Becoming an estates manager | Salary, skills, requirements

As an estates manager, you'll be concerned with a site's historical or heritage preservation. You'll solve problems and maximise financial returns through careful management and coordination, ensuring the estate runs effectively. You'll also work to improve other areas, such as health outcomes or social integration.

The role can vary according to the type of employer and estate you work for. For example, an estates manager for the National Trust will have different responsibilities than one that works for the NHS.

An important part of your work will be to ensure that longer-term issues are planned for. For instance improving access, parking, and toilet facilities where there is a plan to increase visitor numbers to an estate's house and gardens. Another example is finding ways to facilitate an additional service within a hospital estate without adding any buildings.

Types of estates management

agricultural/rural/forestry estates
heritage estates - such as those owned by the National Trust
NHS facilities/hospitals
private estates
property management, including commercial and residential.

What does an estates manager do?

As an estates manager, you'll need to:

manage the land and/or property, which includes a mixture of farm or rural land, commercial or residential buildings, and care or hospital settings
manage staff and any volunteers, fostering a collaborative working approach, including towards external staff
plan, commission and manage contractors employed for a specific purpose, such as tree surgeons or building services engineers
organise repairs and maintenance
project-manage buildings and renovations
carry out and control the financial planning for a project
redevelop a site, possibly for preparation for a different use
deal with contracts for various aspects of the estate
oversee the development of the estate, ensuring it's being effectively run to meet objectives
carry out community engagement work, as well as inform and engage the local community to ensure positive visitor numbers and that facilities are as well utilised as possible
work with the landowners/senior leadership of the business to keep them up-to-date on developments or potential issues
stay current with legislation and regulations that affect the estate
carry out marketing activities, which will often include social media communication aimed at building a positive image, improving public perception, and encouraging community engagement.

Estates management salaries

Estates managers in the UK usually earn an average salary of around £34,000.
With a few years of experience, you can expect this to increase to roughly £48,000.
Some highly experienced or more senior estates managers can earn between £52,000 and £70,000.

Salaries can vary depending on the type of employer. Some organisations offer perks like health cover, discounted gym membership, a bonus scheme, company vehicle or car allowance.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

How many hours does an estates manager work?

Working hours for estates managers vary, but it's common to work a regular Monday to Friday week. There may be some weekend work, if an open event is being held on the estate, or a contractor needs to complete some work on a weekend. You'll usually work in an office as well as out on the estate itself.

Some part-time positions are available. Short-term contracts can also be found through recruitment agencies.

How do I become an estates manager?

There are no set requirements for entry into this role and a degree is not always necessary. However, estates managers often do have a relevant degree, HND, or foundation degree, or they may have considerable experience built up beforehand as a technician.

Because of the variety of the role, any of the following degree subjects can lead into different estates management roles:

agriculture
construction management
estate or land management
horticulture
property or facilities management
surveying.

You can enter with a foundation degree or HND, depending on the specialist area. Having a relevant qualification will enhance your chances considerably. Alternatively, doing a postgraduate course may help.

Search postgraduate courses in estates management or see RICS Courses.

If you plan to work within rural or land-based estates management, you'll benefit from having awareness of horticulture, agriculture, or landscape design. If you're more interested in working in an urban setting, knowledge of buildings management is useful.

What skills does an estates manager need?

You'll need to be:

good at delegation to get your own or others people's staff carrying out necessary aspects of the work
adept at financial management and budgeting, as you'll need to calculate costs and keep track of what money is being spent on repairs, garden maintenance, and building renovation ensuring the estate stays profitable
diligent about health and safety, to ensure visitors and staff are kept safe
efficient at managing projects, in addition to the day-to-day running of the estate
a good negotiator, including being commercially aware, to make sure the estate gets an effective deal with contractors, or when purchasing land or property
highly organised, as you'll need to juggle multiple issues of varying levels of urgency and importance
creative at problem-solving, as not every issue will have a textbook answer and there may be occasions where a novel approach is required.
You may also need to have a driving license, which can be a requirement for some roles.

Where can I get work experience in estates management?

Estates management roles can be very demanding, so you'll need to demonstrate excellent organisational skills and relevant sector knowledge. This is especially true for more rural or farm work.

Most employers want to see evidence of work experience and being able to demonstrate commercial and regulatory awareness can be particularly helpful to your application. Short-term contracts can be an excellent way to broaden your experience.

You can undertake work experience in a variety of ways, such as general summer work, through an internship, or as a shadowing opportunity. It's worth making speculative applications to organisations with the sort of estates you want to work in. Not only will the experience add to your CV, employers might also keep in contact if they know they’ll have vacancies.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Who employs estates managers?

Employment opportunities in the public sector are found in local councils, NHS trusts and housing associations. There are also opportunities in the charity sector, working for organisations such as English Heritage and the National Trust.

Private sector organisations also recruit estates managers. For instance: rural or farm management companies, property investment companies, and surveyors practices may have openings.

Some companies will contact university careers services directly with vacancies if they know the institution has graduates looking for this sort of work.

Look for job vacancies at:

Where can a career in estates management lead?

If you're working within an estates and facilities team in an organisation, there'll usually be opportunities to progress from a graduate role into management.

Specialisation in a particular area may be possible, too. Organisations such as the National Trust offer a number of graduate-entry positions that will lead to more senior-level positions with experience.

Opportunities to progress into higher management may be more limited on smaller estates, but the diversity of the work and early career responsibilities is often much greater.

You'll be offered a range of training opportunities once you're in a job. This will include training that's tailored specifically to the estate you work for. For instance, you might get a chainsaw license or bat survey qualifications if you work on a rural estate, or you may learn about managing listed buildings if you work for a heritage organisation.

RICS offers a range of professional development and CPD opportunities for people working in estates management. In fact, membership may be offered as part of your job.

You might also find you can develop professionally by gaining experience in different roles or with different employers.