Inspiring the extraordinary
Head of Sustainability and Energy Candidate Information Pack
Introduction
Thank you for your interest in the Head of Sustainability and Energy role at Durham University. As one of the UK’s leading and world top 100 universities, Durham is also one of the most distinctive universities. It is a residential collegiate university with a welcoming community of more than 20,000 students and over 4,300 members of staff. Our academics and students are at the heart of our world-leading research and teaching capabilities, shaping the future with their ground- breaking work. Set within the historically rich City of Durham in the North East of England, which is home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this is an undeniably beautiful place in which to base your work and home life. The University has an incredibly diverse estate in Durham City. It comprises over 320 buildings ranging in age from 1076 A.D. through to new, state of the art buildings. Durham Castle and the buildings around Palace Green are part of World Heritage Site, 3 properties are scheduled ancient monuments, 4 properties are listed Grade 1, 79 properties are listed Grade 2 and 60 properties are within the City's conservation area. Approximately 17% of the University's estate is over 150 years old, yet we have married this with the development of new cutting edge facilities such as our Mathematical Sciences and Computer Science building and our new Teaching and Learning Centre.
The Estates and Facilities Directorate is responsible for delivering the Estate Strategy and Masterplan that ensure that Durham has an academic and College estate that is fit for purpose, affordable and supports our world-class activities in line with our 2027 Strategy. In this crucial and influential role within the Estates and Facilities Directorate the Head of Sustainability and Energy will take responsibility for the University’s environmental sustainability and energy commitments, providing leadership and strategic direction, in relation to sustainability and energy initiatives. Responsible for driving innovation enabling the University to be at the forefront of sustainability and energy, this role leads the Sustainability and Energy team and will play a key role creating and implementing sustainability and energy activities, to achieve the University’s agreed targets and objectives. If you enjoy a challenge and would like to play a key, influential and innovative role in creating inspiring environments to support our position as a world class organisation we would be delighted to hear from you. Best wishes, David Loudon Director of Estates and Facilities
Durham University
Durham is one of the world’s great universities and one of the most distinctive. Consistently ranked in the top six in the UK and in the top 100 across the world, we produce world-leading and world-changing research across all four of our faculties, our education is challenging, enabling, research-led and transformative and our wider student experience, delivered through our Colleges, Durham Students’ Union and Experience Durham, is among the best in the UK. Our goal is for Durham to be delivering world-leading and world-changing research across all academic departments and research institutes, an education that is challenging, difficult, enabling and transformative and a student experience to rival the best in the world. Our vision is to build on our existing success and move forward to secure our future, making significant changes where they are needed. We know that we have a strong offering but also that we can do more by further developing our partnership working. We are not complacent. Our University Strategy 2017-2027 sets ambitious targets for growth and development, to ensure that we remain at the cutting edge.
The Estate Strategy & Masterplan
The Estate Strategy and Masterplan In order to support our vision, and as part of our work on a long-term growth agenda, we have developed an Estates Strategy and Masterplan that is central to shaping how Durham University looks and feels in the future. It will ensure that we have an Academic and College estate that is fit for purpose and affordable for the foreseeable future. The Estate Masterplan identifies the potential capacity of the estate and presents possible development opportunities. It is a guide to how we could develop the estate over the long-term. It will protect Durham’s important heritage for generations to come; safeguard Durham’s position as a collegiate University at the heart of the national, regional and local economy; and create facilities to enhance the University’s reputation and support our vision to be world-leading in research, education and the wider student experience. The Masterplan seeks to build on and strengthen the relationship between City and University, by easing accommodation constraints, enhancing access and developing facilities for common use. We are committed to being closely engaged with local and regional stakeholders in the public, private and voluntary sectors, as well as local residents, thus fulfilling an important role within Durham, Stockton and the wider North East. Our goals We will: • Develop an academic estate that will allow the University to deliver world-class education, research and student experience; • Ensure the long-term availability of suitable residential accommodation; • Ensure the continuing renewal and maintenance of our estate; • Improve the environmental sustainability and ease of travel around our estate and city locations.
