EdCity Director

Location: West London

Contract: Permanent

Pattern: Full Time (standard hours 9am – 5.30pm)

Closing date: 17/04/2023 at 10am (we reserve the right to close the role early depending on the level of response, so early application is advised)

First round virtual interviews: 25/04/2023

Salary: £120,000 to £140,000 (depending on experience)

About EdCity:

EdCity is a not-for-profit partnership between national education charity Ark and Hammersmith & Fulham Council (LBHF)

This £150m investment will bring an education hub, new affordable homes, a modern office building, and improved community facilities to White City – all located together on a single estate, EdCity.  Together, we are building a place that will make a real difference to local people.

With the first building due to complete in July 2023 (with remaining buildings completing through to 2025), we are now seeking an experienced and visionary Director to lead EdCity and create an exceptional environment and experience for both commercial and residential tenants, visitors, and the local community.

About the role:

The EdCity Director will be the ‘face’ of EdCity.  You will balance strategic leadership with innovation and operational delivery and build strategic partnerships and relationships with internal and external partners. You will be the first point of contact for the stakeholders and partners involved in the EdCity project – as well as managing multiple outsourced partners to deliver an exceptional environment and visitor experience.

You should have previous estates or centre management experience within in a customer-focused environment (e.g., hospitality, university or retail environment) and an understanding of hard and soft service teams. You will be an excellent communicator, able to speak to your experiences of leading teams to success and you will have the ability to manage and work collaboratively with a range of different stakeholders at varying levels.

We are looking for someone who will bring a strong strategic focus, excellent stakeholder engagement skills and a focus on delivering outstanding service.  You will be enterprising, resilient and ambitious, as well as a passionate promoter of creating a diverse and inclusive environment.

As the owner of all matters relating to EdCity, the role has a significant budget responsibility and a high degree of autonomy. An ability to command the confidence of the Ark Executive Team and the Board is critical to the success of the role.

Key Responsibilities:

• Overall ownership of the strategic development of EdCity
• Leading the relationship with LBHF to shape, deliver and oversee the development of the joint venture
• Managing relationship with the EdCity Office lettings agent, working closely to ensure all space within the office is filled and presents an attractive offer to potential commercial tenants
• Owning the strategic direction of and working with the EdCitizens delivery partner to ensure a strong market offer is developed for the flexible office space to drive membership
• Responsibility for the income and expenditure of the Ark space in EdCity
• Responsibility for contract management and the procurement of all estate/property/facilities/asset management for the EdCity Estate (including public realm and shared energy centre) and Office Building
• Responsibility for finance management for the EdCity Estate and Office Building (ECO)

Key Requirements:

• A proven track record in the delivery of large building projects and a wide range of customer-focused estates and facilities services
• Experience of working closely with and directing professional staff and advisers
• An understanding of the legal and financial aspects of major projects, property issues and landlord/tenant relationships
• Extensive experience of managing large budgets, including capital expenditure and revenue
• Excellent leadership and management experience and a proven track record in motivating and developing teams
• Commercially orientated to seek out and maximise opportunities and engender this behaviour in the overall team
• A high level of communication, advocacy and negotiation skills
• An ability to build strong working relationships with other senior staff and to be a key team player

You can read the full job description, person specification and more about EdCity here.

About Ark

We’re an international charity, transforming lives through education. We exist to give every young person, regardless of their background, a great education and real choices in life. In the UK, we’re a network of 39 schools, educating around 28,500 pupils in areas where we can make the biggest difference and we’re recognised as one of the highest achieving academy groups in the country. We want to change the lives of children everywhere, not just in our own schools. So, we create and incubate Ventures designed not only to help pupils in Ark schools, but also to improve education systems.

Benefits

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service and full office closure between Christmas and New Year
• Regular social events, monthly free breakfast, and daily fruit
• A flexible approach to working with understanding and consideration for work life balance and personal commitments
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to
• Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests

How to Apply:

Apply with a CV and cover letter on our online recruitment portal. Applications to be submitted by Monday 17^th April 2023 at 10am but please note: we will be reviewing applications on an on-going basis and this advert may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response.

This ATS application form should take no longer 20 minutes to complete. At any time, you can pause, save, and log back in. If you have any difficulty with meeting the deadline for application, please contact recruitment@arkonline.org

Interviews will be arranged as suitable candidates are identified, so early application is strongly advised.

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.  

Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link.