Background
St John's Winchester is a long-established charitable organisation responsible for managing a historic almshouse estate and wider property portfolio in the heart of Winchester. With a mission rooted in community, care and resident wellbeing, the organisation needed a senior estates professional able to balance operational facilities management with long-term asset stewardship.
To support the continued performance and future resilience of its estate, St John's Winchester engaged Maxwell Stephens to recruit a Head of Facilities & Estates to lead property operations, maintenance, compliance and strategic estates planning across a sensitive and historically significant environment.
The Challenge
This was not a conventional facilities management appointment. St John's Winchester needed a senior facilities and estates leader who could manage both the day-to-day operation of a live residential estate and the long-term strategic direction of its property assets, combining technical property expertise with empathy, leadership and an understanding of the sensitivities involved in managing heritage buildings within a charitable setting. Key areas of responsibility included:
- Strategic estates management
- Operational facilities management
- Planned and reactive maintenance
- Heritage and listed building stewardship
- Health, safety and statutory compliance
- Contractor and supplier management
- Asset management and lifecycle planning
- Resident-focused service delivery
- Sustainability and energy improvement initiatives
- Long-term capital planning
- Team leadership and stakeholder engagement
- Board-level reporting and strategic advice
The role required someone able to deliver immediate operational control while developing a long-term estate strategy spanning 10 to 30 years. Heritage estates add a further layer of difficulty: listed-building constraints, conservation-appropriate materials and specialist contractors limit what can be done and how quickly, and residents are living in the buildings while the work happens. Strong communication and stakeholder management skills were therefore essential, given the need to work closely with residents, trustees, senior leadership, contractors and external advisors.
Our Approach
Understanding the Requirement
Maxwell Stephens worked closely with St John's Winchester to understand the organisation's values, property challenges and long-term estate ambitions. The successful candidate would need to demonstrate not only strong estates and facilities management experience but also the judgement and sensitivity required to operate within a charitable, residential and heritage environment.
Specialist Search
Drawing on our established facilities and estates management network, we ran a targeted search for senior professionals with experience across estates management, heritage and listed buildings, residential property environments, charitable and not-for-profit organisations, facilities management, health, safety and compliance, asset management and capital planning, contractor and supplier management, and strategic property leadership.
Particular emphasis was placed on candidates who could combine hands-on operational leadership with long-term strategic asset planning. Those two capabilities are often found in different people, and candidates who offered both were the priority.
Candidate Assessment
Candidates were assessed against technical, leadership and cultural competencies:
- Technical. Facilities and estates management expertise, heritage property management, compliance and health and safety leadership, and asset performance and lifecycle planning.
- Commercial. Contractor management and procurement, and budgetary control and financial awareness.
- Leadership and cultural. Team leadership and people management, resident care, empathy and stakeholder engagement, and board-level communication and strategic planning.
The process focused on ensuring that every shortlisted candidate had the capability to lead both operational delivery and long-term estate transformation.
The Outcome
Maxwell Stephens appointed a Head of Facilities & Estates with strong experience managing complex property portfolios and sensitive operational environments. The successful candidate brought a blend of technical knowledge, compliance expertise, leadership capability and strategic estates planning experience. Key strengths included:
- Extensive experience managing complex estates and property portfolios
- Strong health, safety and regulatory compliance expertise
- Proven asset management and maintenance planning capability
- Experience leading in-house teams and external contractors
- Strong understanding of sensitive and regulated environments
- Ability to operate confidently with senior leadership and trustees
- A resident-focused approach to service delivery
Following their appointment, the Head of Facilities & Estates took responsibility for the estate and maintenance function, helping to strengthen operational control while supporting the organisation's long-term property and financial objectives. For St John's Winchester, the appointment brought stronger leadership of the estates and maintenance function, improved oversight of planned and reactive maintenance, better health, safety and compliance management, greater focus on long-term asset performance, improved contractor and supplier coordination, support for sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives, stronger strategic estates planning, and continued support for residents through safe, well-maintained environments.
The placement gave St John's Winchester a senior estates leader capable of protecting its heritage assets, improving operational performance and supporting the organisation's long-term charitable mission.
Why This Placement Worked
Heritage and charitable estates need a leader who can hold two timescales at once: the maintenance issue raised this morning and the capital plan that runs decades ahead. This search assessed for both, and gave as much weight to empathy with residents and credibility with trustees as to technical estates competence.
Maxwell Stephens supports charities, heritage organisations, residential communities and property owners with specialist recruitment across facilities, estates and property leadership. If you are recruiting a Head of Facilities & Estates or a similar senior role, get in touch with our team.