Background
Devonshire Property Group, a property management company based in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, appointed Maxwell Stephens to recruit an experienced Regional Facilities Manager to support its portfolio across the South East of England.
The role was responsible for strengthening operational performance across multiple sites, ensuring Facilities Management services were delivered efficiently, commercially and in line with agreed standards.
Given the regional scope of the portfolio, Devonshire Properties needed a professional who could combine property and building management expertise, financial control, stakeholder engagement and strong leadership, while keeping service delivery consistent across a diverse estate.
The Challenge
The Regional Facilities Manager role required a candidate capable of balancing operational delivery with commercial responsibility across multiple locations. The successful individual needed to manage budgets, monitor service performance, build strong relationships with tenants and contractors, and identify opportunities to improve value for money.
Key requirements included:
- Multi-site Facilities Management. Overseeing Facilities Management services across a regional property portfolio and ensuring consistent standards at each location.
- Budget and financial management. Managing site budgets and ensuring expenditure remained within agreed financial parameters.
- Service performance. Monitoring FM services against agreed SLAs and KPIs and taking appropriate action where improvements were required.
- Stakeholder management. Developing productive relationships with Centre Managers, contractors, tenants, clients and statutory bodies.
- Commercial and value-for-money focus. Reviewing service arrangements to identify opportunities for greater efficiency, improved quality and stronger commercial value.
- Contractor and service provider management. Coordinating internal teams and external suppliers to ensure Facilities services were delivered effectively and to the required standards.
- Health and safety compliance. Supporting strong health and safety management across the portfolio and ensuring operational activity remained aligned with relevant requirements.
- Business development support. Promoting Devonshire Properties' services and supporting wider commercial activity with existing and prospective clients.
Regional roles of this kind are harder to fill than a single-site post of similar seniority. The manager is rarely on site when a problem occurs, so they have to run the estate through reporting, supplier performance data and the people on the ground rather than by walking the building. Candidates who have only ever managed one site often struggle with that shift.
Our Approach
Maxwell Stephens conducted a targeted search for Facilities Management professionals with proven experience in multi-site property and building management. Our assessment focused on candidates who could demonstrate both operational competence and strong commercial awareness.
Particular emphasis was placed on experience in:
- Regional and multi-site Facilities Management, including property and building operations.
- Budget management and performance reporting and analysis.
- Contractor and supplier performance, and SLA and KPI management.
- Health and safety.
- Tenant and client relationships, and business development support.
- Team leadership.
Communication skills were also essential. Devonshire Properties required someone capable of working effectively with a wide range of stakeholders while maintaining a professional and solutions-focused approach.
Following a detailed search and assessment process, Maxwell Stephens placed an experienced Regional Facilities Manager.
The Outcome
The successful candidate brought more than three years of property and building management experience, together with strong commercial and financial capability. Their appointment strengthened several areas of Devonshire Properties' regional Facilities Management operation:
- Budget management. The Regional Facilities Manager managed budgets across multiple sites, maintaining close control of expenditure and supporting the achievement of financial objectives.
- FM service delivery. Greater oversight of Facilities services helped keep performance aligned with agreed SLAs and KPIs across the portfolio.
- Stakeholder relationships. The candidate developed effective relationships with internal teams, service providers, clients and tenants, helping create a more collaborative approach to property management.
- Health and safety management. Improved oversight of health and safety requirements supported stronger compliance and more consistent operational standards across the estate.
- Performance reporting. The Regional Facilities Manager produced accurate and timely performance information, using analysis to identify opportunities for further improvement.
- Continuous improvement. A proactive approach to service delivery helped identify opportunities to improve efficiency, value for money and operational performance.
- Team leadership. The candidate demonstrated effective leadership and contributed positively to the development of the Facilities Management team.
The placement gave Devonshire Properties a Regional Facilities Manager capable of balancing multi-site operations, financial performance, compliance, stakeholder management and service improvement. It strengthened operational efficiency and supported a more consistent experience for tenants and clients across the portfolio.
Why This Placement Worked
The search was framed around the commercial half of the role as much as the operational half. Many facilities managers can keep a building running; fewer can read a budget, challenge a supplier on SLA performance and support business development at the same time. Assessing for both from the start meant the shortlist reflected the job as Devonshire Properties actually needed it done.
It also reflects Maxwell Stephens' experience in recruiting Facilities Management professionals for regional property portfolios, where commercial awareness, strong relationships and operational discipline are all essential. If you are looking for a Regional Facilities Manager to lead a multi-site portfolio, get in touch with our team to discuss your requirements.