Job Description

Flexible Working:

We recognise the importance of a healthy work-life balance, which is why we offer flexible working options, including compressed hours and remote working. Please note this role requires a minimum of 3 days per week in the office, with flexibility to work from home 1-2 days per week on average. Additionally, occasional travel to sites across the UK will be required.

About Us

GCHQ is an intelligence, cyber, and security agency with a mission to keep the UK safe. We use cutting-edge technology, ingenuity, and partnerships to identify, analyse, and disrupt threats. Working with our intelligence partners MI5 and MI6, we protect the UK from terrorism, cyber-attacks, and espionage. At GCHQ, you'll do varied and fascinating work in a supportive and inclusive environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork.

The Role

As an Estates Delivery Manager, you'll take the lead on complex, high-impact capital projects, bringing structure and clarity to our growing portfolio of capital projects. Your role will ensure timely, budget-friendly delivery while maintaining the highest standards of security and quality, guaranteeing that the benefits are fully realised.


This role offers an exciting opportunity to take on meaningful responsibility and accountability, with the chance to lead larger, more complex projects and manage substantial financial budgets. You'll operate confidently in secure environments and articulate plans effectively to a varied range of stakeholders, from senior leaders to technical specialists. As part of a well-established and growing team, you'll contribute to delivering critical infrastructure that supports national security, making a tangible impact on the built environment and the people who rely on it every day.


In this role, you'll have a unique opportunity to shape our workplace for the future workforce. Leading projects or workstreams from start to finish, you'll coordinate timelines, budgets, and stakeholder engagement and expectations to ensure outcomes align with operational needs. Proactively identifying and resolving risks will be crucial to maintaining momentum and ensuring timely delivery. Collaboration with internal and external stakeholders, will be vital to meet project objectives while upholding the highest standards of security and confidentiality. Building and maintaining effective collaborative partnerships with customers, suppliers, and service providers will foster collaboration and trust throughout the project lifecycle.


Whether leading a new build, overseeing a major office refurbishment, or managing a secure data centre fit-out, you'll be at the heart of shaping the future of our facilities. In addition to providing line management and task leadership to a small team of professionals, you'll support their development and enhance team performance. Drawing on experience in construction or project management, best practice principles will be applied to every stage of delivery, from planning and procurement through to implementation and review.

About You

Bring your broad mix of experience and expertise across project and delivery management, security, facilities management, stakeholder engagement, business change, and employee experience to achieve outstanding results. With a solid foundation in project management, you can confidently define and deliver outcomes in a structured and organised way, while also supporting the development of others through thoughtful task planning and team leadership. Your ability to deliver high-quality results with agility, focus, and drive will be key to your success in this role.


Understanding customer needs and translating them into effective project outcomes is essential. Your interpersonal skills will help build trusted, productive relationships with both colleagues and external partners, and shared insights that drive innovation and continuous improvement. We're looking for talented professionals with both line management and project management experience, ideally with a background in construction, estates, or facilities management. You may have worked as a Construction Manager, Quantity Surveyor, Site Manager, or in a role involving building infrastructure. Familiarity with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) methodology and National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) standards is desirable.



Being a self-starter with excellent time management skills and a positive, can-do attitude is crucial. Your ability to work independently and take initiative will be matched by your enthusiasm for shaping the physical environments that support our workforce. Whether managing office refurbishments or overseeing new construction projects, you'll help create inclusive, future-ready workspaces that enable our teams to focus on protecting national security.


As part of a team of like-minded professionals, you'll contribute to the delivery of transformational projects using established project management and construction principles. Your interest in the built environment and commitment to delivering meaningful change will make you a valuable asset to our team.

Training and Development

No matter your background or level of experience, dedicated support will be provided from day one. Starting with a structured induction at both departmental and team levels, designed to give a clear understanding of your role and the wider organisation. Gain insights and guidance from your team, which will help you settle in and build confidence in the new environment.


As for growing your career, you'll have access to a wide range of personal development opportunities, including training in Project Management, RIBA methodology, Facilities Management, and NEC contract management. If you're looking to achieve professional recognition, we'll support you in working towards Association for Project Management (APM) accreditation.


Mentoring opportunities are also available through the broader team, offering the chance to learn from experienced professionals and build your confidence. Our culture values continuous learning, with regular check-ins and a clear progression plan tailored to your goals. In short, support is always available, and you'll be surrounded by people who want to see success and who will help you build a rewarding career at the heart of national security.

Rewards and Benefits

You'll receive a starting salary of 53,496 plus other benefits including:

25 days annual leave, automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years of service, and an additional 10.5 days of public and privilege holidays. Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme. Interest-free season ticket loan. Excellent pension scheme. Cycle to work scheme. Facilities such as a gym, restaurant and on-site coffee bars (at some locations). Paid parental and adoption leave

Equal Opportunities

At GCHQ diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking, and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities, and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.


Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website:


https://www.gchq-careers.co.uk/life-at gchq/diversity-inclusion.html

We're Disability Confident

GCHQ is proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWP's Disability Confident scheme. This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain, and develop disabled people. As a Disability Confident Leader, we aim to ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who best meet the essential minimum criteria for this position, will be offered an interview, if it is practical for us to do so. (this is known as Offer of Interview). To secure an interview for this role, the minimum criteria (in order of application process) are:

You must meet the minimum pass mark for question 1 which explores your motivation to work for the organisation and this particular role. You must meet the minimum pass mark for question 2 which explores your skills and qualities for the role. You must meet the minimum pass mark for question 3 which explores your experience of delivering outcomes and managing risks.

There is a wide range of extra support available throughout the recruitment process to enable you to do your best. See our website for information on reasonable adjustments we can offer.

What to Expect

Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

Application sift: looking at your motivation, skills and experience for the role. Online interview, which will include technical and competency-based questions. If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment.

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 to 9 months to process, including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.

Before You Apply

To work at GCHQ, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can read our eligibility criteria.


This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It's something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. Find out more about the vetting process.


Please note we have a strict drugs policy. Once you start your application, you can't take any recreational drugs, and you'll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage.


Before you apply, we advise you to consider setting up a separate email address for your contact with us to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or surname and date of birth. This is good practice and will help you manage your application with us more securely.


The role is based in Manchester, so you'll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application, as we do not offer relocation costs.

Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.

Right to Withdraw Statement:

Please be aware that we reserve the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.