We are already doing well • “A purpose-built new home for John Snow College and a new college named South College, at Mount Oswald was completed in September 2020, with full College facilities and a total of 1,000 student beds”. • In September 2019, Durham University opened the doors to their brand new £40 million, 90,000sq ft Teaching and Learning development. • Our new £40 million home for our Mathematical Sciences and Computer Science departments was completed in September 2020 But there is So Much More to come By 2027, we will: • Deliver the next phase of our Estate Masterplan, including a new home for Durham University Business School and new developments for our Arts and Humanities Departments. • Future estate development will ensure our laboratory-based Science Departments have the facilities to match their international reputations. • Deliver repairs to existing buildings, both Collegiate and Academic, such that 75% of our buildings are of a very high standard • Establish and nurture future needs of Colleges.
The Estates and Facilities Directorate
The Estates and Facilities Directorate makes a positive and significant contribution to the University's shared vision by developing and maintaining the physical environment which contributes to the University's key aspiration of attracting high calibre staff and students to the University. We are a community of colleagues with a passion for excellence in everything we do; making a positive and significant contribution to the University, recognised by our stakeholders as delivering value for money services.
At the heart of our recruitment, we want to attract and secure the very best people to ensure the delivery of an estate that is both welcoming and safe for our students, staff and visitors. It is an exciting time to join the team, as the Directorate is currently refreshing its Estates Strategy and Masterplan; supporting the University’s overarching strategy.
Job Description
Job Title:
Head of Sustainability and Energy Estates and Facilities Directorate Senior Energy Manager Senior Energy and Sustainability Manager (Sustainability) Director of Estates Operations
• providing postal, delivery and security arrangements and advice to the University; and
Department:
• delivering a wide-range of customer-facing services, including contract management; estates and facilities relationships management; housekeeping and cleaning, business resilience, event management; reception helpdesk; university retail; business support; health and safety; and management information. The Head of Sustainability and Energy will be responsible for the University’s environmental sustainability and energy commitments, providing leadership and strategic direction, in relation to sustainability and energy initiatives. The post- holder will be responsible for driving innovation enabling the University to be at the forefront of sustainability and energy. The post-holder will lead the Sustainability and Energy team, within the Estates and Facilities Directorate, and will play a key role creating and implementing sustainability and energy activities, to achieve the University’s agreed targets and objectives. The post-holder will be responsible for working with colleagues to identify a range of organisational best practice approaches on issues such as procurement, ICT, student and staff engagement, communications, behavioural change, carbon and waste reduction and elimination activities, and sustainability in teaching and learning.
Responsible to: Responsible For:
Grade:
Grade 9
Salary range: Working arrangements:
£53,348-£60,022
Permanent Full-time, Nominal 35 hours, Hybrid Working Arrangements
The Directorate and role purpose The Estates and Facilities Directorate provides a number of essential services to Durham University and is responsible for managing, maintaining and developing the infrastructure and building fabric of the various campuses, including: • maintaining and regularly reviewing a maintenance programme which takes account of short, medium and long term needs of all buildings and University grounds • implementing the works identified and funded within the various maintenance programmes and operating a system for dealing with day-to- day requirements, including the provision of an out-of-hours emergency service • providing a professional, technical service to the University for the design, construction and procurement of new buildings and adaptation works to existing buildings • identifying and recording the use of space and advising on ways of increasing space utilisation • property and asset management • acquisition and disposal of built environment related assets • procuring and managing utilities and services
The Role
Core responsibilities: • Lead the creation, review, design,
• Responsible for the management and leadership of people across the Sustainability and Energy team and setting operational and strategic objectives for discrete areas. • Implement change management projects relating to sustainability and energy, in collaboration with peers and specialists, to ensure a smooth and effective transition. • Contribute to wider quality and regulatory audit process for stakeholder systems and services. • Manage quality and regulatory audit processes for sustainability and energy over-arching systems and procedures. • Influence and contribute to operational and strategic scoping and resource planning for sustainability and energy initiatives and activities, developing and presenting complex business plans and strategy documents, where required. • Set operational objectives for the scoping, initiation, planning and implementation of significant projects in sustainability and energy. • Devolve key responsibilities to experienced team members, to ensure succession and encourage skills development. • Provide leadership and influence the governance of sustainability and energy activities, processes and transactions, to meet regulatory and professional service and policy standards. • Build and lead an influential network of contacts both internally and externally to influence the development of service provision. • Provide leadership within project teams to shape and determine specifications and key deliverables, problem solve and guide implementation. • Lead internal and external business meetings, working groups and committees at operational and strategic service level to influence governance, organisational policy and standards for sustainability and energy. • Budget responsibility for allocating and managing expenditure of consumable and capital items.
