Associate Director of Estates Technical Compliance

Job summary

At EKHUFT, every role contributes to delivering safe, high-quality care -- and our estates are no exception. Our facilities are the backbone of patient care, from the reliability of critical systems to the safety of every ward, theatre, and clinic. We are committed to ensuring our estate is not only compliant with all statutory and NHS requirements but also future-ready, sustainable, and resilient.

As our Associate Director of Technical Estates Compliance , you will be the Trust's senior lead liaising with our subsidiary organisation regarding estates compliance, assurance, and governance. Your expertise will directly influence patient safety, operational continuity, and Board-level decision-making.

You will be integral to agreeing the strategic direction for compliance across a complex, high-profile estate -- ensuring that every building, system, and process meets the highest standards of safety, regulation, and performance.

Main duties of the job

What You'll Do Review and agree the Trust's estates technical compliance strategy, ensuring full adherence to statutory, regulatory, and NHS guidance. Provide expert advice to the Board, Executive Team, and senior leaders on compliance risks, priorities, and investment needs. Oversee the development and delivery of robust compliance monitoring systems, audits, and reporting frameworks.

Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and professional excellence. Drive innovation in compliance management, including the adoption of digital monitoring tools and sustainability-focused solutions. Act as the Trust's Authorised Person for key engineering disciplines, ensuring safe systems of work and technical assurance.

What You'll Bring Significant senior leadership experience in estates compliance within a large, complex organisation -- ideally healthcare. In-depth knowledge of statutory, regulatory, and NHS estates compliance requirements, including HTMs and HBNs. Chartered Engineer or equivalent professional status, with relevant technical qualifications in engineering or estates management.

Proven ability to influence at Board level and lead teams through change. Strong analytical, problem-solving, and risk management skills, with a track record of delivering measurable improvements.

About us

We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 800,000 people.

Our vision is 'great healthcare from great people'. Everything we do is guided by our values: 'People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference'. We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called 'We care'. It's about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day-to-day.

We're looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day. Please note that if you require a Certificate of Sponsorship to work in the UK you must declare this on your application form, even if you currently have a certificate of sponsorship or a work permit for another role and are already working in the country.

Please note we are only able to sponsor candidates for a Skilled Worker Visa for roles that are eligible at the time of application.

Job responsibilities

Why You'll Love It Here The opportunity to shape the compliance strategy for one of the most complex and vital estates portfolios in the NHS. A collaborative, values-driven culture where your expertise is respected and your voice matters. Generous NHS pension scheme, annual leave entitlement, and flexible working arrangements. The satisfaction of knowing your work directly supports safe, high-quality patient care every single day.

Person Specification

Qualifications · Essential

Masters Degree in a relevant engineering, estates, FM or safety discipline, or equivalent experience In-depth managerial, financial and contracting knowledge Evidence of Continuing Professional Development Professional membership of a relevant body (e.g., IHEEM, IWFM, IOSH/IIRSM, Engineering Council) Experience working with PFI/wholly owned subsidiary, complex contract management environment Formal training in healthcare estates compliance, HTMs/HBNs, or safety management

Experience · Essential

Significant senior leadership experience in Estates, FM and/or Capital within a complex acute healthcare environment or similar regulated environment Working in complex environment providing assurance to duty holder e.g.

Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Private Finance Initiative (or similar) complex FM contracts Demonstrable experience leading organisational wide governance and assurance frameworks including estates governance and compliance frameworks Experience of advising and providing assurance to senior executives, Boards or duty holders in complex legal and contractual environments e.g.

WOS, PFI, Estates providers Experience chairing complex safety or governance groups Ability to interpret complex technical, legal and regulatory information for non-technical audiences Experience working with multiple providers and landlords to deliver compliance assurance Advanced data analysis, reporting and governance presentation skills Experience with Power BI, compliance systems and/or AI platforms Experience of major incident response or business continuity planning

Desirable

Strong knowledge of statutory legislation, NHS Assurance and Accountability Framework (AAF), HTMs/HBNs, and estates-related risk

Personal Attributes · Essential

Highly developed leadership skills with the ability to influence, challenge and negotiate at all levels Strong organisational skills; able to manage competing priorities and deadlines Excellent communication, interpersonal and stakeholder-management skills Ability to handle contentious, sensitive and high-risk issues confidently Demonstrates initiative, resilience and a proactive approach to risk and safety Commitment to teamwork, collaboration and Trust values

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab) . From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab) .