Job Description

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The Service Charge Director is a senior financial and operational leader responsible for designing, implementing, and managing service charge and cost-recovery models for a large-scale, mixed-use urban mega-development. Acting as a bridge between property/community management and financial control, this role ensures long-term operational sustainability across mixed-use districts, residential neighborhoods, and destination assets.

The position oversees the full lifecycle of service charge strategy—from modeling and policy design to implementation, governance, and ongoing optimization—within a complex environment that operates more like a semi-autonomous smart city than a traditional real estate development.

Key Responsibilities

1. Service Charge Strategy & Modeling

• Design transparent, equitable service charge structures and budgets for residential, commercial, hospitality, entertainment, and mixed-use assets across the development.
• Develop and continuously refine cost allocation methodologies that fairly distribute shared infrastructure and operational costs among asset operators, tenants, residents, and sub-developers.
• Build financial models to simulate different service charge scenarios, sensitivity analyses, and long-term sustainability projections.
• Standardize service charge policies, procedures, and calculation frameworks across districts and asset classes.

2. Cost Recovery, Cross-Charging & Financial Governance

• Establish and maintain cost-recovery mechanisms, including expense recharges and cross-charge frameworks between the mega project client & developer, asset operators, and third-party partners.
• Define principles and rules for allocating infrastructure costs (utilities, district cooling, roads, public realm, common areas) based on measurable usage metrics and agreed allocation keys.
• Implement robust financial governance over service charge income and expenditure, ensuring compliance with internal control frameworks and external regulatory requirements.
• Oversee service charge accounts, reconciliation processes, audit readiness, and reporting to senior leadership and governance committees.

3. Smart City Data Integration & Operational Budgeting

• Leverage digital twins, IoT smart metering, and advanced FM systems to capture real-time operational data and translate it into accurate, automated service charge invoicing.
• Work closely with City Operations, Facilities Management (FM), and Engineering teams to align service level agreements (SLAs) with realistic operational budgets.
• Ensure service charge budgets reflect actual asset performance, utility consumption, maintenance regimes, and lifecycle requirements.
• Develop KPI dashboards and analytics that track cost recovery performance, variances, and trends at city, district, and asset levels.

4. Lifecycle Planning, Sinking Funds & Long-Term Sustainability

• Embed lifecycle cost planning into service charge structures, including the creation and governance of sinking funds and capital expenditure (CapEx) reserves.
• Ensure adequate provisioning for major refurbishments, infrastructure upgrades, and asset replacements over multi-decade horizons.
• Coordinate with Asset Management and Engineering to forecast long-term capital needs and integrate them into service charge and recovery models.
• Promote a financially self-sustaining operational model that minimizes reliance on ad-hoc developer subsidies.

5. Contract, Vendor & Commercial Alignment

• Align service charge baselines with contract management and vendor commercial terms, ensuring that outsourced FM and community management contracts are financially transparent and recoverable.
• Participate in tender evaluations and contract negotiations to validate commercial assumptions, service scopes, and recoverable cost structures.
• Monitor vendor performance against SLAs and budgeted cost baselines; recommend commercial adjustments, variations, and optimization initiatives.
• Lead periodic commercial audits to check vendor invoices, rate cards, and performance-linked remuneration against the agreed service charge framework.

6. Stakeholder Management & Communication

• Act as the primary liaison between Finance, City Operations, Property Management, Community Management, and Legal to ensure a cohesive service charge strategy.
• Communicate service charge methodologies, budgets, and reconciliations clearly to internal stakeholders, asset operators, tenants, and residents.
• Develop education and communication materials that explain service charge principles, usage-based allocation, and long-term lifecycle funding in accessible terms.
• Manage escalations and disputes related to service charges, ensuring resolutions are grounded in documented policy and transparent data.

7. Policy, Compliance & Continuous Improvement

• Develop and maintain service charge policies, procedures, and manuals that meet international best practices (e.g., RICS service charge codes) and local regulatory requirements.
• Ensure all service charge activities align with corporate governance standards and internal audit recommendations.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency, transparency, and fairness of cost recovery mechanisms.
• Benchmark service charge models against comparable mega-developments and global best practice to maintain competitive standards.

Qualifications & Experience

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Real Estate Development or Quantity Surveying.
• A relevant master’s degree (e.g., MBA, MScin Real Estate or Finance) is strongly preferred.

Professional Certifications

• Professional accreditation MRICS / FRICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) is highly desirable.
• Additional certifications in facilities management, project finance, or contract management are an advantage.

Experience

• Minimum 20 years of progressive experience in operational finance, commercial contract management, asset management, or estate management.
• Significant exposure to mega-developments, master-planned communities, district utilities, or tier-1 FM environments.
• Demonstrable track record in designing and managing complex service charge/cost recovery models in large-scale or mixed-use real estate settings.
• Proven experience working within data-rich, technology-enabled environments (smart metering, CAFM systems, ERP platforms, etc.).

Core Competencies

• Financial Modeling & Analysis:
  Expertise in designing advanced models for service charges, cost allocation, utility recovery, and lifecycle provisioning. Proficiency in scenario analysis and long-term cash flow forecasting.

• Commercial & Contract Management:
  Strong post-contract management skills, including variation analysis, vendor commercial audits, and cost optimization across multi-year FM and operations contracts.

• Strategic Thinking & Systems Design:
  Ability to architect end-to-end service charge frameworks that integrate policy, data, contracts, and stakeholder behavior into a coherent operating model.

• Stakeholder Engagement & Communication:
  Skilled at influencing senior leaders and non-financial stakeholders, translating complex technical and financial concepts into actionable decisions.

• Governance, Risk & Compliance:
  Deep understanding of internal controls, audit requirements, and regulatory expectations related to service charges and community management.

Parsons equally employs representation at all job levels no matter the race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability or genetic information.

We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest—APPLY TODAY!

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