Facilities Manager for BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT

About BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, originally the British Computer Society, was founded in 1957 and is the professional body for the UK's information technology sector. It has more than 68,000 members in over 150 countries and, as a Royal Charter charity, works to make information technology a force for good through education, accreditation, professional standards and policy influence.

Its London headquarters doubles as a conference and events venue, used by staff, members, volunteers, delegates and external guests.

Our work with BCS

After an internal recruitment campaign did not produce the right appointment, BCS asked Maxwell Stephens to recruit a Facilities Manager for its London headquarters and conference venue.

• Facilities Manager, London headquarters and conference venue

Facilities Manager, London headquarters and venue

The brief

Reporting to the Head of Facilities, the Facilities Manager leads a multi-functional facilities and support team, runs the London premises and supports facilities operations at other BCS locations when required. Responsibilities included:

• all hard and soft facilities management services, assets and maintenance
• contractor, supplier and service-provider performance
• health and safety compliance and statutory obligations
• conference and event facilities, with the aim of raising utilisation and revenue
• operational and venue budgets
• facilities policies, procedures and continuous improvement
• service for staff, members, volunteers and visitors

The challenge

The building has to work as an office for staff and as a public-facing venue for delegates and members, often on the same day. Every fault, late contractor or lapse in presentation is seen by paying guests and by the people the Institute exists to serve, and the commercial side of the role means the function is judged on income as well as cost. An internal campaign that has not worked also tends to mean the obvious candidates have already been seen.

Our approach

We built the profile around four requirements held together: operational management, commercial performance, team leadership and compliance. The search targeted facilities managers from corporate offices, conference venues and member-based organisations, where customer experience and operational standards carry equal weight. We prioritised proven leadership of small facilities teams, contractor management, health and safety knowledge, budget control, IT and facilities systems knowledge, and IWFM (formerly BIFM) and health and safety qualifications. Shortlisted candidates were assessed on technical expertise, leadership, commercial understanding and cultural fit, which matters in a professional body whose venue is used by its own members and volunteers.

The outcome

Maxwell Stephens placed an experienced Facilities Manager who matched both the technical and the cultural requirements of the role. They integrated quickly, took ownership of facilities operations, contractor management, health and safety compliance and support for conferences and member events, and began identifying improvements to service delivery, venue utilisation and operational efficiency.

Candidate testimonial

I was approached by Maxwell Stephens while looking for a new role. They were great to work with: genuinely interested in where I was at in my career and what I wanted my next steps to be; kept me up-to-date throughout the process; were easy to get hold of when needed; called me before and after interviews to see how they had gone and so on. It was great to deal with someone who understood FM and what I was looking for. I’d definitely work with Maxwell Stephens again in the future and would recommend others to do so.

Grace Dunkerley
Facility Manager, BCS

Why it worked

Venue-based facilities roles are often recruited as either operations jobs or commercial jobs. This one was defined from the start as both, with team leadership and compliance as non-negotiables, and candidates were assessed against all four. Searching across conference venues and member organisations, rather than corporate offices alone, reached people who already understood what a member-facing building demands.

If you are recruiting a Facilities Manager for a headquarters, venue or membership organisation where the building is part of the service, talk to Maxwell Stephens about defining the brief and reaching the right candidates.