Deputy Director of Estates
Circa £75,000 per annum
37.5 hours per week
Permanent
About the Role
This is an exciting opportunity to lead the operational management of one of the UK’s most distinctive specialist education campuses. In addition to its academic programmes hosts a range of events throughout the year. This role will be supporting excellence in the staff, visitor and student experience every day.
Across campus our buildings range from heritage assets, purpose built teaching buildings, specialist facilities, sports pitches or equine or agricultural barns. You will proactively steward these for the benefit of our future cohorts of students. Developing evidence based asset management plans and delivering a portfolio of capital projects to meet Hartpury’s changing needs.
In this role you will:
- Lead the operational management of Hartpury's estate and facilities services
- Lead and develop multidisciplinary teams, creating a culture of collaboration, accountability and continuous improvement
- Build strong relationships with colleagues, students, contractors and external stakeholders to deliver exceptional service and campus experiences
- Oversee estate operations, maintenance programmes and statutory compliance, ensuring a safe, sustainable and high-performing campus environment
- Develop and deliver long-term asset management and lifecycle investment plans to maximise the value and performance of the estate
- Improve campus wide resilience, develop business continuity plans and participate in incident management
- Lead refurbishment, infrastructure renewal and campus improvement projects that enhance facilities
- Deliver sustainability, carbon reduction and estate resilience initiatives in support of Hartpury's environmental ambitions
- Manage significant operational and capital budgets, ensuring value for money and effective use of resources
- Provide expert advice to senior leaders on investment priorities and operational performance
About You
You will be an experienced estates professional with the leadership capability, commercial awareness and practical knowledge to manage a vibrant and diverse campus. You'll have good digital skills and an appetite for innovation but as importantly be a people person able to inspire the operational teams you will be leading. You thrive in a collaborative environment where you can influence positive change and you are looking for a role which offers you long term development opportunity.
You will have:
- Senior leadership experience within estates, facilities management construction, property or infrastructure environments
- Experience leading multidisciplinary operational and technical teams
- A strong track record of delivering estate improvement, refurbishment, infrastructure or capital investment programmes
- Experience managing substantial operational and capital budgets
- Expertise in asset management, compliance, health and safety, contractor management and organisational risk
- Strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to influence and engage colleagues at all levels
- Excellent leadership, communication and relationship-building skills
- A degree or equivalent professional qualification in Estates Management, Facilities Management, Building Surveying, Engineering, Construction, Property or a related discipline
It would be desirable if you also have:
- Chartered membership of a relevant professional body such as RICS, CIOB, IWFM, CIBSE or ICE.
- Experience within Higher Education, Further Education or another complex multi-site environment.
- Experience leading sustainability, decarbonisation or carbon reduction programmes.
- Experience working across rural, sporting, agricultural or other specialist estates.
We offer a fantastic package of staff benefits including:
- 30 days annual leave entitlement
- Wellbeing support including our Employee Assistance Programme
- Generous pension scheme (LGPS)
- Employee Discounts Scheme
- Onsite fitness facilities
- Cycle to Work Scheme
- Support for continuous professional development
- Flexible working opportunities available
- Enhanced maternity, adoption, paternity & shared parental leave
- Entry to seasonal events on campus
- Access to a free shuttle bus from Gloucester city centre
About Us
Hartpury University and Hartpury College are among the UK’s leading specialist education providers in agriculture, animal, equine, sport and veterinary nursing. Located in Gloucestershire, Hartpury University and Hartpury College sit side-by-side on a beautiful 360-hectare campus. We provide world-class facilities to more than 4,500 university and college-level students studying undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, A-levels and diplomas, as well as undertaking industry research. The University is rated top 10 in the UK for Teaching Quality (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025) and has 97% graduate employability, whilst the College is rated Ofsted Outstanding in all areas. Our passionate, innovative business culture and strong support networks make Hartpury an exceptional place to develop professionally and progress your career.
At Hartpury, we’re committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace – a place where we can all be ourselves and everyone feels respected and valued. As a Disability Confident Employer, we actively welcome applications from ethnically diverse backgrounds, LGBTQI+ communities and disabled candidates. We offer an interview to any disabled applicant who meets the essential criteria for the role. We’ll also ensure fair treatment and provide reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process for anyone who needs them. As part of our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion we offer a range of inclusive policies, flexible working arrangements and a multi-faith space to support staff from different backgrounds. To find out more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity, please click here.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. All successful candidates will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service checks along with other relevant employment checks.
Click the button below to apply online or telephone (01452) 702135 to request documents by post.
Click here to view the full Job Description and Person Specification
The closing date for receipt of applications is the 31st August 2026.
Interviews will be held on the 14th September 2026
We reserve the right to close this vacancy before the specified closing date should we receive sufficient applications or in order to respond to business needs. To avoid missing the opportunity to apply, we encourage candidates to submit their applications at their earliest convenience.
Candidates must be able to demonstrate their eligibility to work in the UK.
