Relocation, Maintenance & Health and Safety Appointments for Glencore

Background

Glencore, one of the world's largest diversified natural resources companies, appointed Maxwell Stephens to recruit several key professionals to support the relocation and operational setup of its new London headquarters at Hanover Square. The move was a significant workplace project, requiring careful coordination to ensure the new office was ready to support Glencore's operations from day one.

Rather than recruiting for a single position, the assignment required Maxwell Stephens to identify specialists across office relocation, technical maintenance, and health and safety. Each appointment had a distinct responsibility, but all three needed to work effectively within the wider relocation programme.

The Challenge

The recruitment programme combined three specialist requirements within one time-sensitive workplace project. Four factors shaped the search:

• A time-critical relocation. The new headquarters had to become operational within a defined programme, so suitable candidates needed to be identified and appointed without compromising the quality of the recruitment process.
• Specialist technical expertise. Glencore required professionals able to support the technical and operational demands of a modern corporate headquarters, from building maintenance through to workplace safety.
• Operational continuity. The relocation had to minimise disruption to the wider business, so each candidate needed to understand the importance of careful planning, coordination and responsive problem-solving.
• High recruitment standards. Given the scale and profile of the organisation, Glencore needed professionals with strong track records in their disciplines and the confidence to operate within a demanding corporate environment.

The Key Appointments

Maxwell Stephens was tasked with recruiting three complementary roles, each critical to the relocation and the ongoing operation of the Hanover Square office.

Office Relocation Manager

The Office Relocation Manager took a leading role in coordinating the move and ensuring the new workplace was operational according to programme. The successful candidate brought more than a decade of experience managing large-scale office moves and was responsible for coordinating the many elements of the relocation, including:

• relocation planning and logistics
• stakeholder coordination
• move sequencing
• workplace readiness
• IT infrastructure coordination
• operational handover
• minimising disruption and downtime

This called for strong organisation and the ability to manage multiple interdependent workstreams within a demanding timetable.

Maintenance Technician

The Maintenance Technician was recruited to help ensure the new office's building systems and facilities infrastructure remained reliable from the outset. The candidate brought extensive practical knowledge of modern workplace maintenance, with responsibilities including planned preventive maintenance, troubleshooting and responding to technical issues.

Health & Safety Officer

The Health & Safety Officer was appointed to establish and maintain workplace safety standards throughout the new office environment. The role incorporated:

• health and safety procedures
• workplace risk assessments
• regulatory compliance
• identification and management of potential hazards
• supporting safe working practices
• maintaining appropriate health and safety documentation

The successful candidate's corporate health and safety experience provided important assurance during both the transition and the subsequent operation of the new workplace.

Our Approach

Maxwell Stephens developed a coordinated recruitment strategy covering all three specialist appointments. The objective was not simply to recruit strong individuals independently, but to identify candidates whose expertise would collectively support the new headquarters. Our assessment therefore focused on both role-specific technical competence and the ability to perform effectively within a major relocation programme.

Candidates were evaluated against experience in areas including:

• large-scale office relocations
• corporate facilities management
• building maintenance and technical services
• planned preventive maintenance
• health and safety compliance
• risk assessment
• project coordination
• stakeholder management
• working to demanding programmes
• operational problem-solving

Using our specialist facilities management network and targeted search capability, we identified experienced professionals able to meet Glencore's requirements within the necessary timeframe. Maxwell Stephens recruited all three key appointments.

The Outcome

The coordinated recruitment programme gave Glencore the specialist expertise required to support both the relocation and the ongoing operation of its new Hanover Square headquarters:

• A successful office relocation. The Office Relocation Manager coordinated the move and helped ensure the new workplace became operational in line with the required schedule, with careful planning minimising disruption during the transition.
• Technical support from day one. The Maintenance Technician provided dedicated capability within the new headquarters, supporting the reliability of facilities systems and ensuring maintenance requirements were addressed effectively.
• Established health and safety. The Health & Safety Officer implemented and maintained appropriate safety procedures, including risk assessments and compliance controls, helping establish a safe working environment within the new office.
• Greater operational readiness. Together, the three appointments strengthened Glencore's ability to move into Hanover Square with the required operational, technical and compliance resources already in place.

Each appointment addressed a different component of the relocation — project coordination, technical reliability and workplace safety — giving Glencore critical expertise at an important point in the development of its London workplace.

Why This Programme Worked

Office relocations tend to expose the gaps between disciplines: problems surface where the move team, the maintenance function and the safety function meet. By managing several complementary appointments as part of the same programme, Maxwell Stephens was able to assess candidates against the whole project rather than treating each requirement in isolation.

If you are planning a major office relocation or workplace transformation and need specialist facilities, property or workplace professionals in place before you move, Maxwell Stephens can help you scope the roles and reach candidates who have delivered similar programmes. Get in touch with our team.