Facilities Manager for BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT

Background

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, is the professional body for information technology, supporting IT professionals, organisations and communities through education, accreditation and thought leadership. It operates a high-profile London venue used by staff, members, volunteers and external guests, and it needed an experienced Facilities Manager to oversee operations there, improve service delivery and get the most out of the space.

BCS asked Maxwell Stephens to run the search. The role was central to maintaining a professional, welcoming and efficient environment, and it also carried responsibility for supporting wider organisational objectives across BCS’s other locations.

The Challenge

The Facilities Manager had to balance four things at once: operational management, commercial performance, team leadership and compliance, all within a busy, customer-focused venue. Day to day, that meant running the London facilities; more broadly, it meant contributing to the facilities strategy across the organisation.

The responsibilities included:

• Leading and developing a multi-functional facilities and support team
• Managing conference and event facilities to maximise utilisation and revenue generation
• Ensuring compliance with health & safety legislation and best practice
• Managing facilities contracts, suppliers and service providers
• Overseeing asset management and maintenance activities
• Managing operational budgets and financial performance
• Supporting facilities operations at additional BCS locations when required
• Maintaining strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Ensuring consistently high levels of customer service and user satisfaction

A venue that generates revenue from conferences and events raises the bar for a facilities manager. Every fault, late contractor or lapse in presentation is visible to paying guests as well as to staff, and the commercial side of the role means the facilities function is judged on income as well as cost. BCS needed someone who combined technical facilities expertise with commercial awareness, leadership capability and a genuinely customer-focused approach.

Our Approach

• Understanding the requirement. Maxwell Stephens worked closely with BCS to understand the role, the organisational culture and the operational priorities. From that we built a profile centred on facilities management experience in customer-facing environments, strong leadership and team management, venue and event facilities expertise, health & safety knowledge and compliance experience, budget management and commercial awareness, excellent communication and stakeholder engagement, and strong IT and facilities systems knowledge.
• A targeted search. Drawing on our specialist facilities management network, we ran a focused search for professionals with experience of complex workplace and venue environments. We prioritised candidates with professional facilities management qualifications or equivalent experience, proven operational leadership, strong customer service credentials, experience of managing contractors and service providers, and a proactive, solutions-focused mindset.
• Thorough assessment. Each shortlisted candidate went through a comprehensive evaluation covering technical expertise, leadership ability, commercial understanding and cultural fit — the last of these matters in a professional body whose venue is used by its own members and volunteers.

The Outcome

We appointed an experienced Facilities Manager who brought a strong blend of operational expertise, leadership skills and commercial awareness. The successful candidate integrated quickly, took ownership of facilities operations and set about identifying ways to improve service delivery, venue utilisation and operational efficiency.

Since the appointment, the Facilities Manager has:

• Improved venue operations. Day-to-day improvements have kept the London venue providing a high-quality experience for members, staff and external visitors.
• Strengthened the team. Clear direction, support and development opportunities have lifted team performance and maintained consistently high service standards.
• Reinforced health & safety compliance. Processes and compliance measures were tightened so the venue operates safely and in line with regulatory requirements.
• Increased operational efficiency. Effective management of contracts, suppliers and facilities systems improved operational performance without any drop in service delivery.
• Brought commercial focus. The candidate supported initiatives to optimise conference and event space utilisation, helping to maximise venue value while balancing internal and external requirements.

Taken together, the appointment has strengthened BCS’s facilities management function: better facilities performance and service delivery, an enhanced customer and visitor experience, stronger health & safety compliance, effective leadership of the facilities and support teams, better use of venue and conference facilities, and higher operational efficiency and stakeholder satisfaction. BCS now has an experienced professional capable of supporting both day-to-day operations and its long-term facilities objectives.

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 This Placement 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. The person appointed fits the role as it actually runs, which is why the improvements have come across operations, people, compliance and revenue rather than in one area alone.

If you run a venue, professional body or multi-use building and need a facilities manager who can hold operational, commercial and compliance responsibilities together, Maxwell Stephens can help. Get in touch with our team.