MoJ Sustainable Construction Manager

Join over 79,000 staff at the Ministry of Justice and help us make a positive and meaningful impact to the lives of thousands of people and the environment.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is a major government department at the heart of the justice system where we work to protect and advance the principles of justice. The MoJ Property Directorate manages one of the most diverse and complex estates in Government – covering a property portfolio including Prisons, Probation centres and approved premises, courts as well as the offices of the HQ and Arms Length Bodies. The MoJ Property Directorate is a supportive, people-focused organisation that provides high quality, easy-to-use services for customers, and positive, collaborative working environments for staff.

In this role, you will be part of Property Directorate’s exciting new multi-disciplinary team - the Climate Change and Sustainability Unit (CCSU). Our mission is to develop, deliver and embed key MoJ and wider Government sustainability programmes throughout our entire estate. We aspire to be a sustainability leader within Whitehall, and to do this we are seeking passionate, motivated people to lead and deliver meaningful and impactful environmental outcomes nationally. This is a great opportunity to cultivate an interesting and rewarding career in environmental sustainability while working with a dynamic and supportive team.

The MoJ is continuously dedicated to building staff capability and promoting staff wellbeing, with aspirations to be the best that we can be as individuals and as a directorate. We offer a range of development opportunities including accredited training courses, a work-life balance that works for you, a generous pension and staff discount voucher schemes.

Role Overview

This exciting role will help embed the MoJ’s ambitious environmental standards into our multi-billion pound new prisons construction programme. This programme includes a variety of different projects from the construction of four new “Green” prisons, the delivery at pace of houseblocks within existing prisons and large scale expansions of supporting buildings and refurbishments across the estate.

You will be influencing one of the most significant construction programmes in Government, with an impact spanning decades. We need someone inspiring, with a proven track record of influencing sustainable construction and operational impacts and with brilliant engagement and communication skills.

Team Overview

You will be part of a lively and creative multidisciplinary team responsible for the delivery of key MoJ sustainability priorities. The MoJ intends to be a sustainability leader within Whitehall, and as such, seeks high performing and highly motivated individuals to inspire and deliver meaningful environmental improvements. We work collaboratively across our areas of expertise to deliver positive environmental outcomes across a large range of themes including:

• Meeting the Greening Government Commitment targets (GGC)
• Energy management & decarbonisation/net zero
• Waste management and circular resource models
• Water efficiency
• Sustainable construction
• Sustainable procurement
• Climate Change Adaptation
• Biodiversity protection and enhancement.

The Climate Change and Sustainability Unit is responsible for embedding environmental sustainability across MoJ, its agencies (including prisons, courts and probation centres) and its Arm’s Length Bodies. Sustainability needs to be embedded across the department’s policy making, operations, finance, governance, estates and commercial activity. Working in a large and diverse organisation presents the team with huge scope to deliver national scale sustainability leadership.

Directorate Overview

The Climate Change and Sustainability Unit sits within the MoJ Property Directorate.  The Property Directorate is a customer focused organisation that exists to enable our customers to perform to their very best.  We do this by providing high quality, easy to use services, and working environments that our customers want to work in, which support them to deliver their individual outputs efficiently.  Our job is to manage one of the most diverse and complex estates in Government with a property portfolio including Prisons, Probation, and MoJ HQ and Arms Length Bodies.  We also provide property services on behalf of the Home Office.

MoJ Property provides specialist services including facilities management, health and safety, fire safety and security, technical design expertise, and sustainability.  We also have business management teams who support the entire Directorate and each of our partners is supported by account management teams.  We are responsible for a great deal - our portfolio consists of properties valued at £8.5bn for the MoJ alone.  We are part of the Government Property Profession (GPP) and through active membership and engagement we will work with the Office of Government Property to develop the maturity of the profession and also encourage our people to join the GPP. We continue to build our capability through training and recruitment, aspiring to be the best that we can be as individuals and as a directorate. 

We continue to deliver new ways of working across our portfolio – leading on the scale and pace of activity for central government – proposing ways to achieve, and then providing more dynamic and flexible workspace, while driving down the cost of the estate.

