Background
KBR is a global provider of differentiated professional services and technologies across the asset and programme lifecycle within the government services and hydrocarbons industries. With operations spanning numerous countries and industries, KBR expects the same standard from its facilities management as from every other part of its operations.
As KBR continued to expand its global footprint and broaden its services, the importance of strong facilities management grew with it. Its estate is unusually varied — office space, industrial complexes and government installations — and KBR needed a Senior Manager of Facilities Management who could meet current needs while driving efficiency, sustainability and innovation in how those facilities were run. KBR engaged Maxwell Stephens to lead the search.
Formed in 1998 from the merger of M.W. Kellogg and Brown & Root, KBR is headquartered in Houston and employed around 38,000 people in 2024.
The Challenge
The difficulty with a brief of this kind lies in the range of the estate. An office portfolio, an industrial complex and a government installation each carry their own operating rules, compliance expectations and supplier markets, and a facilities leader whose experience is confined to one of them will struggle with the others. Add a global footprint, and the pool of candidates who have genuinely worked at that scale and breadth becomes small.
The brief also asked for more than stewardship. KBR wanted someone who would change how facilities management was done across the organisation, which meant looking for evidence of strategies implemented, not just operations maintained.
The Market for This Role
Senior facilities leaders who have run office, industrial and government estates are a small group. For the 35 Head of Facilities, Estates and similar roles Maxwell Stephens advertised from 2023 to 2026, the median top-of-range salary was £70,000, and the most complex briefs sit well above that.
The Search
Maxwell Stephens ran an extensive search, drawing on our network in the facilities management sector and applying thorough vetting to every candidate considered. A standout candidate emerged: someone with a wealth of facilities management experience in complex, multinational organisations and a demonstrated ability to implement forward-thinking strategies, well placed to lead KBR's facilities management into its next phase.
The Outcome
With Maxwell Stephens' assistance, KBR appointed its new Senior Manager of Facilities Management. The role led facilities management across KBR's office, industrial and government sites as the business continued to expand.
Why This Placement Worked
The brief was framed around the estate and the mandate rather than a generic senior FM job description, and the appointed candidate stood out for breadth across complex, multinational environments and for evidence of change actually delivered. Those two qualities are what separate a facilities leader who can transform a function from an otherwise capable operator.
If you are recruiting a senior facilities leader for a varied or international estate, Maxwell Stephens can help you frame the brief and reach candidates with the right range of experience. Get in touch with our team.
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