Global Director of Estates & Facilities

Welcome to HWU

Thank you for your interest in the role of Global Director of Estates & Facilities at Heriot-Watt University.

This is an exciting time at the University as we have started the journey towards Strategy 2035, shaping our organisation to be fit for the future. As part of that, we are carefully considering how we are set up to enable the future growth of the University, as one integrated global operation. We are looking for a leader with significant experience of transforming commercial services, providing visionary and authentic leadership to a team of dedicated colleagues globally and at scale, and who can actively contribute to and influence the future global operating model of Heriot-Watt.

Heriot-Watt University is truly distinctive in its global operation through its campuses in the UK, UAE, and Malaysia, as well as through collaborative activity with partners around the world.

The University has established a reputation for world-class teaching and leading-edge, relevant research, which has made it one of the top UK universities for innovation, business, and industry. The University’s mission to create and exchange knowledge that benefits society, combined with its global presence and partnerships with business and industry, mean that the Heriot-Watt Group has a diverse and interesting portfolio.

As we face into the next 10 years, how we enable this offering through service excellence and delivery, will significantly evolve to be more future-focussed, global, commercial, and student-centric, than ever before. As our flexible study options grow, what it means to lead and run those services will also undergo an evolution so that we can sustain ourselves for the long-term.

We plan to have more students studying in our global campuses, as well as our online offerings, so it’s fundamental that our Estates & Facilities leadership can comfortably drive excellence in both the physical environments to reflect the future university, as well as build the strategic plan for the transition and enablement of our online campus. It is of course a balancing act to protect our core academic missions and values driven culture, whilst at the same time driving sustainability and efficiency in our global operations day-to-day.

Candidates for this role should be familiar with a day that could range from: performing due diligence on a prospective new location or facility, to ensuring we have the most competitive and delicious food offerings for our colleagues and students, architecting the energy strategy for the university, or indeed negotiating the best deal from our extensive real estate portfolio. In our university, the campuses, facilities, and services we offer to our students are the student experience as much as the world class education they receive, and this is one of the main reasons they decide to study with us.

The Global Director of Estates & Facilities role is one of the most significant and accountable leadership roles within Heriot-Watt, and I look forward to discussing the role with you and welcome you to apply.

Fiona Kyle

Executive Director of Global University Operations

About

Our Heritage and Scottish Roots

Founded in 1821 as the Edinburgh School of Arts, Heriot-Watt was the world’s first Mechanics Institute, born out of the Scottish Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, with a mission to educate working people for technical and scientific jobs. Our founding mission, and character of the University across the years has been to make education accessible and deliver tangible benefit to industry and society.

Over the years, we have grown from a technical college to a global university with a reputation for excellence in science, engineering, business, and design.

As we look forward, we reflect on our origins and build on this heritage which sets the foundations for our future and Strategy 2035.

Heriot-Watt University today

Heriot-Watt University is a charity registered in Scotland, with a distinctive multinational operation through its campuses in the UK, UAE and Malaysia, as well as through collaborative activity with partners around the world and its Virtual Campus. Heriot-Watt University Malaysia is a Private Higher Education Institution and subsidiary company of the Heriot-Watt Group; Heriot-Watt University Dubai is a branch entity; and Oriam – Scotland’s National Performance Centre for Sport – is also a subsidiary company, along with Heriot-Watt Trading.

A Distinctive University; A Sustainable Future

Growing from these Scottish roots in the 19^th century, the University remains renowned for employability, for access and inclusion; and for its applied research impact and global reach. The University has an exceptional track record in transnational education with a globally connected delivery model, enabling students to ‘Go Global’ and learn through global teaching teams across campuses and cultures.

The University’s staff and students are the bedrock of its reputation, and it is their achievements in teaching, learning and research, underpinned by our values as a community, that makes the University what it is today. These values – to Inspire; Belong; Celebrate and Collaborate – help us stay true, with respect for one another; understanding and valuing diversity.

We have an exceptional partnership with our students and, as a university community, we care most about the transformational value of education which is accessible and research which impacts on real world challenges and benefits society.

We are thought leaders in sustainability and see that future prosperity depends on us curating a future with institutional, environmental, economic and human factors in mind. As we look forwards in Strategy 2035, we are sharpening our focus and building on these strengths and characteristics.

