John Brown Media Facilities Manager Recruitment

Background

John Brown Media, a specialist business operating across marketing communications, media and publishing, appointed Maxwell Stephens to recruit an experienced Facilities Manager to oversee its workplace operations.

The role was central to maintaining a safe, efficient and productive working environment, with responsibility spanning building maintenance, health and safety, budgets, supplier management, workplace services and team leadership.

Given the breadth of the remit, John Brown Media needed a facilities management professional who could combine strong operational experience, commercial awareness, people leadership and a proactive approach to compliance and service improvement.

The Challenge

The Facilities Manager role covered a wide range of operational and strategic responsibilities. The successful candidate needed to manage day-to-day workplace services while also controlling costs, maintaining compliance and ensuring employees received a consistently high standard of support. The key responsibilities were:

• Building maintenance & workplace operations. Overseeing general maintenance and keeping buildings, equipment and workplace services reliable and fit for purpose.
• Health & safety leadership. Acting as the workplace safety representative, carrying out risk assessments and managing health and safety policies and procedures.
• Compliance management. Coordinating activities including fire drills, PAT testing, water treatment and pest-control services while making sure relevant requirements were properly managed.
• Budget & cost management. Taking responsibility for facilities budgets, reviewing expenditure and identifying appropriate cost-saving opportunities.
• Contract & supplier management. Reviewing facilities contracts and working closely with maintenance contractors and subcontractors so that repairs and services were delivered effectively.
• Team leadership. Leading and motivating the facilities team while maintaining strong standards across Reception, Post Room and Catering operations.
• Facilities meetings & task management. Chairing regular facilities meetings, prioritising operational requirements and delegating responsibilities effectively.
• Event coordination. Supporting company events and ensuring facilities-related logistics were organised and delivered smoothly.

In a creative business, the facilities function is judged less on its systems than on how the workplace feels to the people using it. That puts a premium on a manager who is visible, responsive and comfortable running front-of-house services as well as the building behind them.

Our Recruitment Approach

Maxwell Stephens conducted a targeted search for facilities management professionals with proven experience in corporate workplace operations, health and safety, team leadership and supplier management. Our assessment focused on candidates who could demonstrate:

• broad facilities management experience
• building-maintenance knowledge
• health and safety and risk-management capability
• budgetary and commercial awareness
• contractor and supplier management
• leadership of workplace-support teams
• strong organisation and prioritisation
• clear stakeholder communication
• a proactive approach to continuous improvement

Particular attention was given to candidates capable of balancing operational demands with the service expectations of a creative and fast-moving working environment. Candidates were asked to talk through how they had run compliance routines and supplier reviews in previous roles, since those are the areas where a broad remit most often slips.

The Outcome

Following a detailed search and assessment process, Maxwell Stephens placed a highly experienced Facilities Manager with John Brown Media. The appointment strengthened several areas of the workplace operation:

• Operational efficiency. A more structured approach to facilities activity, improving day-to-day coordination and workplace performance.
• Health & safety management. Clear oversight of risk assessments, policies and routine compliance activities, maintaining a safe and well-managed working environment.
• Budget control. Effective management of facilities expenditure and regular review of contracts, identifying cost efficiencies without compromising essential services.
• Supplier management. Closer coordination with maintenance contractors and service providers, improving accountability and the delivery of building repairs and workplace services.
• Team leadership. Clear direction for the facilities team, maintaining strong standards across Reception, Post Room, Catering and wider support functions.
• Compliance coordination. Regular activities such as fire drills, PAT testing, water treatment and pest-control arrangements managed within a more structured facilities framework.
• Workplace support. Broad operational experience that kept facilities services supporting employees effectively while responding to the changing needs of the business.

The placement gave John Brown Media a Facilities Manager capable of balancing building operations, compliance, financial control, supplier management and team leadership within a busy corporate environment.

Why This Placement Worked

The appointment demonstrates Maxwell Stephens' ability to identify facilities management professionals who can strengthen both the day-to-day performance and longer-term efficiency of workplace operations. Generalist facilities roles of this kind are easy to under-specify; assessing candidates against each strand of the remit, rather than on overall seniority, is what produces a manager who can hold all of it.

If you are looking for an experienced Facilities Manager to improve workplace operations, compliance and team performance, Maxwell Stephens can help you define the brief and reach the right candidates. Get in touch with our team.