implementation, monitoring and reporting of coherent strategies, policies, service level standards and performance, in relation to the University’s corporate sustainability and energy development. • Provide professional and expert sustainability and energy leadership at a significant operational level and contribute to strategic planning to meet organisational objectives. • Deliver, develop and create innovative and impactful programmes for staff and student engagement, for operational changes and for links to research, learning and teaching in relation to sustainability and energy. • Ensure effective and proportionate measurement and reporting systems are in place, for sustainability and energy, to drive innovation and enable the University to be at the forefront of sustainability and energy. • Provide feedback on team and individual performance and identify development needs, conducting regular staff ADR and performance reviews. • Recruit, induct, train and develop new team members. • Help to shape the skills and expertise of team members and design work structures to meet operational and strategic goals. • Handle the vast majority of welfare issues within the Sustainability and Energy team, referring more complex welfare issues to appropriate support services/senior management. • Provide expert guidance, advice and problem- solving skills to stakeholders. • Identify and develop innovative approaches and make recommendations for how these can be implemented within sustainability and energy. • Significant input into the planning and development of future skills and expertise within the Sustainability and Energy team, to meet organisational goals.
The Role
• Implement processes to manage the integrity and security of all commercially and professionally sensitive and personal data. Role responsibilities: • • Provide management for the delivery of high- • Lead and manage the Sustainability and Energy team, to ensure effective delivery of objectives, staff development and key impact goals. • Conduct horizon scanning, research and strategic engagement with internal and external stakeholders, local government, professional bodies and sector agencies to maintain an overview of international best practice, deliver effective change for sustainability for the University and provide briefings and reports, as appropriate. • Provide leadership and relationship building with external agencies and service providers, identifying and developing opportunities to increase influence in keeping with strategic objectives and identify innovative and sector-leading solutions to tackle the existing range of sustainability and energy challenges. • Deputise for strategic managers, including the Director of Estates and Facilities, and take responsibility for the feasibility analysis, decision-making, development, planning and implementation of new sustainability and energy activities. • Ensure compliance with applicable environmental legislation, keeping up to date with national and international regulation and legislation. • Create opportunities to promote sustainability via internal and external events and activities. • Set sustainability and energy metrics/SLAs and expected levels of efficiency of service delivery. • Analyse and interpret complex sustainability and energy data sources, to identify trends and test solutions, provide business intelligence and business forecasts, while sourcing additional related information, where appropriate. • Report on progress to support the resolution of issues/problems associated with delivery of strategy and programme commitments.
• Manage risks and changes and provide solutions to issues arising within projects delivered by the Directorate. • Accountable for the operational planning and the management of service resources and budgets to meet operational and strategic priorities. • Prioritise competing demands and proactively manage large workloads and busy schedules, while liaising closely with senior management and external contacts, keeping them informed of any progress or changes to arrangements. • Carry out impact assessments to identify, assess and reduce the University’s environmental risks and financial costs. • Any other reasonable duties Specific role requirements: • May be required to work evenings and weekends, as business needs demand. • There may be a requirement for the post-holder to participate in local on-call arrangements, as relevant to this role. • Attend all training and development, as required.
