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Head of Building Services Engineering

Location: Remote/CIBSE - London (Balham)

Competitive Salary + Benefits

To apply please send your CV and cover letter to Anastasia Mylona, [email protected], outlining how you feel you would be a great fit for the role.

CIBSE is looking for an experienced building services engineer to join a dynamic Technical team.  We are a membership-led charitable institution that plays a critical role in the growing and changing built environment sector.

This is an exciting time to join CIBSE, which has an ambitious membership growth strategy coupled with the need to make our Voice heard even further around the world.  Reporting to the Technical Director, the Head of Building Services Engineering is part of the team that is responsible for developing and growing the Institution’s technical guidance and reach in order to increase the visibility and influence of building services engineers.

CIBSE is growing and modernising to meet new challenges and ambitions.  The organisation is an unheralded champion in the fight against climate change and the transition to net zero. We also play a leading role in the building safety reform programme that was launched in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. This role provides a unique opportunity to increase the organisation’s impact and thought leadership, support its ambitions and attract a more diverse, global membership.

About CIBSE

CIBSE is one of the leading professional engineering institutions in the UK and overseas, having over 21,000 members across 100 countries – 29% of our membership is overseas. CIBSE is a charitable organisation, which plays a critical role in a growing and changing sector, and which has developed and diversified significantly over the last few years. CIBSE is at the forefront in the drive to improve performance and safety, health, sustainability and enable net zero carbon in the built environment.

We are fiercely proud of our heritage and history and have a justified reputation for excellence and exceptional technical quality. Our guidance and information products are widely adopted and recognised as the authoritative guidance for building engineering services design, installation, operation and maintenance around the world and the CIBSE mark is recognised globally as an indicator of quality.

CIBSE provides the voice for the profession, is consulted by government about construction, engineering and sustainability and is represented on major bodies and organisations which govern construction and engineering occupations in the UK, Europe and worldwide.

We are an Institution that boxes above its weight.  We are a focused team of 70 permanent employees and around 400-600 highly engaged volunteers, but our reach and impact significantly dwarf that.  For example, the work we did for the UK government on Infection Resilient Environments – the road map to help organisations and businesses safely back from COVID-19 – was downloaded by 194 of the 195 countries of the world.

Job Purpose

The role of Head of Building Services Engineering is a broad and varied one. They will lead the development of the Institution’s technical resources on the design, installation, commissioning, maintenance, control and POE of MEP systems, towards net zero buildings. They will advise the Institution and lead projects on furthering the Institution’s knowledge in the areas of, but not exclusively, heat pumps, heat networks, smart controls, electrification of buildings, digital engineering and AI. They will work with CIBSE stakeholders, including Special Interest Groups, Societies, Standing Committees, and other industry bodies and key professionals to identify gaps in CIBSE knowledge and develop opportunities and projects to address those gaps. They will work with CIBSE staff to deliver knowledge, training, and marketing content. They will technically support the Certification team in the delivery of the NABERS Scheme.

Working within a dynamic and competitive team, interacting with multiple internal and external stakeholders and managing a wide range of activities, this role requires self-motivation and strong leadership, coordination and interpersonal skills.

They will also be expected to deputise in the absence of the Technical Director.

Duties of the Head of Building Services Engineering include, but are not exclusive to:

  • Manage and co-ordinate the various day-to-day activities of the Technical Team, to ensure that CIBSE technical representation is so organised to provide a high-quality of technical input to internal and external stakeholders, in a timely manner, and deliver good value technical support to CIBSE members and wider industry.
  • Manage CIBSE technical input to the development of Building Regulations (Building Safety Act, Future Homes and Future Buildings Standard, HEM, Heat Networks, etc.) and industry standards (BSI, CEN and ISO). Specifically, contributing to CIBSE responses to consultations relating to the building sector, in collaboration with external stakeholders where appropriate.
  • Provide an initial internal point of contact for technical support within CIBSE, managing external technical enquiries, ensuring distribution of technical papers to key people, and coordinating the schedule of technical meetings to support consultation responses.
  • Provide technical input to CIBSE knowledge, including working with Standing Committees and other stakeholders to identify gaps in CIBSE knowledge and work with the Knowledge Team to propose, manage and deliver knowledge projects.
  • Identify and develop opportunities for specific projects relating to CIBSE’s core technical guidance, working with external bodies, stakeholders, academia and government as appropriate.
  • Provide technical support and coordinate the technical outputs of the CIBSE Special Interest Groups and Societies and Standing Committees.
  • Provide technical input to CIBSE Knowledge, Training & Events, Membership and Certification, including the development of new services ideas.
  • Provide technical content to the Marketing department, for media communications, and to the CIBSE Journal.
  • Provide technical support to the Certification team in the delivery of the NABERS Scheme.
  • Represent CIBSE in UK and International forums.

The Team

The Technical Team currently consists of 7 individuals but it is expected to grow over time in line with the expansion of CIBSE’s technical and international activities, the increase in our guidance and knowledge provision and the growth of our membership. 

Within the department are the following roles:

  • Technical Director
  • Head of Net Zero Policy
  • Research Manager
  • Technical Coordinator
  • Technical Consultant
  • Technical Consultant
  • Technical Programme Coordinator

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will be passionate about growing, nurturing and supporting communities and can lead and listen at the same time. They will also have ‘presence and gravitas’ and confidence in our strategy and our message as they may be called upon to represent CIBSE in the public arena.

Ideally, they will have:

  • A building services engineering or MEP graduate and minimum 2 years relevant experience.
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills and an ability to summarise complex documents effectively.
  • Experience in writing technical content.
  • Highly self-motivated and proactive.
  • Experience of working effectively in a team where work is sometimes carried out away from the office.
  • Working to deadlines & prioritise workload under pressure
  • Proficient use of word processing, PowerPoint & email packages i.e. outlook.

Whilst not essential, the following would be desirable:

  • Knowledge of the UK regulatory framework (Building Safety Act, Future Homes and Future Buildings Standard, etc.)
  • Knowledge of industry standards (BREEAM, LEED, NABERS, Passivhaus, etc.)
  • Knowledge of global sustainability issues such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, climate change adaptation, net-zero targets, circular economy, resource efficiency, etc.
  • Knowledge of learned societies and professional bodies within the engineering and construction sectors.
  • Whole life cycle of buildings.

Package description

  • Hybrid working where people are ‘in the office more days than they are not’
  • Contributory pension scheme (2% in first 2 years up to 8% thereafter)
  • 4x salary life insurance
  • Private Medical Insurance
  • 25 days annual leave pro-rata (plus Christmas office closure), plus bank holidays
  • A supportive and friendly working environment
  • The chance to make a real difference in a charity with growing ambitions that genuinely does make a difference when it comes to saving the planet and making the buildings we live and work in safer.

Location/travel

The role will be based at our Head Office. We are currently based in Balham.  However, we have just started a relocation programme which will move us into Central London – most likely City-fringes on the east side of the Circle Line.  This relocation is scheduled for later in 2024.

Our policy is that everyone has been asked to be in the office as many or more days than they are not (so, if you work 5 days a week, you are expected in the office for at least 3 of them) although a number of employees are office based for more than that.

The Institution is an equal opportunities employer. The post-holder will be expected to adhere to and support the Institution’s commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion.
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