Formed in 2018, RFL Property Services is a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Free London Group and has embarked on a journey of transformational change in the way estate services are delivered within the NHS and deliver a ground-breaking operating model for services that overcome traditional organisational boundaries and align across the ICS and Provider Alliance for NorthCentral London.
The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, our “parent” Trust, is one of the biggest NHS Trusts in the UK, delivering care through our 4 main hospital sites, North Middlesex, Barnet, Chase Farm and Royal Free.
The Opportunity
We are looking for a highly experienced Chief Engineer to lead compliance, technical assurance, and strategic engineering advice across several large acute hospital sites with a broad portfolio of premises, varying standards of systems and sources of information.
Key Responsibilities
Reporting directly to the Director of Technical Operations, you will:
- Lead on compliance and high-level technical assurance for estates and infrastructure across multiple acute hospital sites.
- Design, implement, and manage systems, control processes, and risk arrangements to ensure compliance with legal, national, and NHS standards, plus Trust-wide policies.
- Own engineering and technical systems compliance—including Fire and Asbestos management responsibilities (maintaining fire compliance documentation and a current asbestos register).
- Develop estates and facilities policies, standards, and services at a corporate level.
- Interpret and apply legislative requirements for Estates and Facilities services, ensuring full alignment with best practice guidance.
- Provide technical advisory support to the capital projects team and engineering function on major engineering infrastructure projects.
- Act as the professional engineering lead and expert advisor to estates staff, Directors, senior management, and relevant external agencies.
- Ensure all engineering maintenance, project work, and contracts meet required standards, specifications, and relevant NHS HTMs, HBNs, and Health & Safety legislation.
The Ideal Candidate
To excel in this role, you will need:
- Qualifications: Educated to degree level with Chartered or Incorporated Engineer status (CEng/IEng).
- Experience: Extensive experience in a senior engineering leadership role, ideally within healthcare or critical infrastructure.
- Knowledge: Deep knowledge of NHS technical standards (HTMs, HBNs) and statutory compliance.
- Leadership: A proven leader with multi-disciplinary Estates Strategy, Construction and Engineer experience.
- Project Expertise: Proven track record of delivering complex projects while protecting patient care and operational continuity.
What We Offer
- Salary: £102,108 – £113,633 per annum, depending on experience with opportunities for growth and development
- Annual Leave: 25 days annual leave plus public holidays
- Pension: NEST Pension Scheme
- Car leasing scheme via salary sacrifice.
- Wellbeing Benefits: A comprehensive range of discounted lifestyle and well-being benefits.
Our Culture
Our purpose is investigating in the future of health and our mission is to become the trusted partner of choice for designing, building and transforming innovative, sustainable, community-focused healthcare estates.
We value and celebrate diversity, equity, inclusion and equal opportunity. We strive to create an inclusive culture where everyone can truly be themselves at work and feel valued, recognised and empowered. We welcome applicants from all background and protected characteristics, and those who are interested in flexible working arrangements. We commit to providing any reasonable adjustments required.
For more information about this opportunity, please contact Kelly Liu, Head of People at rf-tr.rflpsrecruitment@nhs.net