Associate Director of Estates - Governance & Performance

Job reference: PSX-031813
Salary: Competitive Salary
Faculty/Organisational Unit: Professional Services
Location: Oxford Road
Employment type: Permanent
Division/Team: Directorate of Estates
Hours Per Week: 35 hours per week / 1.0 FTE
Closing date (DD/MM/YYYY): 24/07/2026
Contract Duration: NA
School/Directorate: Directorate of Estates and Facilities

The Role:

As a senior member of the Estates & Facilities Leadership Team, the Associate Director provides directorate-wide, independent oversight and assurance for governance, performance management, risk, compliance and health & safety on behalf of the Director of Estates (Transformation). The role operates as the Directorate’s second‑line assurance function, ensuring that controls, systems and accountabilities are effective, proportionate and consistently applied, while delivery accountability remains with operational leaders, whilst also ensuring that resources are effectively assed in terms of need and then deployed via a resource management plan.

You Will:

• Ensure the duty holder responsibilities of the CPO, are effectively delegated and managed across the EF Directorate assuring the EF SLT and ELT Core of compliance on a 1/4ly basis, and where risk occurs that mitigations are presented for approval and then managed to mitigate.
• Design, coordinate and operate governance frameworks on behalf of the Director of Estates (Transformation), ensuring effective decision making, clear accountabilities, proportionate assurance and appropriate escalation in line with University governance frameworks and delegated authorities.
• Lead the directorate wide performance management framework, ensuring clear objectives, KPIs and service standards defined by operational leaders are coherently structured, assured and reported.
• Hold strategic assurance oversight of the Estates & Facilities risk management framework, ensuring alignment with the University’s enterprise risk approach and delegated authority arrangements.
• Define and oversee a comprehensive statutory and regulatory compliance oversight framework for Estates & Facilities, ensuring appropriate governance, monitoring, inspection and reporting arrangements are in place.
• Provide visible, senior assurance and governance leadership for health & safety across Estates & Facilities, operating as a second line function, setting expectations, culture and tone consistent with University strategy and legal duties.

You Will Bring:

• Extensive senior leadership experience in complex, regulated environments with responsibility for governance, assurance, risk, compliance and/or health & safety functions or frameworks at organisational or portfolio level.
• Proven experience of service transformation, compliance assurance and performance improvement in complex organisations, with an emphasis on governance, assurance and effective oversight.
• Strong knowledge of statutory compliance for buildings, H&S, fire safety, security operations, waste and environmental standards.
• Experience in operational risk management, business continuity and incident response, including assurance, escalation and post incident learning at senior level.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with ability to work collaboratively across diverse professional groups.
• Capability in using data and management information to provide insight, challenge and assurance on organisational performance and risk.

What will you get in return:

• Fantastic market leading Pension scheme
• Excellent employee health and wellbeing services including an Employee Assistance Programme
• Exceptional starting annual leave entitlement, plus bank holidays.
• Additional paid closure over the Christmas period.
• Local and national discounts at a range of major retailers.

We reserve the right to close the role early if a high volume of applications are received

Please see the link below for the full job description which contains the person specification criteria. For informal enquiries please contact the Talent Attraction Team talent.attraction@manchester.ac.uk.

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