Recruiting a Head of Facilities for Young Epilepsy

Background

Young Epilepsy is a national charity dedicated to improving the lives of children and young people with epilepsy and related neurological conditions. From a 300-acre campus, the organisation provides an unusual combination of education, healthcare, residential care and specialist support services on a single site.

The estate that supports this work is substantial: 70 buildings and approximately 320,000 sq ft of accommodation. Young Epilepsy asked Maxwell Stephens to recruit an experienced Head of Facilities to lead a broad and strategically important function.

The Challenge

The Head of Facilities was a critical appointment. Young Epilepsy needed a senior facilities management professional who could deliver the estate strategy, oversee major capital investment projects and keep the campus safe, compliant, efficient and fit for purpose.

The successful candidate would be responsible for:

• Delivering the long-term estate strategy
• Leading major capital projects ranging from £3 million to £9 million
• Managing a multidisciplinary team of 40 across Estates, Health & Safety, Domestic Services and associated operational functions
• Overseeing an annual budget of approximately £2.5 million
• Managing facilities services across 70 buildings and 320,000 sq ft of estate
• Ensuring statutory compliance, operational resilience and high standards of service delivery
• Supporting an environment that enabled Young Epilepsy to continue delivering life-changing services

Given the scale, sensitivity and complexity of the estate, the role needed someone who could combine strategic leadership with a hands-on operational understanding.

Estates of this kind are among the hardest to lead well. A campus that houses education, clinical services and residential care at once is subject to several regulatory regimes rather than one, and the people using the buildings are vulnerable, so the tolerance for a failed boiler or a missed compliance check is far lower than in a commercial setting. At the same time, a large in-house team spanning estates, health and safety and domestic services needs a leader who is credible on the ground, not only in the boardroom.

Our Approach

Maxwell Stephens developed a targeted recruitment campaign to identify senior facilities management professionals with significant estate leadership experience. The approach included:

• Detailed role analysis. Working closely with Young Epilepsy to understand the operational, strategic and cultural requirements of the appointment.
• Targeted candidate search. Identifying professionals with proven experience managing large, complex estates, ideally within education, healthcare, charity or similarly sensitive environments.
• Structured assessment. Detailed screening and multi-stage interviews to test technical expertise, leadership capability, budget management, capital project experience and cultural fit.
• Stakeholder collaboration. Close communication with Young Epilepsy's leadership team throughout, so that the shortlist matched both the role requirements and the organisation's mission.
• Onboarding support. Supporting a smooth transition for the appointed candidate into a complex and high-impact leadership role.

The emphasis on sector background was deliberate. Capital project experience and budget control transfer readily from one estate to another; familiarity with education, healthcare and residential care environments does not, and it is what allows a facilities leader to make sound judgements quickly on a campus of this kind.

The Outcome

Maxwell Stephens placed a highly capable Head of Facilities who quickly made a positive impact across the estate. The successful candidate has since:

• Delivered key elements of the estate strategy
• Led major capital projects within agreed budgets and timescales
• Provided strong leadership to a large multidisciplinary facilities team
• Improved operational performance across the campus
• Strengthened compliance, safety and service delivery
• Supported a high-quality environment for students, residents, staff and visitors

Why This Placement Worked

The brief was clear about the scale of the job — the acreage, the building count, the budget, the size of the team — and we searched at that scale rather than hoping a capable single-site manager could grow into it. Pairing that with a firm requirement for experience in sensitive environments produced a shortlist of people who had already done comparable work, which is what allowed the appointee to make an impact early.

This appointment reflects Maxwell Stephens' experience recruiting senior facilities leaders for complex, mission-led organisations where the estate directly supports the delivery of vital services. If you are recruiting a Head of Facilities or Estates for a campus, care or education setting, get in touch with our team.