Service Charge Director (Finance Director)

Job Overview

Key Responsibilities

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Qualifications & Experience

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