About the roleWe have a brand new opportunity for a Maintenance Programme Manager to join our busy Property team here at the John Lewis Partnership. As the Maintenance Programme Manager, you will oversee a range of non-retail maintenance and construction projects within Waitrose Distribution and its wider estate, ensuring successful delivery from start to finish, with a strong emphasis on customer satisfaction. Collaborating with internal stakeholders, you will shape project briefs, propose cost-effective solutions, and manage the project lifecycle. Your role will involve working closely with the external supply chain to establish robust programs, technical strategies, and delivery teams for project execution within specified timelines and budgets.

Your responsibilities will extend to adhering to standard processes, offering alternative solutions for cost-effectiveness, and assessing the impact on operations and customers. You will maintain communication with the Construction team to stay informed about industry standards, processes, and compliance requirements.

In certain circumstances, you may also be called upon to act as an Employer's Agent or Contract Administrator, overseeing various contract forms and managing external consultants when necessary. This role aims to support the delivery of maintenance projects and programs with low to moderate strategic risks, enhancing customer satisfaction in designated areas.

Your leadership will guide both internal and external consultant teams to develop efficient solutions, ensuring alignment with departmental objectives and industry standards in design and construction practices.

• Expected salary - £46,500 - £62,500 (dependent on experience).

• Contract type - This position is a permanent contract.

• Working pattern/flexible working - The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach, meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. This role will be based at one of our Partnership locations up to 3 days a week, and the remainder of the time can be worked from home.

• Location - This role can be based at either our Bracknell or Pimlico Head Office, with regular travel to other Partnership locations. A car will be provided for business travel.

• Please note, internally this role is known as ‘Maintenance Programme Manager’.

Key responsibilities

• Project management delivery excellence, managing external teams to deliver projects to cost, time and quality parameters. Assimilating project data for all management reporting and updates, with a passionate drive for value

• Deliver complex projects (inc contract administration where necessary) within approved financial budgets (up to circa £1m/project) with exemplary commercial approach

• All legal and statutory approvals for the project/programme of work and ensuring compliance with current Construction Health and Safety legislation

• Stakeholder management at all levels throughout the programme lifecycle

• Team engagement - Promote teamwork and cross functional engagement to deliver excellent results

• Risk management - Document and manage risk mitigation

• Promote innovation to reduce CAPEX and improve resource efficiency

• Offer choices to customers to drive value from projects

• Conduct due diligence and monitor performance of category specialists and consultants

• Change management - Manage changes in a timely way to ensure quality and standards maintained

• Ensure reporting is accurate and timely

• Champion change and inspire others to innovate whilst having a planned approach

• Encourage efficient and cost effective ways of working

• Responsible for design standards through category management

Essential skills/experience you’ll need

• Experience of working within a maintenance/ construction or retail built environment, with a clear and demonstrated willingness to commence a structured construction development path. Experience within project environments, or having delivered elements of change within BAU roles

• Experience working with and managing internal and external resources, and 3rd party suppliers

• Experience operating in a challenging organisational environment with a requirement to balance differing priorities and demands.

• Experience building, managing and influencing diverse relationships across a business

• Self motivated with excellent communication and problem-solving skills

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• Project Management / Construction Project Management BSc. Professional Project Management qualification or actively working towards one (Prince2 Practitioner)

• Experience of delivering projects in a formal Employers Agent or Contract Administrator role in addition to a Retail Construction project manager role.

• Knowledge of retail/ distribution environments, with a high degree of customer understanding

• Full UK driving license

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About The Partnership

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect.

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective.

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

Important points to note:

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.

We also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.