Head of Estates and Operations
The Good Shepherd Trust, Guildford, GU1 1JY22 days remaining to apply
Start date details
TBD
Closing date
30 September 2026 at 11:59pm
Date listed
8 September 2026
Job details
Job role
- Other leadership role
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Working pattern
- Full time
Contract type
- Permanent
Full time equivalent salary
- £67,732.00 - £78,968.00 Annually (FTE)
Head of Estates and Operations job summary
Location: Central Trust Office, Guildford, with regular travel to schools across the Trust.
Grade / Salary: GST Grade L (£67,732 - £78,968 FTE)(6 scale points within banding for progression)
Hours / Working Pattern: 36 hours, All Year Round
Contract Type: Permanent
Reporting to: Chief Finance & Operating Officer (CFOO)
Responsible for: Strategic leadership of estates and premises operations across the Trust, working through school-based premises teams and external providers. Direct line management responsibilities may evolve as the Trust continues to grow and develop.
1. About the Role
This is a senior leadership opportunity to shape the future of estates and operations across a growing, values-led Multi-Academy Trust of 23 schools. The postholder will provide strategic leadership for a diverse estate serving thousands of pupils and staff across Surrey and Hampshire, ensuring that investment, compliance and operational delivery support the Trust's long-term educational objectives.
Reporting to the CFOO, you will lead the development and delivery of the Trust's estates strategy, ensuring that our sites are safe, compliant, well-maintained and fit for the future. You will provide professional leadership across estates planning, premises compliance, health and safety, capital investment, major works programmes, contractor management and operational assurance.
Working closely with Headteachers, School Business Managers, trustees and external partners, you will lead through influence, establishing consistent standards, systems and assurance processes across school-based premises teams and external providers.
You will be expected to exercise sound judgement, manage competing priorities across multiple sites, support and develop colleagues, and hold contractors and consultants to account for the safe, cost-effective and timely delivery of services and projects. You will also provide clear, evidence-based advice and reporting to senior leaders and trustees, helping to ensure that estates investment and operational decisions deliver the greatest benefit for pupils, staff and local communities.
Act as the Trust's designated professional lead for estates compliance, health and safety and fire safety assurance.
2. What You Will Lead
- Establish and lead a Trust-wide estates, health and safety and compliance assurance framework, providing robust monitoring, action tracking, performance reporting and assurance to senior leaders, Trustees and committees, ensuring statutory risks are identified, controlled and resolved across all schools.
- Set and deliver the Trust’s estates strategy, including condition priorities, accommodation needs, planned maintenance, capital works and future site requirements.
- Ensure all school sites are safe, compliant, well maintained and able to support high-quality teaching and learning.
- Lead the Trust's estates compliance and assurance framework, establishing systems for monitoring, verification, action tracking, escalation and reporting to ensure statutory responsibilities are consistently met across all schools.
- Establish and oversee Trust-wide systems for tracking, monitoring and reporting actions arising from audits, inspections, incidents, compliance reviews and risk assessments, ensuring timely completion and effective assurance.
- Plan, procure and oversee building projects, major works and estates contracts, ensuring value for money, safe delivery, budget control and minimal disruption to schools.
- Manage School Condition Allocation and other estates-related funding streams through transparent prioritisation, evidence-based reporting and strong governance.
- Provide strategic oversight of premises operations, maintenance, building systems, Trust vehicles, incident response and school continuity arrangements.
- Advise the CEO, CFOO, Headteachers, Local Committees and Trust Board on estate condition, compliance, risk, investment priorities and delivery progress.
- Lead the review of estates-related incidents, enforcement actions and investigations, ensuring lessons learned are embedded and improvements implemented across the Trust.
- Build constructive relationships with school leaders, School Business Managers, central colleagues, contractors and consultants, balancing expertise, pragmatism and trust.
- Ensure appropriate competency frameworks, training programmes and assurance processes are in place for colleagues with premises, health and safety, fire safety and compliance responsibilities.
- Lead the Trust's response to regulatory inspections, enforcement activity and compliance reviews, ensuring issues are escalated, reported and resolved appropriately.
3. What We Are Looking For
Essential
- Degree, equivalent professional qualification or substantial senior-level estates/facilities management experience in a complex organisation.
- NEBOSH qualification, or an equivalent recognised health and safety qualification.