Person Specification
Essential Criteria • Excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to develop effective working relationships, both internally and externally. • Customer centric • Commercial acumen • Proven IT skills, including use of Microsoft Office/365. • Educated to degree level, or equivalent, in a relevant discipline or relevant equivalent experience working at a similar level, in a large complex organisation. • Professional practitioner with specialist sustainability knowledge and expertise used to influence events and activities within the organisation. • Continuing professional development required to maintain professional recognition. • Extensive knowledge and experience of ensuring compliance with regulatory and organisational policy and guidelines. • Extensive experience of developing sustainability and energy strategies and policies. • Extensive experience of analysing and manipulating complex data and providing specialist advice and guidance to a range of customers and colleagues, including more senior colleagues. • Ability to contribute to planning at operational and strategic levels. • Demonstrable ability to provide specialist advice and influence others at operational at strategic levels. • Extensive experience of being able to network effectively, internally and externally, and develop strong and productive working relationships, to influence perceptions of the University. • Extensive knowledge of sustainability and energy legislation. • Track record of management and development experience and/or an enhanced management qualification applied across a large service team or teams, in a customer focussed and/or complex organisation. • Extensive experience of developing, implementing and/or managing KPIs and benchmarking data. • Evidence of implementing change in relation to sustainability and energy. Desirable Criteria • Masters degree, or equivalent, in a relevant discipline (or equivalent experience). • Membership of a relevant professional body. • Experience of working in, or with, a higher education institution or comparable complex organisation. • Experience of successfully applying BREEAM on new/existing buildings.
Benefits
When you work at Durham University, you can take advantage of a fantastic range of staff benefits including pension schemes with generous employer contributions, and salary sacrifice schemes which save you money, including childcare vouchers, nursery fees and cycle to work. Further information can be viewed below.
Childcare, facilities and attractions
We have an onsite nursery and you can enjoy access to our excellent libraries, sporting facilities, and visitor attractions such as the Botanic Garden and Oriental Museum. You are encouraged to become an active member of one of our Colleges with their varied range of social and cultural activities. All our staff enjoy up to five days volunteering time through our successful and thriving staff volunteering scheme.
Holidays, flexible working, leave and welfare
You will enjoy generous holiday entitlement, members of staff in Grades 7-10 receive a total of 42 days paid holidays each year. This is made up of 30 days holiday, eight statutory Bank holidays and four Customary days, usually taken at Christmas when the University offices are closed. We have lots of ways to help our staff maintain a healthy lifestyle and work-life balance including flexible and hybrid working arrangements, family- friendly leave, research leave and Occupational Health and Counselling services.
Charitable giving
You can choose to donate to a charity of your choice direct from your salary through payroll giving.
My Durham
Durham University offer a range of discounts and savings through their staff benefits portal, My Durham. My Durham is a central hub from which eligible staff can access a range of employment benefits, including corporate discounts, childcare vouchers and the Cycle to Work Scheme.
Relocation
The University is able to offer financial and logistical relocation support to candidates that are seeking to move to the area to take up a role with the University.
Further information and application process
For a confidential discussion to learn more about the role and opportunity please contact Durham University’s appointed recruitment partners Ben Duffill and David Craven of The Management Recruitment Group.
Applications should consist of a comprehensive CV and supporting cover letter. Applications should be sent to ben.duffill@mrgpeople.co.uk and david.craven@mrgpeople.co.uk Closing date: 25th September Interviews will take place early October.
Ben Duffill M: 07976 125 010 E: ben.duffill@mrgpeople.co.uk David Craven M: 07932 717 438 E: david.craven@mrgpeople.co.uk
Inspiring the extraordinary
We are an international recruiter of senior management professionals across real estate, facilities and development. Our success is built on our people, process and expertise. Our people have unrivalled experience, our process is rigorous and designed in-house, and we have meaningful sector expertise.
We are MRG and we are different by design.
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