Background
ISG is one of the UK's leading construction, fit-out and engineering businesses, delivering complex projects across commercial, education, healthcare, retail and public sector environments. It operates from an international headquarters in the City of London, and for a business whose trade is the quality of the built environment, the standard of its own workplace matters: the office is used by employees and clients alike, and it has to run well every day.
To strengthen its internal Facilities team, ISG appointed Maxwell Stephens to recruit a Facilities Co-ordinator — the position responsible for the smooth day-to-day operation of the London headquarters, working in support of the Head of Facilities.
The Challenge
Facilities Co-ordinator is often read as a purely operational job. In a headquarters of this kind it is closer to a hub role: the person in it balances several priorities at once and sets the standard of workplace experience for everyone using the building. ISG's brief covered the following responsibilities:
- Coordinating the daily operation of the office, reception and post room functions.
- Managing supplier and contractor relationships so that service standards stay consistently high.
- Supporting health & safety compliance and workplace risk management.
- Assisting with office moves, space planning and internal logistics.
- Responding quickly to facilities issues while maintaining a high level of customer service.
- Supporting the Head of Facilities with operational reporting, administration and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Acting as the central point of communication between employees, contractors and service providers.
Beyond the technical side of the role, ISG needed someone with strong organisational skills, close attention to detail and the confidence to build working relationships across the business. That last requirement is the one that narrows the field. Plenty of candidates can run a post room or log a reactive job; fewer can do so while being the visible, approachable face of the Facilities team in a corporate headquarters, and fewer still actively want a role defined by that visibility.
Our Approach
Maxwell Stephens specialises in facilities management recruitment, and we ran a targeted search rather than relying on advertising response. The aim was to find candidates with the right combination of operational experience, customer service standards and cultural fit for ISG. The process had four stages:
- Detailed role consultation. We worked closely with ISG to understand the responsibilities, the reporting structure and the type of individual who would thrive in a fast-paced corporate environment, so that candidates were assessed against how the role actually operates rather than a generic job description.
- Targeted candidate search. We drew on our facilities management network to identify professionals with experience supporting high-profile corporate workplaces, where the expectations of both employees and visiting clients are high.
- Competency-based assessment. In-depth interviews focused on organisation, stakeholder management, problem-solving, communication and operational delivery — the attributes that determine whether a co-ordinator copes when several things go wrong at once.
- Cultural fit evaluation. Shortlisted candidates were assessed for the professionalism, initiative and customer-focused approach needed to represent the Facilities team across the wider organisation.
The Outcome
Maxwell Stephens placed a Facilities Co-ordinator who quickly became an integral member of ISG's Facilities team. The successful candidate has:
- Delivered efficient day-to-day coordination of workplace operations across the London headquarters.
- Built strong relationships with suppliers and contractors, improving service delivery and responsiveness.
- Supported the continued maintenance of health & safety and workplace compliance standards.
- Coordinated office moves, internal logistics and workplace support activities with minimal disruption to business operations.
- Shown strong organisational ability, attention to detail and proactive problem-solving.
- Improved the employee and visitor experience by keeping the workplace running smoothly and professionally every day.
Why This Placement Worked
Co-ordinator-level facilities roles are frequently under-specified. They are recruited as administrative posts with a facilities element attached, and the appointment then struggles with the supplier management, compliance and logistics that make up most of the real workload. ISG's brief set out the full scope from the start, and we assessed candidates against all of it.
The appointment also reflects the range of Maxwell Stephens' facilities management work: we recruit at every level, from operational support roles through to senior leadership appointments, and the same discipline applies to each. If you are recruiting a Facilities Co-ordinator or a similar workplace support role, get in touch with our team to discuss the brief.