Development / ESG Surveyor

Overview

We are seeking to recruit a Development / ESG Surveyor to join our Property Team. This is an exciting opportunity for someone to join a client-side team driving investment returns and charitable and social benefit for one of the UK’s largest place-based health endowments with just over 1 billion of assets.

Our management of the Endowment is both strategic and hands-on and thus represents an exceptional learning and development opportunity. 40% of our assets are invested in property around Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital campuses where we are progressing an ambitious redevelopment programme. 60% of our assets are invested in a multi-manager, multi-asset class financial portfolio through a dynamic partnership with Partners Capital, a leading investment adviser. We have a long-term approach to investment strategy and seek the best investment managers in the world.

We aim to be at the cutting edge of how foundations operate across all our activities, both charitable and investment related, and we particularly wish to focus on developing places, buildings and schemes that deliver across a number of priorities including our direct charitable priorities, health and well-being more generally, the communities in which they sit and climate change. This role will have an important input into shaping that future for the Foundation and enhancing the Endowment.

The property developments

The Foundation is currently progressing a number of major development projects including:

• Royal Street, a 5 acre site at Westminster Bridge, where the Foundation has contracted with a joint venture partner, Stanhope plc and The Baupost Group, to develop a mixed use scheme of in excess of 2.0 m sq ft gross aimed at the Life Sciences market. We applied for planning permission on this scheme on 31 March 2022.
• London Bridge, where we have just identified Oxford Properties/Reef Group as our preferred Development Partner to deliver Phase 1, being c 350,000 sq ft gross of mixed use space also aimed at the Life Sciences market. This is the enabling project to develop out a further c 1 to 2 million sq ft thereafter.
• Cambridge, where we have achieved planning permission for a 200 unit residential scheme on the first phase of this development and have this under offer to a residential developer. There are a further 70 acres to develop.
• Maple Cross, where the Foundation is progressing the master planning and promotion of c 150 acres of green belt for residential development of c 1500 units.

In addition to these major developments the Foundation has a number of smaller development projects, both in and outside of London, plus key strategic challenges in shaping the property portfolio over the next 10 years.

Our development plans are highly ambitious and are likely to involve a complex series of large transactions involving development partners, other external funding sources, teams of outsourced experts and our partners (Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London).

The Development / ESG Surveyor will be required to work collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders acting as an ambassador for the Foundation at all times, specifically promoting the Foundation’s priorities. Excellent communication skills – both written and oral – are required as are high levels of awareness to reputational risk and political challenges.

Whilst the developments are being progressed the existing properties will need to be pro-actively asset managed. The Development/ESG Surveyor is key to this, ensuring that the property portfolio is delivering its financial target returns as well as promoting the Foundation’s priorities, notably its property objectives of promoting health and wellbeing, community inclusivity and climate change and sustainability.

The Foundation pro-actively manages the existing property portfolio via a small number of specialists managing agents. The Development / ESG Surveyor will need excellent organisational skills to ensure that the agents deliver the Foundation’s objectives to the highest standards.

The Foundation is creating an ESG strategy for the property portfolio which the Development/ESG Surveyor is to lead on. Once the strategy is in place, implementation and action will be required by the property team to achieve the net zero and other targets.

The Development/ESG Surveyor is also co-lead for the Climate Change Working Group which looks specifically at how to transition the Foundation to net zero and by what date.

The Foundation would like to be ambitious but not unrealistic with their targets and would like to lead in this arena. Careful thought needs to be given to this, requiring working with a number of internal teams and external advisors/stakeholders.

These are very exciting positions for ambitious and motivated self-starters who have the ability and drive to meet a wide range of property challenges and wish to gain experience of a high value multi asset property portfolio.

About us

At Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation, our mission is clear – to build the foundations of a healthier society.

As part of our team, you will work alongside talented people from a mix of personal and professional backgrounds. We are a Living Wage employer and support flexible working, part-time roles and job shares. Though our ambitions are serious, this is a friendly place to work with lots of opportunities to meet and socialise with colleagues. We believe there is immense power in diversity and aim to recruit and nurture talent who think and act differently.

More information about working with us can be found here, where you can read about

• how we approach recruitment 
• our team, culture and values 
• the benefits of working with us 
• and our approach to diversity, equity & inclusion, health & wellbeing, and learning & development 

Key responsibilities

The Development /ESG Surveyor will work with the Property Director, Project Director and senior executives, wider teams within the Foundation, stakeholders and expert external consultants to:

• Drive the master planning and strategic development of the Foundation’s sites
• Progress the property’s ESG strategy and the wider organisational net zero ambition including setting of ambitious but achievable goals, development of detailed implementation plans, identification of appropriate KPIs and reporting requirements. [NB it is anticipated that this area could require 25%-40% of the Surveyor’s time]
• Assess the development potential and feasibility of the Foundation’s sites to cover planning, site capacity, uses and value – liaising with/instructing external consultants as and when appropriate
• Work with other members of the property team and on their own projects, from the earliest stages through to completion
• Provide in-house market knowledge on property matters
• Negotiate with stakeholders, development partners and financial institutions on development projects
• Undertake appraisals of potential acquisitions / disposals and developments for the Foundation and progress as appropriate
• Proactively asset manage the existing property portfolios
• Work with other members of the property team on the in-house management of the portfolio – for example in the end of year Red Book Valuations, annual budget and insurance renewal
• Work with Foundation colleagues to deliver the Foundation’s financial and mission related goals, including implementing the ESG strategy once in place
• Fully engage with and participate in Staff Training, Away Days, and relevant team meetings.

Person specification

Experience

• Minimum 2 to 3 years’ experience in a property/asset management/development environment (desirable)
• Experience of ESG principles and their application to commercial and other property types including emissions calculations and regulatory requirements (desirable)
• Experience of financial modelling
• Experience of asset management and development across use sectors, notably commercial, residential and student.

Qualifications

• Preferably RICS qualified but other relevant qualifications considered

Skills, abilities, and attributes

• Appreciation of and passion for the Foundation’s mission particularly health and wellbeing, sustainability and climate change and the understanding of the importance of communities
• Excellent analytical and numerical skills
• Excellent political and reputational risk ‘antennae’
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills including negotiating, networking, managing and presentation – they will be an outward facing ‘Ambassador’ for the Foundation
• Effective written communication, report writing ability and presentation skills
• An interest in legal matters, policies, and procedures
• The ability to carry out development appraisals thoroughly and convincingly, especially financial viability
• Outstanding commercial awareness and acumen and understanding of the property asset management and development sectors
• A creative and innovative approach with an aptitude for problem solving
• Ability to work under own initiative, be a self-starter and to deliver
• Ability to deliver to the highest quality
• Ability to think decisions though in a rational and strategic way based on Foundation’s objectives
• Enjoy working with a small high performing delivery focussed successful team who love their work, support each other and have fun
• Flexibility and adaptability – ability to successfully address very differing development complexities and challenges of a large eclectic property portfolio across a wide use and value range

Values

• Delivery minded – is willing to get stuck in, work at pace and take ownership for results
• Enterprising – looks at things from different angles, with willingness to experiment and test
• Collaborative and a team player – excellent communication and negotiating skills and ability to successfully work with a wide range of stakeholders internally and externally