At MI5 we work hard to keep our country safe. It’s equally important that we protect our people, places, and property. When you join us as a Building Operations Manager, you’ll help us do just that. Our estates team is responsible for managing our dynamic estate - delivering high quality building services, Facilities Management support services and workplace change. We enable our critical front-line business by keeping a wide variety of building types operational.
 
Who we are?
Driven by our passion to deliver an outstanding service, our team of professionals provide a range of core services for a varied estate – from office accommodation and data centres to vehicle workshops and carparks. We pride ourselves on delivering high-quality, cost-effective solutions to support MI5 in keeping the country safe.

Our team
Our hard services team, based predominately in London and East Anglia, control the operation of plant and service delivery across a varied estate throughout the UK. Our dedicated building operations managers drive the delivery of a high-quality service. We are flexible in meeting a range of requirements – routine, time-critical, fast moving, and sometimes unusual. We work closely with our principal FM contractor who provide a 24-hour service at various sites supported by specialist sub-contractors.

Who you are?
We are looking for an experienced engineer with a mechanical or engineering background and experience in management, operations and leadership. You will be able to demonstrate:

Essential:
•    Experience in management, operations and leadership with a mechanical or electrical background, holding a suitable qualification up to HNC (Higher National Certificate) or equivalent level. 
•    Understanding of plant criticality to enable critical thinking and problem solving.   
•    Excellent  written  and verbal  communication skills and confidence in leading others. 
•    An understanding of maintenance regimes and life cycle planning. 
•    Ability to build relationships with and find consensus among managers, partners and stakeholders through negotiation.

Desirable:
•    Experience of undertaking work audits, providing reports for action and using CAFM (computer aided facility management) systems.
•    Experience of evaluating quotes for remedial works to obtain good value for money.
•    Ability to achieve and maintain Approved Person status in multiple disciplines to maintain a safe system of works.

What you’ll do
You will be working closely with others in the dedicated hard services team, our principal FM contractor, and key sub-contractors to keep our estate operational 24/7, 365 days a year. You can expect to:

•    Manage the operation of plant and systems within the building effectively with minimal disruption and  downtime, including electrical distribution, mechanical systems, security equipment, fire equipment, building management systems, and UPS systems. 
•    Identify areas for improvement , take ownership of problems, identify solutions and deliver high quality outcomes. 
•    Promote our culture encouraging top performance and high morale. 
•    Ensure regulatory compliance. 
•    Using your excellent communication skills build partnerships with key stakeholders and other organisations. 
•    Carry out audits for H & S in our controlled areas.
•    Control finances for maintenance works by assessment and internal finance controls.
•    Work a flexible shift pattern to meet the requirement of the hard service team or site, with consideration of your work/life balance.  
•    Be active in developing your knowledge and skills. We will support you in your professional development, e.g. through providing training on financial management, workplace health and safety etc.

Before You Apply
To work at MI5, you need to be a British citizen and you’ll need a real passion for the role. We do have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can’t take any recreational drugs and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage.

Honesty and integrity are really important if you want to work at MI5. Take some time to read about the vetting process and make sure you meet the criteria in the vetting pages of the ‘How to Apply’ section. The process can take some time, but this is just because it’s thorough. Giving misleading information and omitting or concealing information during the recruitment and vetting process is viewed very seriously.

The role is based in West London or East Anglia, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application. We unfortunately don’t cover relocation costs.

Due to the sensitive nature of our work, you’ll need to be discreet. But don’t worry - while you can’t tell your friends what you do, you can continue to use social media and lead a completely normal life.
 
Equal Opportunities
At MI5 diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodiverse conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce.

Offer of an Interview (OOI)
As a Disability Confident leader, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview. This is known as Offer of an Interview.

To secure an interview for this role, the minimum criteria (in order of application process) are:
•    Passing the application sift carried out by the hiring manager.
•    Having a clean valid UK driving.

Benefits
· 25 days annual leave (rising to 30 days after 5 years’ service) and 10.5 public and privilege holidays.
· Financial support for learning and development
· Interest free season ticket loan
· Excellent pension scheme
· Cycle to work scheme
· Subsidised gym, restaurant, and coffee bar
 

Recruitment Process

What to Expect
Stages of our recruitment process, in order:
•    Application form
•    Applications are sifted by the hiring manager
•    A telephone interview (technical)
•    A competency-based interview, including:
o    Documents check
o    Drugs test
•    Vetting
•    Induction
•    Start work in your team

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process in order to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 - 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.

Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible to apply, you must be a British Citizen. One of your parents must be a British Citizen or must have the nationality or citizenship from our approved list of countries. If you hold dual nationality, of which one component is British, you will nonetheless be considered. Candidates must normally have been resident in the UK for seven out of the last ten years. This is particularly important if you were born outside the UK. You can apply at the age of 17 years and 6 months, if successful you will not be offered a start date prior to your 18th birthday. Discretion is vital. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member. Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside of the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. Further information on our eligibility criteria can be found on the Applying section.