Head of Real Estate

Role Mission

This is a rare and exceptional opportunity to lead the real estate vision of Hermès GB, where technical excellence and human connection hold equal importance. As Head of Real Estate, you will oversee the full lifecycle of our physical environments across the UK and Ireland, including the development of new stores, refurbishments, temporary boutiques, technical upgrades, and ongoing facilities and maintenance for all Hermès GB premises.

You will guide the planning, construction, design and delivery of complex, high‑profile projects, ensuring that every space reflects the craftsmanship, serenity, and timeless elegance of Hermès. From managing architect partnerships to navigating technical compliance and contractor tendering, you will bring a high level of expertise, precision and foresight to every stage of the process.

At Hermès, how we work is just as important as what we build. You will nurture collaborative, respectful and trusting relationships with architects, contractors, consultants and internal leaders, ensuring that each partner understands and upholds the Hermès spirit. Your calm strength, empathy and steadiness will cultivate harmony across teams and partners, protect our brand reputation, and nurture a workplace where each person can express their craft with care, confidence, and purpose.

As a spokesperson for the subsidiary and a key partner to the Finance Director, Retail Leadership, Security, Internal Control and Global stakeholders, you will represent Hermès with humility, integrity and quiet authority. You will be both a technical anchor and a human leader, shaping environments that embody excellence while fostering a culture rooted in care, trust and collective achievement.

Key Responsibilities

Real Estate Projects

• Shape and deliver the long‑term vision for Real Estate in GB, ensuring our physical environments embody the Hermès aesthetic, standards and spirit.
• Oversee new store openings, temporary spaces, refurbishments, and expansions; ensuring each project is executed with quality, grace and respect for the brand.
• Collaborate closely with Legal on all supplier and contractor agreements, ensuring partnerships are built on clarity, fairness, and trust.
• Support the CFO with lease negotiations, acting as a thoughtful and grounded representative of Hermès' interests and values.
• Work with the Retail Director to ensure layouts enhance the client journey and embody the Maison experience.
• Partner with the CFO and Quantity Surveyor on CAPEX planning, ensuring transparent and responsible stewardship of resources.
• Work hand‑in‑hand with IT, Security and Internal Control to ensure every project meets our standards of safety, compliance and technical excellence.
• Provide constructive, thoughtful feedback to architects and consultants, ensuring design vision is honored while meeting local requirements.
• Maintain project timelines with calm oversight; anticipating risks early, communicating with clarity, and guiding partners with steadiness and empathy.
• Ensure seamless cross‑departmental collaboration during handovers, supporting teams through transition phases.
• Support the Retail team with post‑handover needs, nurturing long-term quality and continuous improvement.
• Lead and implement minor works across the estate, maintaining the coherence and beauty of all Hermès spaces.

Facilities & Maintenance

• Partner closely with the Facilities & Maintenance Manager to prioritise preventative and reactive works with care and foresight.
• Maintain awareness of the condition and needs of all stores and offices, ensuring timely interventions and upholding Maison standards.
• Oversee F&M budgets with responsibility and transparency, ensuring resources support quality and longevity.
• Support supplier evaluation processes with fairness, kindness, and a commitment to excellence in delivery and relationships.

Compliance and Safety

• Collaborate closely with the Internal Control Manager to ensure all compliance standards are upheld.
• Ensure rigorous tendering processes, choosing partners who reflect Hermès' values as much as their technical capability.
• Work with Security teams on all safety and protection measures.
• Uphold the highest standards of Health & Safety across all projects and premises.
• Engage thoughtfully with Sustainability Consultants to ensure our spaces reflect responsible and future‑focused practices.

Team Leadership

• Lead the Real Estate and Maintenance teams with humility, empathy, and strength; creating an environment where people feel supported, valued and inspired.
• Communicate clear objectives aligned with Hermès strategy and nurture professional growth with patience and encouragement.
• Cushion your team from unnecessary pressures, providing emotional steadiness during intense project phases.
• Celebrate collective achievements and reinforce a culture rooted in respect, craftsmanship, and human connection.

About You

You are someone who leads not only with expertise, but with heart, humility, and emotional intelligence. You bring calm assurance to complexity and build trust through genuine human connection. Alongside these qualities, you bring the technical mastery and experience required to guide a sophisticated real estate function within a luxury retail environment.

Experience & Technical Expertise

• Significant experience overseeing end‑to‑end real estate project delivery within luxury retail, premium boutiques, or high‑end commercial environments.
• A strong background in store development, including new openings, refurbishments, relocations, and temporary stores.
• Proven experience managing multi‑million‑pound CAPEX projects, with the ability to steward resources responsibly and transparently.
• Deep understanding of construction processes, design phases, procurement, technical drawings, and consultant coordination.
• Familiarity with UK planning regulations, landlord approvals, building control, and statutory compliance.
• Strong experience collaborating with architects, contractors, quantity surveyors, engineers, and specialist consultants.
• Knowledge of facilities & maintenance operations within a retail network, ensuring smooth functioning and high standards across all sites.
• Experience managing FM tendering processes, supplier performance, and contractual negotiation (in partnership with Legal).
• Comfortable navigating and resolving project risks, delays, technical constraints, and unforeseen challenges while maintaining steadiness and clarity.
• Experience leading teams of project managers, coordinators, or FM specialists, nurturing talent and building a supportive, high‑performing culture.

Leadership & Relational Qualities

• A natural relationship‑builder who forms trusting, respectful, and long‑standing partnerships with leaders, suppliers, and internal teams.
• Calm but strong; able to hold boundaries, deliver difficult messages gently, and provide reassurance during high‑pressure phases.
• Highly empathetic, with the ability to cushion your team from project stress, supporting them with compassion and steadiness.
• Skilled at influencing senior stakeholders through respect, presence, clarity and grounded judgement, rather than force or pressure.
• An ambassador for Hermès values carrying integrity, humility, and respect into every interaction.
• A collaborative partner who understands that excellence is achieved collectively, and that how we work is as important as what we deliver.

Personal Attributes

• Warm, thoughtful, and grounded; someone who inspires trust and confidence.
• Resilient and composed, able to remain centered even during demanding project cycles.
• Detail‑oriented with a refined appreciation for craftsmanship, design and the Hermès aesthetic.
• Deeply committed to protecting the brand reputation and the wellbeing of your team.
• Thrives in environments where humanity, relationships, precision, and beauty coexist.

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