, Most mothers are entitled to 39 weeks of paid leave, and a further 13 weeks of unpaid leave. Most partners are entitled to 15 days of paid paternity leave. Shared parental leave arrangements are in place, allowing parents to divide their leave with each other. Professional Membership - Defra group will fund one professional membership for each permanent employee which is relevant to their role. Eye care scheme - If you use a computer screen in connection with your job, we will pay for a regular eyesight test, and you may also be entitled to help towards purchasing new glasses, if they are needed for computer use. The Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is a free 24/7 confidential telephone advice service, available to all of our staff throughout the year. Civil Service Sports Council - The opportunity to join the Civil Services Sports Council. Things you need to know Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience. Application Process As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. In your personal statement please detail how you meet the essential experience/key criteria required and why you are applying for the role in no more than 750 words. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. Sift Sifting will take place w/c 3rd March 2025. Sift and interview dates to be confirmed. Interview If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on behaviours. A presentation or additional exercise may also be assessed. Interviews are currently scheduled to take place w/c 24th March 2025 but may be subject to change. Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview. Please note that Defra does not pay travel expenses for applicants from Other Government Departments (OGD) or external candidates. Near Miss Candidates Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in Core Defra which may be at a lower grade but have a potential skills match. Location As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s). Where the location is National the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defras location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes. Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes. The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations. Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee. The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time. Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD. Please note this role is fixed location, based at our Weybridge Office (KT15 3NB). Travel to other sites and overnight stays may be required for meetings or training events. Reserve List A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Salary New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest. This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying. Visa Sponsorship Statement Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship. If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out. In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Ch eck to Disclosure and Barring Service on y our behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. NSV For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter Internal Fraud Database Check Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicants details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. Reasonable Adjustment If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. Complete the Assistance required section in the Additional requirements page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if youre deaf, a Language Service Professional. Accessibility If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section. Childcare Vouchers Any move to Defra from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. Feedback Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window). See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Nationality requirements This job is broadly open to the following groups: UK nationals nationals of the Republic of Ireland nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window). Apply and further information This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative. The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window). Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records. Contact point for applicants Job contact : Name : Nicky Connors Email : nicky.connorsdefra.gov.uk Recruitment team Email : defrarecruitment.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk Further information Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter Share this page Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn GMail