Facilities Manager Recruitment for Julius Baer

Background

Julius Baer is one of the world's leading private banking groups, providing wealth management services to high-net-worth individuals and institutions across the globe. Operating within a highly regulated financial services environment, the organisation places significant emphasis on operational performance, workplace standards and service quality.

To support its London office in Farringdon, Julius Baer engaged Maxwell Stephens to recruit an experienced Facilities Manager to oversee facilities operations, workplace services and compliance, and to make sure the environment continued to support a fast-paced, professional workforce. The appointment mattered to the client on three fronts: operational resilience, regulatory compliance and the quality of the workplace experience.

The Challenge

The role called for a Facilities Manager able to balance strategic facilities planning with hands-on operational management within a sophisticated corporate office. The person appointed would be responsible for keeping the workplace safe, compliant, efficient and aligned with the organisation's wider business objectives. Key areas of responsibility included:

• Facilities and workplace management
• Building operations and maintenance oversight
• Health, safety and statutory compliance
• Contractor and supplier management
• Workplace services delivery
• Space management and workplace planning
• Budget management and cost control
• Emergency preparedness and business continuity
• Risk management and governance
• Stakeholder engagement and occupier support
• Continuous improvement initiatives

That is a broad remit for a single appointment, and the setting raised the bar further. In a regulated financial services office, compliance failures carry consequences well beyond the facilities function, and the standard of service expected by the occupier is high. The client therefore needed strong technical knowledge, commercial awareness and leadership capability, together with the ability to build trusted relationships with internal stakeholders and external service providers.

Our Approach

Understanding the Requirement

Maxwell Stephens worked closely with Julius Baer to build a detailed understanding of the organisation's operational requirements, workplace expectations and long-term facilities objectives. It was clear early on that the successful candidate would need to combine strong technical facilities expertise with a proactive, service-oriented approach; either quality on its own would not have been enough.

Specialist Search

Drawing on our established facilities management network, we ran a targeted search for candidates with experience across corporate facilities management, financial services environments, workplace operations, health, safety and compliance, building maintenance and infrastructure, contractor and supplier management, budget and cost management, workplace experience and business continuity planning.

Particular emphasis was placed on candidates who had managed premium office environments while maintaining high standards of operational performance and stakeholder engagement. Managers who have worked in that kind of setting tend to understand, without being told, how visible the facilities function is to senior occupiers.

Candidate Assessment

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

• Technical. Facilities and workplace management expertise, building systems and infrastructure knowledge, and compliance and risk management capability.
• Commercial. Budget management, commercial awareness, and contractor and supplier management.
• Behavioural. Stakeholder engagement and communication, problem-solving, operational leadership, and a continuous improvement and service delivery focus.

Throughout, the process focused on identifying individuals capable of delivering both immediate operational value and long-term workplace improvement.

The Outcome

Maxwell Stephens placed an experienced Facilities Manager with a strong track record of delivering facilities and workplace services within corporate environments. The successful candidate brought:

• Significant experience managing corporate office environments
• Strong knowledge of building systems and infrastructure
• Comprehensive health, safety and compliance expertise
• Proven contractor and supplier management capability
• Strong budget management and cost control skills
• Effective stakeholder engagement and communication
• A hands-on, solutions-focused management style

Following their appointment, the Facilities Manager took responsibility for the full spectrum of facilities operations, keeping workplace services aligned with employee productivity, safety and wellbeing. Working closely with internal stakeholders and external service providers, they have played a central role in maintaining a high-performing workplace that meets Julius Baer's operational standards and strategic objectives.

Candidate Testimonial

“I highly recommend Peter as a proactive and supportive Facilities Management recruiter. Peter has an extensive network in the Facilities Management space and quickly matched my skill set with appropriate roles, facilitating meetings with some incredible employers and helping to make the recruitment process efficient and rewarding. I highly recommend that you connect with Peter and his team if you are looking for an exciting new FM role.”

Why This Placement Worked

Facilities Manager briefs in financial services often list every responsibility the function carries and leave the recruiter to work out which ones will actually determine success. Here, the work went into understanding the office, the occupier and the standard expected, and then assessing candidates against technical, commercial and behavioural criteria in equal measure rather than against the CV alone.

Maxwell Stephens supports financial institutions, corporate occupiers and professional services organisations with specialist recruitment across facilities management, workplace operations and corporate real estate. If you are recruiting a Facilities Manager for a regulated or high-expectation office environment, get in touch with our team.