- Proven senior estates or facilities leadership experience, with clear accountability for safe, compliant and effective delivery across a complex or multi-site organisation.
- Strong knowledge of premises-related statutory compliance, including the ability to oversee effective systems, records and follow-up across key areas such as asbestos, fire, legionella, electrical safety, COSHH and contractor control.
- Experience of leading estates strategy, capital programmes, planned maintenance or major works, including procurement, delivery, risk management and budget control.
- Ability to manage significant revenue, capital or grant-funded budgets, ensuring accurate forecasting, transparent prioritisation, value for money and clear reporting.
- Ability to procure, mobilise and hold contractors, consultants and outsourced providers to account for quality, safety, compliance, cost and performance.
- Develop and maintain robust contractor management arrangements, including contractor selection, compliance checks, supervision, control of works and assurance processes.
- A proactive, solution-focused mindset and a constructive approach to challenge, change and continuous improvement.
- Sound judgement, calm decision-making, strong communication skills and the ability to produce clear, evidenced reports and recommendations for senior leaders and trustees.
Desirable (but not essential)
- Knowledge of the education, academy trust or public-sector environment, including safeguarding, public accountability, procurement compliance and value for money.
- Project management qualification such as PRINCE2, APM, Six Sigma or equivalent
We are more interested in professional judgement, leadership approach and mindset than a perfect sector match.
4. What We Offer
- Real influence over how estates and operations are shaped across a growing Trust
- A supportive, values‑driven culture where professionalism and kindness matter
- A senior role that values clarity, boundaries and sustainable workload
- The opportunity to shape, improve and standardise systems and processes across a growing Trust
- Professional respect, trust and autonomy
- A visible senior role with a meaningful impact on pupils, staff and school communities.
About The Good Shepherd Trust
The Good Shepherd Trust is a growing Multi-Academy Trust of 23 schools across Surrey and Hampshire. Our vision is “flourishing together”: building communities where children and adults can thrive. Strong financial stewardship underpins everything we do. Our central team works closely with schools to provide robust oversight while respecting local context and expertise. Our schools need safe, compliant and well-planned environments so that leaders and teachers can focus on children. This role will help ensure estates decisions are strategic, evidence-based and aligned with the Trust’s vision.
Safeguarding
The Good Shepherd Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. The successful candidate will be required to undertake appropriate safeguarding checks and training in line with statutory guidance.
Further information about the job
Commitment to safeguarding
The Good Shepherd Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We ensure that all our employment practices reflect this commitment. All appointments are made subject to an enhanced DBS clearance (Disclosure and Barring Service), satisfactory references and qualification checks.
Applying for the job
This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.
CVs will not be accepted for this application.
View advert on external website (opens in new tab)About The Good Shepherd Trust
- Type
- Multi-academy trust
Welcome from the CEO - Paul Kennedy
A very warm welcome to the Good Shepherd Trust (GST) and thank you for taking the time to visit our website. I joined the GST as CEO in February 2020 having spent over twenty-five years in education as a teacher, leader, headteacher and trust CEO. This is an exciting time for the GST as we further develop and strengthen our network of schools.
The GST is a multi-academy trust serving 18 schools within the Diocese of Guildford across Surrey and Hampshire. Our trust comprises both primary and secondary schools, schools affiliated to the Church of England and others who are not. Our purpose is to grow and maintain a strong network of schools within a highly supportive and sharing network: we know that schools are better when they work together sharing common values and goals. Opportunities for staff development are a key priority for us - as a member of support staff, as a teacher, as a head teacher or as a local committee member you will have access to wide and varied professional development.
But at the heart of what we do are the children and young people within our schools. GST schools are first and foremost highly inclusive settings where we strive to see each child flourish and grow, transforming lives and offering breadth and richness in each school’s individual curriculum. We also seek to fulfil the Church of England’s vision for education providing schools for the entire community we serve, for people of all faiths and none.
Our mission is drawn from the words of Jesus in John’s Gospel – ‘I have come that you may have life and have it to the full.’ It is in this context that Jesus reveals to us the wonderful image of himself, The Good Shepherd who shows us how to live, to love and serve others whilst we experience the richness of life in its fullness.
Whether you are a parent, teacher, leader or prospective member of a local committee or a Trustee, please get in touch if you would like to know more about the GST.
With best wishes,
Paul Kennedy
Chief Executive Officer
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