Corporate Head of Estates Management (Client Side)

As Corporate Head of Estates Management (Client Side), you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our UK property portfolio. You’ll do this providing regular board papers by translating complex data into a narrative that is both digestible and understandable to the wider business.

You’ll be responsible for aligning property assets with the strategic goals of our four UK Business Units, ensuring environmentally sustainable and operationally efficient cost-effective solutions are achieved. Supported by the Senior Estate Manager, you’ll oversee the management of our operational and surplus property portfolio, leading on acquisitions, disposals, and lifecycle management of UK properties in strict compliance with AXA Group policies.

This role offers an exciting opportunity to lead the estate planning strategy, managing key stakeholder relationships, and driving innovation within our business operations. Working closely with HR and business leaders you will analyse workforce data, facilitate space planning, and support major property projects such as office relocations and refurbishments. Your leadership will extend to managing the UK Property Estates team and external partners, ensuring delivery of cost-effective, compliant, and strategically aligned property solutions.

At AXA we work smart, empowering our people to balance their time between home and the office in a way that works best for them, their team and our customers. You'll work at least two days a week (40%) away from home, moving to three days a week (60%) towards the end of 2025. Away from home means either attendance at one of our office locations, visiting clients or attending industry events.

We’re also happy to consider flexible working arrangements, which you can discuss with Talent Acquisition.

What you’ll be doing:

• Develop and implement AXA UK’s long-term property strategy, aligning with Business Unit requirements and group objectives.
• Collaborate with HR to analyse workforce data, conduct scenario modelling, and align space planning with business growth and transition plans.
• Manage key stakeholder relationships, supporting communication between UK Property Estates, global AXA Group, and external partners.
• Lead the UK Property Estates team and external providers to deliver cost-effective, compliant, and strategic property solutions.
• Oversee property acquisition, due diligence, lease negotiations, and disposal activities to meet strategic business needs.
• Foster innovation within the Estates team by promoting best practices, new ideas, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Support major property projects including refurbishments, relocations, and legal compliance with landlords and other stakeholders.
• Manage estate budgets, control costs, and implement risk management and statutory compliance practices across the property portfolio.

Due to the number of applications we expect to receive for this role, we reserve the right to close this advert earlier than the listed closing date to ensure we’re able to effectively manage interest. Therefore, if you’re interested in joining us at AXA, please don’t hesitate to apply.

We know that some candidates may be discouraged from applying if they don't meet every requirement. If you’re excited by this job and the prospect of working at AXA but you’re not sure you tick every box, we’d still encourage you to apply.

What you’ll bring:

• MRICS or FRICS qualified with several years’ experience, demonstrating strong knowledge of UK property market drivers, valuations, and planning systems.
• Proven ability to develop and communicate property strategies, translating insights into board-level presentations and cross-business opportunities.
• Extensive experience leading estates teams, external property consultants, and managing complex stakeholder relationships with a strategic, influential approach.
• Strong financial, commercial, and portfolio optimization skills, with expertise in estate management, acquisitions, disposals, leases, and legal considerations.
• Excellent communication, influencing, and presentation skills, capable of conveying technical concepts clearly to diverse audiences.
• Strong workforce planning experience with the ability to work across teams to collect analyse and interpret HR data: Identify trend patterns and headcount changes across Business unit teams and locations.
• Proactive, independent, and able to work effectively under pressure, managing workloads, priorities, and delivering within time and budget constraints.
• Willingness to travel across the UK when required.

As a precondition of employment for this role, you must be eligible and authorised to work in the United Kingdom.

What we offer:

At AXA UK, we’re appreciative of the people who work for us and our rewards package is reviewed regularly to reflect that. You can expect to receive:

• Competitive annual salary dependent on experience
• Annual company & performance-based bonus
• Contributory pension scheme (up to 12% employer contributions)
• Life Assurance (up to 10 x annual salary)
• Private health cover
• 28 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays
• Opportunity to buy up to 5 extra days leave or sell up to 5 days leave
• Wellbeing services & resources
• Cash/Car allowance £5,200
• AXA employee discount

To apply, click on the ‘apply for this job’ button, you’ll then need to log in or create a profile to submit your CV. We’re proud to be an Equal Opportunities Employer and don’t discriminate against employees or potential employees based on protected characteristics. If you have a long-term condition or disability and require adjustments during the application or interview process, we’re proud to offer access to the AXA Accessibility Concierge. For our support, please send an email to neil.birkett@axa-uk.co.uk.

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Who we are:

AXA UK Support Functions power AXA’s three customer-facing business units, providing the infrastructure, support and expertise to ensure our customers can always count on us. Whether you’ve got heaps of experience and qualifications behind you, or you’re just starting out, we’ll give you the support and opportunities to help you grow and develop with confidence.