Chief Engineer
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
This is your chance to lead operational, statutory, mandatory and maintenance delivery across multiple Kings College London campus locations and directly impact the spaces where research, teaching and innovation thrive.
You will be joining the engineering leadership team at an exciting time as King's College London evolves their estates division to enhance their exceptional student experience. The multiple landmark campuses under your responsibility blend historic architecture with cutting-edge facilities, creating a complex and rewarding environment where strong leadership truly matters.
What’s in it for you
- 30 days annual leave plus bank holidays and Christmas closure days
- Enhanced USS pension scheme
- Season ticket loan (available after probation)
- Wellbeing initiatives including discounted gym membership
- Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave, plus childcare subsidy scheme
- Access to comprehensive technical training and professional development pathways
- Responsible for the delivery across multiple assigned campuses including management of large multi discipline teams
- Developing, maintaining and managing the maintenance strategy in line with overall departmental objectives
- Developing, maintaining and managing all contractors and term service contracts across the estate
- Developing strong relationships internally and externally to enhance operational delivery
- Preparation of monthly performance reports and attendance at relevant meetings as required
- Contributing to the overall management of business, commercial and operational risk
- Recommending improved ways of working to support continuous improvement including setting maintenance standards and delivering on contract SLA’s
- Ensuring full compliance with all relevant H&S legislation and documentation
- It is essential you are fully qualified (M&E) to level 3 in either a mechanical or electrical discipline
- Proven experience of managing large multi discipline engineering teams across multiple locations including leading by example, management of change and being able to engage at all levels
- Proven track record of managing safe systems of work across multiple trades and buildings and proven track records of managing building compliance i.e. fire, water, asbestos etc.
- Financial budgeting experience to include profit and loss management
- Able to produce detailed reports and demonstrate engineering solutions to meet business needs
- Effective technical awareness of Operations & Project delivery in critical environments, critical thinking and technical problem solving and fault finding
- NEBOSH would be highly advantageous, though not essential
Working hours: 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday, based across a number of Kings College London’s campuses in Central London.
If you’re ready to step into the Chief Engineer’s role at King's College London and make a meaningful leadership contribution within a world-class institution, apply now.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion are central tenets of King’s Vision 2029. Commitment to inclusion means that King’s aims to create an environment where differences are not just respected but also valued and celebrated. Everyone should be able to bring their whole self to King’s. We therefore welcome all applicants regardless of identity, personal characteristics or background.
Application Deadline – 26th April 2026
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Highlight your M&E Level 3 qualification prominently as this is explicitly essential for the role
📊 Quantify your team management experience: 'Led 25-person multi-discipline engineering team across 4 campus locations'
🔧 Emphasise building compliance expertise including fire, water and asbestos management systems
💰 Include P&L management examples with budget figures to demonstrate financial responsibility
🎓 If you have NEBOSH certification, feature it prominently as it's highly advantageous for this university role
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Led 30-person multi-discipline engineering team across 6 campus locations, achieving 98% maintenance SLA compliance and reducing reactive maintenance costs by £180k annually
- •Developed comprehensive building compliance strategy covering fire, water and asbestos systems for 12 historic and modern buildings, ensuring 100% regulatory compliance
- •Managed £2.4M annual maintenance budget including contractor performance and P&L responsibility, delivering 8% cost savings through improved procurement processes
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Letter preview — tailored to King’s College London
Dear Hiring Manager,
King's College London's Chief Engineer position represents exactly the leadership challenge I seek — combining M&E expertise with strategic estates management across your prestigious multiple campus locations. My proven track record in building compliance management and multi-discipline team leadership aligns perfectly with your requirements for maintaining these landmark facilities.
My background in managing large engineering teams across multiple locations, coupled with extensive experience in fire, water and asbestos compliance systems, positions me well to enhance your operational delivery. I have successfully managed P&L budgets while ensuring full H&S legislation compliance in critical environments.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›How would you develop a maintenance strategy for multiple historic and modern campus buildings?
- ›Describe your approach to managing building compliance across fire, water and asbestos systems
- ›How do you ensure contractor performance meets SLA requirements across multiple locations?
- ›What systems would you implement for managing safe systems of work across different trades?
- ›How would you approach critical fault finding in a university's essential services?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you led a large multi-discipline team through significant change
- ›Describe a situation where you had to engage with stakeholders at different levels to achieve operational goals
- ›Give an example of how you've improved maintenance standards or processes
- ›Tell me about a challenging compliance issue you've managed and resolved
- ›Describe a time when you had to balance operational needs with budget constraints
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you led a large multi-discipline team through significant change
Describe a challenging compliance issue you've managed and resolved