Head of Real Estate Services UK

Job Description

Head of Real Estate Services (RES) – United Kingdom

HSBC Global Services Limited is seeking a strategic, high-impact leader to take the helm of our extensive UK real estate portfolio. As the Head of Real Estate Services UK, you will be responsible for shaping the physical environment where our colleagues thrive and our customers connect. Operating within the Global Chief Operating Office (GCOO), you will drive the strategy for a diverse portfolio that includes iconic office spaces, critical retail branches, and high-stakes infrastructure.

This role is not just about managing buildings; it is about portfolio transformation. You will lead the “Future of Work” initiatives in the UK, implementing innovative workspace solutions, advancing our ambitious sustainability agenda, and ensuring operational resilience across the country. Based out of our UK headquarters in Birmingham, you will manage a large-scale outsourced operating model, ensuring that our strategic partners deliver excellence at every touchpoint.

Strategic Leadership & Impact

• Portfolio Stewardship: Direct the management of HSBC’s UK real estate footprint, ensuring alignment with the Bank’s business priorities and evolving operational needs.

• Supplier Excellence: Own the relationships with strategic service providers, driving commercial performance and continuous service improvement through an outsourced model.

• Financial Oversight: Accountable for the UK RES financial performance, managing significant operating and capital expenditure (OpEx/CapEx) budgets with rigorous cost discipline.

• Innovation & Transformation: Lead initiatives in portfolio optimization, workspace digitization, and sustainability to support the Bank’s net-zero ambitions.

• Stakeholder Management: Act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership, navigating a complex matrix organization to influence real estate strategy and outcomes.

• Risk Governance: Oversee the UK operational risk framework, ensuring compliance with HSBC’s global standards and rapid response to material issues.

Who We Are Looking For

• The Strategic Veteran: Extensive experience in Real Estate Transactions, Workplace, Facilities, and Project Management within a large-scale corporate environment.

• The Commercial Leader: Deep financial acumen and a proven track record of managing large budgets and outsourced strategic partnerships.

• The Culturally Fluent: A leader who fosters a high-performance culture, role-modeling collaborative behaviors and driving diversity and inclusion.

• The Transformation Expert: A change mindset with experience in simplifying and digitizing real estate activities in complex organizations.

• The Qualified Professional: Demonstrable professional qualifications in real estate, project management, or a related field.

Job Overview Data

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (UK Statistics)

HSBC is committed to transparency. As of our 2024-2025 reporting cycle, the following data reflects our UK workforce profile:

• Gender Representation: 50% of our UK employees are women. We are on track to achieve our global goal of 35% women in senior leadership by the end of 2025 (currently 32.3% in the UK).

• Ethnicity: 24% of our UK workforce identifies as being from an ethnic minority background.

• Black Heritage Ambition: We have a specific target of 3.4% of leadership roles held by Black heritage colleagues by 2025 (currently at 3.0%).

• Disability: As a Disability Confident Leader, 7.6% of our UK employees self-identify as having a disability.

• LGBTQ+: 8.6% of our colleagues self-identify as Lesbian, Gay, or Bisexual.