Ascot - Head of Estates

Ascot - Head of Estates

HEAD OF ESTATES Candidate Information Pack

TABLE OF C O N T E N T S Introduction.......... Page 4 Ascot Racecourse.......... Page 5 The Portfolio.......... Page 6 Job Description.......... Page 8 Key Dates and Application Process.......... Page 16

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INTRODUCTION Dear Applicant, Thank you for taking the time to find out more about the appointment of the Head of Estates with Ascot Racecourse Limited. Ascot Racecourse is a world-renowned racecourse attracting 600,000 guests each year and is the home of some of the sport’s most prestigious race meetings. Ascot is a destination venue for horseracing and events, the leading racecourse in Britain and one of the finest in the world. With an estate covering 264 acres, Ascot has a diverse land and property holding including extensive leisure facilities, corporate assets, the racecourse and residential assets. A notable asset within the estate is the iconic The Grandstand, which has seen investment of some £250m since 2004. Reporting to the Managing Director, the Head of Estates will lead a team responsible for a broad portfolio of estates and facilities management activities, ensuring that ambitious development and asset management strategies are realised, and that world-class estates and facilities management services are delivered. You will lead and motivate the in-house property and facilities team

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ASCOT RACECOURSE

to deliver high-quality estates maintenance provision and capital investment whilst working closely with the Managing Director on strategy development including the appraisal of future major development schemes. Given the diverse nature of stakeholder relationships and the requirement to lead and motivate a multidisciplinary team, it is expected that prospective candidates will have excellent interpersonal, communication and leadership skills and be extremely delivery focused and customer oriented. The role calls for the ability to lead and work in a flexible and responsive manner given the demands of the Ascot lifestyle and sporting calendar. The Head of Estates appointment offers the opportunity to lead a diverse and iconic estate portfolio in a key senior leadership position.

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THE PORTFOLIO

Ascot has a diverse portfolio of land and property across its 264- acre site including: • Business critical buildings including The Grandstand, which has seen investment of circa £250m since 2004 • The Racecourse, stables, and heath • Extensive hospitality and catering facilities for conferences and events, weddings, exhibitions • Large scale and diverse public realm areas • Commercial • Residential and staff housing portfolio • Car parks • Extensive woodland and additional grounds.

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JOB DESCRIPTION Job Title:

Head of Estates Ascot Racecourse Property (Estates &Development) Managing Director, ARL Estates, Facilities and Health & Safety

Place of work: Place of work: Reporting to: Reporting to this position:

Role The post holder will report to the Managing Director, ARL and will be responsible for the leadership and management of the Property (Estates and Development) Department. These responsibilities may be extended to include other related aspects of racecourse services subject to agreement. The post holder must be strategically focused to support the achievement of the racecourse key objectives in the development of the estate and associated services.

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Principal Responsibilities: • To provide leadership and effective management of a dynamic department which comprises Estates, Facilities and Health & Safety functions • To manage the racecourse estate and associated assets and facilities • To be accountable for and advance the long-term strategic vision of the Racecourse and its key objectives through planning, management and delivery of its capital investment programme • Implement robust governance, systems and controls to ensure the department delivers in accordance with best practice property and racing industry recognised standards • Manage and critically appraise costs, quality, programme and health and safety of departmental activities. • Provide regular reports to ARL, AREL, ARPDL Boards and the Finance Committee • Advise the Board on all relevant statutory changes to ensure that the racecourse meets, manages and mitigates risk • Prepare business cases to the Board for the approval and advancement of strategic development activities. •Work across departments to identify, plan and execute new initiatives to advance the racecourse. • Resource and workload plan to ensure the department effectively delivers its functional requirements focused on estates, race day and events activities. • Regularly review departmental skill set to ensure the department effectively delivers for the racecourse. • Effective internal and external stakeholder relationship management including the Crown Estate. • Assembly and management of cross-functional internal and external project delivery teams. • Line management of senior staff within the department, identifying learning and development needs through the racecourse’s annual appraisal system. • Lead major project teams involving the chairing of relevant meetings including senior staff both externally and internally. • Procure in-house or contracted resources as necessary and cost effectively. • To manage and overcome complex problems associated to core delivery objectives that impact the estate and operational activities as a whole.

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Communication & TeamMotivation • To report to the Board the estates and facilities developments and priorities; • To establish and convene, as necessary, relevant functional groups within the racecourse and liaise with the Directors and other Heads of Departments; • To report to the Managing Director ARL and advise the senior management team on budgetary, strategic, and major operational Estates and Facilities Management matters • To inform strategic decisions by producing the briefs, budgets, and strategic plans for development of estate and facilities; • Effective written and verbal communication skills to cultivate and maintain strong working relationships with the senior management team, key external stakeholders; inclusive but not limited to the Crown Estate, tenants, community; consultants and delivery partners etc. • Ensure effective communication in the delegation of tasks to line reports to meet delivery objectives and ensure accountability. • Through demonstrable leadership behaviour, foster a collaborative and supportive team that has a One Team delivery approach. • To contribute effectively to the racecourse’s strategic and corporate planning processes, focusing on the physical and environmental aspects of the estate to support the racecourse’s business activities. • To keep up to date with changes and developments at national and international levels relating to property, assessing their implications for the racecourse, and disseminate information and ideas within the senior management team as appropriate. • To ensure the provision of strategic leadership for the department by ensuring all teams interact appropriately and work collaboratively towards the common goals of the department. • To provide leadership and direct management control of the department leads involved in a broad range of key functions including: management and co-ordination of major strategic capital projects, the programme of reactive and long-termmaintenance programmes, implementation of new sustainable initiatives, carbon management projects and health and safety.