Our Institutional Impact Statement is the anchor for our strategy, defining our purpose as follows:

WE ARE FUTURE SHAPERS. Our Purpose is to develop leaders to build an equitable, sustainable, and enriching society. Our community will leverage its global presence and focused expertise to provide applied learning and research to transform lives and address real-world challenges.

Strategy 2035

Our strategy focusses on applied learning for life and employability, with research that addresses real world challenges. We are partners, collaborators, entrepreneurs and innovators. We care about sustainability, about developing and educating people who will lead out and make a difference in the world.

Role description

Job Posting Title: Global Director of Estates & Facilities (Edinburgh based)

Salary Range: Competitive

FTE and Working Pattern: Full Time, Open Ended

Organisation Name: University Executive (Professional Services) – Estates & Facilities Directorate

About our School/Directorate and Team:

Enabling a global university through resilient, future-focused estates and facilities

Heriot-Watt University is a distinctive, research-led institution with a truly global footprint. With campuses in the UK, Dubai and Malaysia, and a growing portfolio of international partnerships, the University is operating within an increasingly complex academic, regulatory and commercial landscape.

With a history dating back to 1821 and as the University continues to evolve its global operating model and develop future partnerships, the effectiveness of its estates and facilities has never been more critical. We are therefore seeking a Director of Estates to provide senior leadership at a pivotal moment, shaping the operational foundations that enable academic excellence, international growth and long-term sustainability.

Our headquarters is in Edinburgh, with additional UK campuses in the Scottish Borders and Orkney. In Dubai, we operate a flagship international campus that is central to our financial sustainability. In Malaysia, we have a further owned campus serving a growing student community with flexible transnational education as standard. Both international campuses operate on outsourced Facilities Management models — an arrangement this role will review, challenge and evolve as we begin the transformation towards the University’s Strategy 2035.

Learn more about our Climate Action Framework

Purpose of Role

We are seeking an exceptional senior leader to transform and lead our Global Estates & Facilities Directorate, overseeing a diverse international portfolio spanning five campuses and services valued at ~£100m.

This is a high-impact executive role with a dual mandate: to drive transformational change across our global estate while ensuring world-class operational delivery, resilience and service excellence from day one.

Reporting to the Executive Director of Global Operations and working closely with the University Executive, you will shape and deliver a future-focused estates strategy, supporting our ambitions for growth, innovation, and an outstanding student experience.

The Opportunity

You will lead a global team of circa 400 colleagues, with full accountability for operations, capital investment, and commercial performance. Key priorities include:

• Transforming Estates & Facilities into a high-performing, digitally enabled, and commercially focused function
• Delivering a long-term campus and location strategy, including transition toward a future “virtual campus” model
• Driving operational excellence and consistent service standards across all locations
• Leading major capital programmes, estate optimisation, and commercial real estate strategies
• Embedding sustainability and delivering a clear pathway to net zero
• Enhancing space planning, asset utilisation, and income generation opportunities
• Strengthening partner and outsourcing models to improve quality, resilience and value
• Playing a key role in the delivery of Strategy 2035, influencing at executive and board level

You will also act as a visible leader of cultural change, building an environment grounded in accountability, innovation, and performance excellence.

About You

We are looking for a proven Global Director with:

• Extensive senior leadership experience across complex, multi-site environments
• A strong track record of driving large-scale transformation and operational improvement
• Experience leading major capital programmes and estate strategies
• Demonstrated success in commercialising assets and delivering value from estates portfolios
• Expertise in outsourced service delivery models and large-scale procurement
• A strong understanding of sustainability and net zero programmes
• Experience engaging and leading unionised workforces through change
• The credibility to operate at executive and board level, translating complex issues into strategic insight

Experience in higher education or similarly complex environments, along with relevant professional qualifications, is advantageous

For a full job description please click on the link below:

Global Director of Estates & Facilities

How to apply

GDPR personal data notice

According to GDPR guidelines, we are only able to process your Sensitive Personal Data (racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data, health, sex life, or sexual orientation) with your express consent. You will be asked to complete a consent form when you apply and please do not include any Sensitive Personal Data within your CV (although this can be included in your covering letter if you wish to do so), remembering also not to include contact details for referees without their prior agreement.

Due diligence

Due diligence will be carried out as part of the application process, which may include searches carried out via internet search engines and any public social media accounts.

Equality of Opportunity statement

Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised, and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all. Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website.