View Vacancy - BK - Estates Project Manager, C4 (Internal Vacancy)

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Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Operations and Corporate Services)
Estates

Background to project(s)

The UK Foreign Office’s Estates and Security Directorate (ESD) are taking forward the sale of the Bangkok compound and reprovision of office and residential accommodation (HMA Residence and staff accommodation).

A lease has been taken on the AIA Sathorn building for the new office.  A project team has been appointed to develop the designs for the new building and procure a contractor to carry out the fit out works.  Specialist works will be designed and carried out by FCO Services.

A new Residence will also need to be delivered that will involve design and construction works, the details of which are yet to be ascertained.

Staff accommodation will be reprovided by a mix of purchased and leased properties.

As the properties on site are vacated there will need to be a programme of decommissioning and clearance so that the site can be handed over to the purchaser for redevelopment.

The projects for reprovision are being led by Estates in the UK in close collaboration with Post.  The Project Sponsor is working closely with Post and other stakeholders, including IT, security and fire safety specialists.


The role

The Estates Project Manager is responsible for overall management and co-ordination in Bangkok of the overall project (reprovision of new Embassy, Ambassador’s Residence and staff accommodation, and decommissioning of the current compound). The role will provide support to the Project Sponsor based in the UK, and will act as the local co-ordination point. 

This role requires a high level of management and organisational skill. The successful applicant will need to be able to work effectively without close supervision. They will be prepared to engage at all levels, from making recommendations to senior management, to physically visiting the site to assess progress, to holding suppliers to account. They will have the initiative and judgement to identify any problems which might hold up overall delivery, to identify what needs to be done, and either take action themselves or bring in someone else who can do so.

They will be organised enough to plan the overall timelines for the project, identifying any dependencies, and ensuring no conflict between timescales of different contractors – this will involve building a strong relationship with the different contractors and policy makers to understand the scope of the overall project.

The key role is to act as the key point of contact in Bangkok, providing overall management and co-ordination in the delivery of the project. The role will provide support to senior management decision making, including analysis, judgement (eg to identify the best approach), and making good recommendations.


Typical tasks will include:

  • Provide support to the Project Sponsor, Deputy Head of Mission and Corporate Services Manager through monitoring progress and identifying any delays or problems
  • Provision of status reports and updates (including monitoring progress by local contractors on agreed timelines/tasking, and ensuring timely reports are produced to communicate as project progress to Project Sponsor and other members of the project team)
  • End to end project administration – including planning timelines for entire project, ensuring no conflict between timescales of different contractors, monitoring progress and flagging up dependencies to ensure the overall timing stays on track
  • Quality control and reporting – identifying potential problems and escalating where necessary
  • Management of relationship with landlords, together with the Regional Asset Manager
  • Negotiating permissions (landlord, MFA, other authorities)
  • Liaison on matters such as IT and telephony, security management of works, facilities management, security arrangements for new building – ensuring that all these considerations are factored into overall project planning and timescales
  • Liaison with ISS/FMCU in relation to facilities management (requirements, and processes for managing FM during the project roll-out)
  • Close working with Clerk of Works / Site Supervisor when fit out works on site
  • Planning and managing move process – including scheduling the different elements, arranging removals, preparing to move – assisting staff to dispose, reduce and recycle
  • Procurement of small items or services locally
  • Fluent English (spoken and written)
  • Excellent communicator at all levels, spoken and written
  • Strong administration and organisation skills
  • A proactive, problem-solving approach – ability to spot upcoming problems and take early action to address them
  • Strong collaborative and relationship-building skills, including ability to be firm with stakeholders where necessary (for example to ensure adherence to previous agreements)
  • Flexible and reactive to new issues and priorities
  • Fluent Thai (spoken and reading)
  • Project management experience and knowledge
  • Technical knowledge or experience, and/or a keen interest in project work
  • Understanding of estates issues
29 April 2018
Higher Executive Officer (HEO)
Fixed Term, Full-time
36
Asia Pacific
Thailand
Bangkok
British Embassy
1
THB
100, 695
25 June 2018

This is a fixed term position and is expected to last no longer than 18 months from the commencement of employment.

The British Embassy offers a competitive remuneration package, including salary (will be abated for those not liable to tax), benefits, a leave entitlement, Health Insurance and comprehensive development programme based upon business need and individual staff requirements. 

Employment offers are subject to successful clearance of pre-employment and security checks. Staff who are locally recruited by the British Embassy are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law.

No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position. You must have or be able to obtain work authorisation in Thailand in order to apply. Any costs related to obtaining or renewing permits and visas are the responsibility of the successful applicant.

This vacancy is for British Embassy Bangkok internal candidates (all staff under notice of compulsary redundancy)

All applications must be received before 13:00 on 29 April 2018.

Incomplete application forms will not be taken into consideration, so please ensure you provide the information requested. We regret to advise that we will only be contacting short-listed candidates. Applicants called for an interview will be assessed on the core competencies listed above.


Reminder for existing Embassy staff who will be interested to apply:

Along with the completed online application form, candidates should upload their last two years End of Year Appraisals if applicable. If applicants have been employed for less than twelve months, they will need to provide permission from their Head of Section to apply and should attach this to their application. 

Guidance on completing competency based application forms and sitting Interviews can be found on the BE Website and also on the Civil Service Learning portal, Virtual Ashridge portal and Goodpractice.net (both accessed through the CSL). Staff are strongly advised to refer to these. 

We recommend all applicants to understand the Civil Service competences before applying for any role and in preparation for interviews. For more information, you can visit our website - https://www.gov.uk/government/world/organisations/british-embassy-bangkok/about/recruitment. 

Please check your application centre regularly for any update on your application 

Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

This opportunity is closed to applications.