Office & Facilities Manager for Berkeley Group

Background

Berkeley Group is a leading property developer known for creating high-quality residential developments and vibrant communities across London. Based at Chelsea Bridge Wharf, the organisation needed an experienced Office & Facilities Manager to support the smooth running of its head office and associated office environments, and asked Maxwell Stephens to run the search.

The role was central to maintaining operational efficiency, supporting employees, managing workplace services and making sure facilities standards reflected the quality and professionalism associated with the Berkeley Group brand. For a developer whose product is the built environment, the state of its own offices is part of the proposition, and the people responsible for them are held to a higher standard than in most corporate settings.

The Challenge

Berkeley Group needed an Office & Facilities Manager capable of overseeing a broad range of administrative, operational and facilities management responsibilities. Reporting to the Head of Finance, the successful candidate would need to combine strong organisational skills with facilities expertise, compliance knowledge and the ability to lead a diverse support team.

Key responsibilities included:

• Managing office and facilities operations across multiple office locations.
• Overseeing reception, administration and workplace support services.
• Coordinating planned and reactive maintenance activities.
• Managing contractors, suppliers and service providers.
• Ensuring health & safety compliance and statutory obligations.
• Supporting fire safety, emergency procedures and risk assessments.
• Managing procurement, contracts and office supplies.
• Supporting office moves, workplace improvements and operational projects.
• Leading and developing administrative and facilities support staff.
• Maintaining a professional, efficient and well-presented working environment.

The role required a proactive individual able to balance day-to-day operational demands with longer-term service improvements and compliance responsibilities. Office and facilities roles that combine a reception and administration team with hard compliance duties are harder to fill than either half alone: the best administrators are often light on statutory knowledge, and facilities specialists do not always want to run a front-of-house team.

Our Approach

Understanding the requirement

We worked closely with Berkeley Group to understand the operational priorities, workplace culture and leadership qualities the role required. Particular emphasis went on candidates with office and facilities management experience, strong health & safety knowledge, contractor and supplier management expertise, reception and administrative leadership experience, procurement and budget management capability, excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills, and professional qualifications such as ABIFM or MBIFM, or equivalent experience.

Targeted search

Drawing on our specialist facilities management network, Maxwell Stephens ran a focused search for candidates with experience of managing high-quality office environments in property, professional services and corporate settings. We prioritised individuals who demonstrated:

• Strong organisational capability across several workstreams at once.
• A proactive and practical approach to problems as they arise.
• Excellent attention to detail, in a business where presentation matters.
• Team leadership experience with reception and administrative staff.
• Strong service standards and customer focus.
• The ability to work effectively with senior stakeholders.

Candidate assessment

Candidates were assessed against both technical and cultural requirements, to confirm they had the facilities management capability, leadership style and professionalism to succeed in Berkeley Group's environment. The cultural test mattered as much as the technical one: a head office at this level has to feel well run to visitors and staff alike.

The Outcome

We placed an experienced Office & Facilities Manager who integrated quickly and took ownership of the workplace and facilities function. The successful candidate brought strong operational experience, excellent communication skills and a proactive approach to improving service delivery across the office environment.

The role covered office operations, health and safety, supplier and contract management, and team leadership.

Why This Placement Worked

Combined office and facilities roles succeed when the brief is honest about both halves. This one was: reception and administration leadership on one side, statutory compliance, contractors and procurement on the other, with a clear reporting line into finance. The search was built around that shape, and the candidate appointed fitted it rather than one part of it.

If you are recruiting an office, workplace or facilities professional who has to combine operational capability, leadership and service standards in a demanding corporate environment, Maxwell Stephens can help you define the brief and reach the right candidates. Get in touch with our team.