Job Description, Duties and Responsibilities

The role is focused on supporting MoJ’s additional prison places construction programme, and within that, responsibilities will include: 

• Provide technical advice on energy, carbon, water, waste management, sustainable procurement, nature recovery, and climate change adaptation within the context of new build and refurbishment projects across property and relevant stakeholders across the MoJ estate.
• Understanding best practice from industry, other parts of the MoJ-sponsored programme, other government departments and public bodies, to embed in current and emerging government wide and MoJ sustainability policy/strategy. This will involve creating a database of case studies and using these examples to improve capability building.
• Development of the MoJ’s “Sustainability Impact Capture sheet” to capture key environmental performance criteria for projects which do not apply BREEAM. Liaising with internal and external stakeholders to embed the capture sheet and once in place, monitor the data and drive changes to improve environmental performance.
• Coordinate environmental subject matter expertise from within the Climate Change and Sustainability Unit (CCSU) to contribute to the deliverables of prison expansion and manage ad hoc queries regarding Sustainable Construction
• Work closely with project expansion teams to provide business case support on sustainability to comply with the MoJ assurance processes.
• Ensure an understanding of Sustainable construction measures and key messages across project lifecycles. This will include supporting the development of procurement and contract management documentation eg tender specifications, evaluation questions and criteria and KPIs, and setting sustainability standards relating to Construction.
• Working alongside the Sustainable Construction Project Lead on developing the MoJ approach to embedding whole life Carbon and ensuring impacts are suitably considered during the business case process and over the lifetime of the asset, (e.g. PAS 2080 principles).
• Monitoring Environmental performance and provide effective reporting systems. Identify appropriate and effective means of communication such as dashboards, including on BREEAM Performance. Analysing data to improve performance and standards to ensure monitoring of BREEAM and sustainable construction information in clear, accountable ways at Programme Level? 
• Integrating sustainability into MoJ digital Construction Strategy and information management standards. This will include developing standards and monitoring sustainable construction data.
• Participate in market engagement activities, including supplier engagement events.
• Developing a post occupancy evaluation process for sustainability, assessing data and considering the need for new standards

?We operate in a fast paced and complex environment, so you must be flexible and resilient. A big part of what we do is delivered through others, so you will need to be enabling and inspiring to bring others on board with our vision.

Skills and Experience

Expectations of post holder in executing the role

We operate in a fast paced and complex environment, so you must be flexible and resilient. A big part of what we do is delivered through others, so you will need to be enabling and inspiring to bring others on board with our vision

You are expected to display a commitment to continuous improvement, leading change, and improving performance. All those appointed to new roles in the team must be wholeheartedly committed to these principles and evidence this in their application.

Strong leadership and sound programme delivery experience are critical elements of this role, as is the ability to prioritise and manage a workload, analyse complex information, present recommendations and make effective decisions.

You must provide clear direction and focus, visibly championing the changes which deliver greater efficiencies.

The Senior Leadership Team expects all leaders within the team to operate in a culture of openness and honesty, demonstrating a commitment to change through involvement and empowerment, and by delivering results.

The role will involve occasional travel to MOJ establishments throughout England and Wales.

Skills and Experience

Essential skills and experience:

• Demonstrable knowledge and experience of working in the fields of energy, water, waste, engineering, construction, estates or sustainability.
• Experience of identifying best practice in Sustainable Construction and how to communicate this effectively.
• Good understanding of Government initiatives on sustainability
• Experience of gathering data from a broad range of sources to analyse and inform decision making. Using and analysing data to produce reports to inform process and to support Business case. Ability to research, interpret and summarise complex information in a way that is relevant and easily understood both orally and in writing.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to persuade, motivate and empower others to deliver sustainable solutions.
• Must be a self-starter able to work independently as well as effectively as part of a team
• Experience of working effectively through others to achieve goals. Effective stakeholder management skills, including experience of influencing stakeholders who have diverse perspectives.
• Ability to quickly understand the wider strategic organisational context and pressures and apply a positive approach to Sustainable Construction Priorities.
• Experience of implementing policies or initiatives to address environmental issues and understanding the tools and techniques used to measure, and evaluate sustainability.
• A working knowledge of the BREEAM Process.
• At least 5 years environmental sustainability work, preferably in the construction or a related sector.

Highly Desirable

• Construction Project Management Experience
• Membership of a Construction or property profession such as Chartered institute of Building (CIOB) or an Environmental Organisation such as the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA)
• Membership of the Government Property Profession
• A practical working knowledge of the use of ITC packages, e.g. MS Word, Excel and Power Point.
• Knowledge of Construction Environmental Management Systems
• Working knowledge of the BREEAM Process
• An understanding of environmental management with experience of developing net zero carbon; zero waste; net gain biodiversity and water efficient solutions as well as climate change adaptation within existing buildings. 

Qualifications

Relevant qualification in a Sustainability or Construction discipline.

Government Property Profession (GPP) Technical Skills

The GPP Framework is aimed at staff working in property or property-related roles and consider property to be their career anchor profession. This usually encompasses posts where professional qualifications and experience are directly relevant to the work being undertaken. However, it is also applicable to those who are currently not qualified property practitioners but wish to make this their profession of choice. Those with a property background at any level are encouraged to register with the GPP, which exists to support property practitioners at all levels.

APPLY HERE.