Job Description
If you’re someone who enjoys leading complex operations, creating safe and effective working environments that support people to do their best work, Standard Life could be the place for you.
We’re looking for a Head of Workspace Operations to join our Property & Workspace function. This is a senior leadership role where you’ll take strategic and operational responsibility for our workspace environments across the UK estate, ensuring our buildings are safe, compliant, efficient and a great place to work.
If you bring strong operational leadership, facilities management expertise and a passion for high-quality service delivery, we’d love to hear from you.
Job Type: Permanent
Location: Edinburgh or Birmingham
Hybrid working is supported with regular travel required across UK office locations (Edinburgh, Birmingham, London and Telford). You’ll be expected to spend time on site to provide visible leadership and operational oversight.
Flexible working: All roles are open to part-time, job-share and other types of flexibility. We will discuss what is important to you and balancing this with business requirements during the recruitment process. You can read more about flexible working here.
Closing Date: 15/05/2026
Salary and benefits: Salary range £70,000 to £90,000 dependant on experience plus an indicative bonus range of 30–60%, private medical cover, 38 days annual leave, excellent pension, 12x salary life assurance, income protection, career breaks, 3 volunteering days and much more.
Who are we?
We’re Standard Life, a retirement specialist focused entirely on retirement savings and income. We champion the belief that everyone’s journey to and through retirement can be better, and for more than 200 years, we’ve been helping our customers plan and prepare for their financial futures.
Life today is increasingly complicated, uncertain and unpredictable. People move through different careers, face unexpected moments and navigate important choices. We offer our colleagues flexibility, trust and benefits that work for whatever life brings. In return we expect curiosity, connection, accountability and high standards. We make room for what matters - so you can bring your best, every day.
The role
As Head of Workspace Operations, you’ll provide senior leadership for the day-to-day operation of Standard Life’s workspace environments across our property portfolio.
You’ll lead the facilities management function, overseeing building operations, maintenance, compliance and service delivery across multiple sites. Working closely with internal stakeholders and external partners, you’ll ensure our workspaces are safe, resilient, compliant and aligned to organisational strategy.
This role plays a key part in supporting colleague experience, productivity and business continuity, while ensuring robust governance, financial control and consistent operational standards across the estate.
Key responsibilities include:
- Providing client‑side leadership and governance of facilities management services, including building services, maintenance and workspace support, driving performance and continuous improvement
- Owning and managing workspace operations budgets, delivering value for money and cost optimisation
- Leading client‑side operational capability, developing teams to provide strong governance, assurance and oversight of FM delivery across all sites.
- Acting as a senior point of contact for workspace operational matters across the organisation
- Maintaining visibility across the estate through regular site visits and engagement with local teams
Regular UK travel will be required as part of this role.
What are we looking for?
We’re focused on essential, client‑side capabilities and encourage applications from people whose experience may look different, but who bring strong operational judgement and leadership.
You’ll have:
- Experience operating as a client‑side intelligent customer for facilities and workspace operations, with accountability for the performance, safety and compliance of a complex, multi‑site estate.
- Proven experience leading operational teams and managing service delivery through a Total Facilities Management (TFM) or equivalent outsourced FM model, setting clear requirements and holding service partners to account for contractual performance, statutory compliance and service outcomes.
- Strong working knowledge of building services and facilities management, including hard FM, statutory compliance and life‑safety obligations, with experience overseeing assurance.
- Experience of governing outsourced service providers and managing FM supply chains, including performance management, issue escalation, continuous improvement and contract assurance within an intelligent client framework.
- The ability to engage effectively with senior stakeholders and influence at leadership level
Professional qualifications or membership (e.g. IWFM, RICS, CIBSE) are desirable but not essential.
We want to hire the whole version of you.
We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels accepted and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If your experience looks different from what we’ve advertised and you believe that you can bring value to the role, we’d love to hear from you.
If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, please let us know so we can help you to be at your best.
We’re reviewing applications as they come in, so apply early to avoid missing out.
Find out more about working at Standard Life
