Role: National Facilities & Contract Manager
Contract Type: Permanent 
Location: Nationwide - Must be able to provide England wide reach.

Our offer to you
We pride ourselves in being a great place to work, providing a supportive culture with opportunities to grow and develop your career, achieve a healthy work life balance and to be recognised for the great work you do. You will receive:

• Competitive salary and pension scheme
• 33 days holiday (inclusive of bank holidays) - increasing to 38 days over 5 years
• Hybrid, Flexible working
• Cycle to work scheme Electric Vehicle Scheme
• Health and Wellbeing portal – access to financial, health and wellbeing support and an Employee Assistance Programme
• Discounts – you will have access to Blue Light and NHS Discounts as well as discounts on mobile phones, gym membership, cinema tickets, restaurants, holidays and shopping

About Us
This is a fantastic opportunity to join a team of over 1,416 employees and over 31,000 volunteers, united by our goal of saving lives through essential first aid services, training and campaigning.  As a charity with rich heritage and a long history of serving humanity, we are proud of our past and excited about creating a healthier, safer, more resilient future. 

St John Ambulance works at the heart of communities, supporting and enabling them to access and receive physical and mental health first aid. We do this through developing and providing effective community response and outreach services (e.g. Ambulance response & Nighttime Economy) and using our longstanding expertise to empower people with vital clinical skills and the confidence to use them (e.g. our Volunteers and Community Advocates, NHS Cadets and Young Responders programmes). There is also a buoyant social enterprise network which delivers first aid training and supplies medical consumables to businesses and consumers.

 

Job Summary
Reporting to the Head of Property, the National Facilities & Contracts Manager holds overarching responsibility for delivering an exemplary estates and facilities service, ensuring the highest professional standards are maintained while contributing to the long-term strategic direction of the estate.

As a senior leader within the Property function, the postholder will play a pivotal role in shaping and executing the estate strategy, driving engagement and implementation to achieve value for money, embed best practice, and maintain a modern, efficient, and fit-for-purpose estate. The role will ensure that robust policies and procedures underpin service delivery, safeguarding the financial, legal, and environmental sustainability of the estate.
The postholder will provide leadership and direction across the full spectrum of facilities management, while overseeing operational delivery, planning, performance monitoring, and continuous service development. With accountability for compliance, maintenance, and contract management, the role will ensure estates services are delivered to the highest standards and in alignment with organisational objectives, statutory obligations, and external performance benchmarks.

About You
You will be educated to GCSE level or equivalent (Grade C / 4) including Maths & English, minimum 5, you will hold or be working towards a Professional property or facilities qualification with a focus on Building/Construction (RICS, IWFM, CIOB, CIBSE etc) and have experience in project management. You will have had experience of  being a responsible person in water safety and asbestos management, with suitable qualifications (or be willing to work toward).

You will have extensive experience in a senior management role with:

• full accountability for the development and delivery of estates and facilities strategies, encompassing both hard and soft services
• proven expertise in leading the formulation and execution of property and facilities strategies aligned to organisational objectives
• a strong track record of leadership achievement, driving service excellence, performance improvement, and organisational effectiveness
• significant experience in financial planning, budget management, and delivering value for money across estates and facilities portfolios
• a broad technical expertise across estates and facilities management disciplines, with the ability to interpret and communicate complex issues and risks to non-technical stakeholders

About the Role

• Provide authoritative advice on all aspects of hard and soft facilities management and estate services to the Executive Team, both through the Head of Property and directly where required, ensuring the estate remains fit for purpose, supports operational delivery, and minimises the total cost of occupation.
• Ensure the outsourced FM provider delivers consistently against contractual obligations, service level agreements (SLAs), and key performance indicators (KPIs) across emergency, urgent, planned, and routine service requirements.
• Lead the design and delivery of an effective Planned Preventive Maintenance (PPM) programme across the estate, embedding proactive risk management and ensuring full compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements.
• Oversee supplier performance through a rigorous contract management framework, driving continuous improvement, innovation, and cost efficiency across estates and facilities operations.
• In partnership with the internal Health & Safety team, proactively manage key risks and issues, ensuring robust mitigation plans and responsive action where required.
• Develop, implement, and monitor quality and service management systems, both within the team and with external providers, ensuring high standards of delivery and continuous improvement.
• Lead on budget planning, monitoring, and management in collaboration with the finance business partner, ensuring effective financial stewardship and value for money.
• Produce accurate progress reporting, dashboards, and benchmarking analysis in collaboration with internal and external estates teams to inform decision-making and strategic planning.
• Partner with SJA departments and key stakeholders to ensure estates and facilities provision supports both operational requirements and the successful delivery of organisational change programmes.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of relevant property policies, legislation, and best practice, advising peers and stakeholders of key developments and their implications.
• Support the Head of Property in communicating and delivering SJA’s strategic property objectives across the organisation.
• Analyse complex estates and FM issues, providing expert advice and strategic recommendations to enable effective business decisions and implementation.
• Provide consistent, effective line management to direct reports, fostering a high-performance culture aligned with St John values, and ensuring robust performance management, development, and team engagement processes are in place.
• Contribute to the wider Estates Rationalisation project, providing leadership and expertise as required.
• Undertake any other duties commensurate with the scope, responsibilities, and seniority of the post.

Please see the job description for more detail (this can be viewed on our website or once you click apply)

Find out more about us, including our new Ask Me campaign, at www.sja.org.uk 

If you are a current St John Ambulance employee, please apply here: Click here

For all other candidates, or St John Ambulance volunteers wishing to apply: please apply below

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive high volume of applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

St John Ambulance are committed to increasing the diversity of our team and making sure we best reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.   At St John, everyone is valued and supported to thrive, we have several networks including Multi Culture, Disability and Accessibility, Pride, Family and Carers and Women’s groups.  We do not tolerate any form of discrimination and engender a sense of belonging for all, by creating an environment of mutual respect, where we value unique differences and demonstrate authentic allyship. We believe passionately in equality, diversity and inclusion.   

'St John Ambulance is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice. Therefore, all successful applicants will undergo pre-employment checks, including DBS Clearance, as part of the onboarding process, if applicable to the nature of the role'.

Please note: St John does not accept speculative CVs and will only review CVs sent in application for an advertised vacancy.