Estates Manager - Electrical Bias

OUR VALUES IN ACTION

• Care and Compassion • Quality and Teamwork • Dignity and Respect • Openness, honesty and responsibility

This position will be based at the Borders General Hospital (Melrose) but there will be a requirement to work flexibly across the Scottish Borders region serving acute and primary health care facilities.

NHS Borders Estates Department is seeking a suitably qualified and experienced Estates Manager with a strong bias toward electrical engineering. The post holder will have responsibility for the operational maintenance management of all electrical and mechanical engineering services across the NHS Borders property portfolio. A key focus of the role will be the safe, compliant, and efficient delivery of electrical systems management, resilience, and statutory obligations.

The post holder will lead and coordinate a multi‑disciplinary team of directly employed staff and specialist contractors, ensuring resources are utilised effectively and service standards are consistently maintained. They will oversee the operation, maintenance, and development of electrical infrastructure, including supporting planned upgrades, compliance programmes, and resilience improvements.

Candidates should be experienced in managing services through periods of change, capable of working with a high degree of autonomy, and confident in prioritising competing demands in a complex healthcare environment.

Excellent interpersonal and organisational skills are essential, along with assertiveness, diplomacy, and the ability to communicate complex technical information clearly at all levels. The successful candidate will be able to apply logical and practical problem‑solving approaches to ensure safe and effective management of electrical systems.

The post holder is expected to uphold and promote NHS Borders’ core values - quality, teamwork, care and compassion, dignity and respect, openness, honesty, and responsibility - through professional behaviours and leadership.

A commitment to ongoing professional development is essential, and the successful candidate must be willing to undertake further training as required to support the role.

There is also a requirement to participate in the emergency on‑call rota for Estates services and, on occasion, to work out with normal hours in response to urgent or emergency situations.

A full and valid driving licence is essential.

For informal inquiries please contact;

Gavin McLaren, Head of Estates, 01896 826382 or email gavin.mclaren@nhs.scot

As from 1st April 2026, the Agenda for Change full-time working week will be reducing from 37 to 36 hours per week. Part time hours will be reduced pro-rata. However, there will be a corresponding increase in the hourly rate so that pay will not be affected.

Due to legislative changes from 1 April 2025, this post may require a different level of criminal records check done than is currently the case. If the post is assessed as a "regulated role", your appointment will be subject to joining the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. If there is any change to what is currently required, this will be confirmed by either the Hiring Manager or the Recruitment Team. For more details on these changes please visit: Disclosure Scotland Changes.

To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service.

As part of the pre-employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check your entitlement to work in the UK. It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visa as well as EU settled and pre-settled status. To find out more about these routes of permission, please refer to the GOV.UK website here.

For specific types of post, if you do not have the necessary eligibility to work in the UK, it might be possible (though not guaranteed) to secure sponsorship via a UK Skilled Worker/Health & Care Worker Visa. However, this is only possible if the employer is a licenced Sponsor, and if the post does not fall below the current minimum salary threshold or ‘going rate’. Further information on these criteria can be found here.

It is ESSENTIAL that you have checked that you either already have an appropriate right to work in the UK or that the post would be eligible to be sponsored BEFORE submitting your application form.

**PLEASE NOTE: We cannot accept late applications so please ensure your application is submitted early***

NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.