Facilities Manager for CEG

Background

Commercial Estates Group (CEG) is one of the UK's leading property investment, development and asset management organisations, responsible for a diverse portfolio of commercial properties and business destinations across the country.

To support the ongoing performance of its Birmingham portfolio, CEG asked Maxwell Stephens to recruit an experienced Facilities Manager: someone capable of overseeing multiple assets, maintaining high standards of service delivery and improving the occupier experience across a complex operational environment. The appointment was critical to the effective management of facilities services, operational performance and compliance across a group of high-profile commercial properties.

The Challenge

CEG needed a Facilities Manager who could lead facilities operations across multiple sites while keeping service consistent and efficient throughout the portfolio. The role covered both hard and soft services and had to support the wider objectives of asset performance, occupier satisfaction and operational resilience.

Key areas of responsibility included:

• Multi-site facilities management, with oversight of hard and soft services
• Contractor and supplier management
• Health, safety and statutory compliance
• Service charge and budget management
• Occupier engagement and customer service
• Operational risk management
• Sustainability and environmental initiatives
• Facilities software and performance reporting
• Team leadership and development
• Project support and operational continuity planning

The difficulty with a brief this broad is balance. The role required someone who could combine operational delivery with commercial awareness — maintaining service standards while delivering value and supporting long-term asset objectives — and who had the organisational and leadership skills to manage multiple assets, service providers and stakeholder groups at the same time. In our experience, portfolio-level FM candidates tend to be strong on one of those axes; finding both in one person is what makes multi-site property appointments hard.

Our Approach

Understanding the requirement

Maxwell Stephens worked closely with CEG to build a comprehensive understanding of the portfolio, the operational requirements and the strategic objectives attached to the role. It was clear from the outset that strong facilities management expertise alone would not be enough: the successful candidate also needed the commercial and interpersonal skills to operate effectively within a property management environment.

Specialist search

Drawing on our extensive facilities management and property management network, we ran a targeted search focused on candidates with experience across multi-site facilities management, commercial property management, hard and soft facilities services, contractor and supplier management, service charge management, health, safety and compliance, sustainability and ESG initiatives, occupier experience and property operations. Particular emphasis was placed on candidates with proven experience managing commercial property portfolios while delivering a high standard of customer service and operational performance.

Candidate assessment

Candidates were assessed against a comprehensive range of operational, technical and behavioural competencies:

• Facilities and property management expertise, including operational planning and problem-solving
• Financial management and budgetary control
• Contractor performance management
• Compliance and governance
• Stakeholder engagement and communication
• Sustainability and environmental awareness
• Leadership and people management

The assessment was designed to secure a facilities professional capable of making an immediate operational impact while supporting the long-term success of the Birmingham portfolio.

The Outcome

Maxwell Stephens appointed an experienced Facilities Manager with a strong background in commercial property operations, multi-site facilities management and customer-focused service delivery. The successful candidate quickly established themselves as a key member of the property management team, taking ownership of facilities operations and driving improvements across multiple assets.

Their key strengths included:

• Extensive multi-site facilities management experience
• Strong commercial and financial management capability
• Expertise across hard and soft FM service delivery
• Proven contractor and supplier management experience
• Strong compliance and risk management knowledge
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills
• Professional industry qualifications, including IWFM membership and IOSH certification

Working closely with occupiers, contractors and internal stakeholders, the Facilities Manager aligned day-to-day operational activity with CEG's wider investment, asset management and property performance objectives. Across the Birmingham portfolio the appointment brought closer oversight of multi-site operations, better management of hard and soft FM services, stronger budgetary control and financial performance, higher contractor management and service delivery standards, improved occupier engagement and satisfaction, a sharper focus on sustainability and environmental performance, strengthened health, safety and compliance management, and improved operational resilience and continuity.

The result was a facilities leader capable of delivering to a high operational standard while supporting the long-term performance and value of CEG's Birmingham property portfolio.

Why This Placement Worked

Portfolio facilities roles are often recruited on operational credentials alone, with the commercial and stakeholder side left to chance. Here, the requirement was defined with CEG up front to cover both, the search was run against that full definition, and the assessment tested for it. The appointment reflects the role as it actually operates across multiple assets, not a narrower version of it.

Maxwell Stephens supports property owners, investors, developers and managing agents with specialist recruitment across facilities, property and estate management — including multi-site portfolio management, hard and soft FM services, health and safety, sustainability and ESG, occupier experience, and property and workplace services. If you are recruiting for a similar portfolio role, get in touch with our team.