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Liaison and Networking • To deputise for the ARLManaging Director, as appropriate, on relevant estates and services matters. • To represent the Racecourse at relevant and applicable committees • To chair meetings of external contractors to ensure the effective coordination of estate projects including large scale, high value new builds and refurbishment projects. Decision Making • To report to the Managing Director ARL and advise the senior management team on budgetary, strategic and major operational Estates and Facilities Management matters • To inform strategic decisions by producing the briefs, budgets, and strategic plans for development of the estate; • On behalf of the Racecourse, as directed by the Managing Director ARL, to negotiate contracts with external providers relevant to the department function. Planning and Organising Resources • To be responsible for all aspects of the planning and organising of resources in support of key strategic capital projects • To prepare, produce and present an annual department business plan; • To liaise with external statutory bodies in relation to departmental delivery objectives • To oversee the day-to-day estate management function delivered by the Estates Manager. • Procure in-house or contracted resources as necessary and cost effectively. • Develop & implement a suite of SLA’s &KPI’s to measure & improve the service delivery of the Property (estate & facilities) services provision. • To prepare and manage the Property Department budgets for Race days, Non-race day, Business & Events, Capital & Exceptional PPMExpenditure work.

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Health, Safety, Environment & Sustainability • The Managing Director, ARL has overall responsibility for all statutory & regulatory compliance with regard to health, safety & environmental legislation, the Head of Estates therefore works closely with and assumes Board responsibilities in the absence of the Managing Director, ARL. • To directly manage the work of the Health and Safety Manager to ensure that the racecourse adheres to all relevant health & safety and environmental legislation. • To implement the necessary codes, standards & procedures to demonstrate compliance with all Health, Safety, Environmental & Sustainability legislation, and regulations for all works undertaken by staff & external service providers along with all other building users, guests, customers &members of the public at all times. • The post holder will, through the Health and Safety Manager ensure that Health and Safety risk assessments for the racecourse are carried out and other risk assessments on a continuing basis (for example asbestos survey and legionella audits are conducted in accordance with legal requirements as our all checks/ compliance required under the Safety of Sports Ground Act). • Procure sustainable & clean energy supplies &manage the consumption of said supplies to achieve long term energy cost & consumption savings to deliver an overall & ongoing commitment to the reduction of carbon emissions. • Review, develop, implement, and deliver realistic & sustainable estates & facilities related solutions to the racecourse and support the wider ARL sustainability & CSR targets. Experience Competent in the legal, financial, statutory, operational, and commercial aspects of major property projects and transactions. • Broad experience both in the preparation and control of development programmes, building and engineering projects and in managing facility operations and maintenance services; • High level strategic planning and organisational skills, including forward planning and forecasting will be required together with the ability to respond appropriately to user demands and expectations. • Proven experience delivering large scale projects on time and on budget; • Sound record of managing and forecasting significant budgets;

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• Thorough knowledge and understanding of Health and Safety legislation • Experience working in a sporting and events environment preferred; • Proven ability to lead, develop and motivate people and teams; • Demonstrable experience implementing change in large scale and or complex projects. • Proven track record of fostering and maintaining positive internal and external stakeholder relationships. Skills and Qualifications • The postholder will be educated to degree standard in a relevant discipline (architecture, building, engineering, facilities management, project management, surveying or similar) preferably with appropriate postgraduate and/or professional qualifications in one or more of these relevant areas and/or anMBA. Competencies • Experienced and effective leader who is able to encourage performance and engagement; • An excellent communicator, with the ability to engage effectively with both internal and external stakeholders; • Collaborative, positive influencer, supportive and solution-focused;

• Believes in and demonstrates the Ascot values; • High level of accuracy and attention to detail;

• A proven desire for constant improvement personally and professionally; • Committed to, and an understanding of, equality and diversity in sport; • Resilient with the ability to multi-task and deal with stressful situations; • Open minded, can review decisions and operations in line of new situations or information. • Strong organisational skills. This job description describes the principal purpose and main elements of the job. It is a guide to the nature and main duties of the job as they currently exist but is not intended as a wholly comprehensive or permanent schedule and is not part of the contract of employment.

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KEY DATES AND APPLICATION PROCESS

To arrange a confidential conversation to discuss the opportunity in more depth, please contact Stephanie Howe ( [email protected] ) or Ben Duffill ( [email protected] ) of The Management Recruitment Group on 020 3962 9900. Applications should consist of a comprehensive CV and a covering letter. Applications should be sent to [email protected] and [email protected]. Closing date for applications is 10th October 2021. First stage interviews withMRG are scheduled for w/c 18th October 2021. First stage interviews with Ascot Racecourse are schedule for 25th October 2021.

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