Background
Kisharon School is a specialist Free School with a strong Jewish ethos, providing education and support for children and young people aged 4 to 19 with a wide range of complex learning needs, including autism spectrum conditions, physical disabilities, sensory impairments and additional learning difficulties.
As part of its continued development, the school completed the construction of its new Parson Street campus, a purpose-built facility designed to provide a safe, accessible and supportive learning environment for students, staff and visitors.
To support the transition into the new building, Kisharon School needed an experienced Site and Facilities Manager who could lead the operational handover, establish facilities management processes and make sure the site was fully prepared for occupation. The school engaged Maxwell Stephens to run the search.
The Challenge
The appointment was critical to the mobilisation and ongoing management of a newly completed educational facility. Taking over a new building is a different discipline from running an established one: the appointee inherits commissioning information, defect lists and statutory documentation from the construction phase and has to turn them into a working maintenance and compliance regime before the building fills with pupils. In a school for children with complex needs, there is very little margin for getting that wrong.
Kisharon School therefore needed a Site and Facilities Manager who could take ownership of both the building handover and the ongoing operation of the estate, so that the new campus met high standards of safety, compliance and operational performance. Key areas of responsibility included:
- Site mobilisation and building handover management
- Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) implementation
- Reactive maintenance management
- Health, safety and statutory compliance
- Fire safety and emergency preparedness
- Contractor and supplier management
- Service Level Agreement (SLA) oversight
- Building systems and infrastructure management
- Security and site operations
- Risk management and compliance auditing
- Minor works and building repairs
- Stakeholder engagement with staff, contractors and leadership teams
The successful candidate needed a strong technical understanding of building operations alongside the leadership capability to manage a complex site transition. Experience within educational environments and knowledge of compliance areas such as COSHH, asbestos management and fire safety were considered essential.
Our Approach
Understanding the requirement
Maxwell Stephens worked closely with the Headteacher, Trustees and senior leadership team to build a detailed understanding of the school's operational requirements, its organisational culture and the complexities of bringing a new campus into full operation. It was clear that the successful candidate would need to combine technical facilities expertise with strong organisational skills and a proactive approach to problem-solving.
Specialist search
Drawing on our facilities management and education sector network, we ran a targeted search focused on candidates with experience across educational facilities management, site and estates management, building handover and mobilisation projects, planned and reactive maintenance, health & safety compliance, contractor and supplier management, building services and infrastructure, operational risk management and statutory compliance. Particular emphasis was placed on candidates who had managed new-build facilities and overseen site mobilisation programmes.
Candidate assessment
Candidates were assessed against a comprehensive range of technical and operational competencies: facilities and site management expertise, building handover experience, health, safety and compliance knowledge, contractor management capability, maintenance planning and coordination, leadership and decision-making, crisis management and problem-solving, and stakeholder engagement and communication. The process was designed to identify someone capable of providing immediate operational leadership while supporting the long-term success of the new campus.
The Outcome
Maxwell Stephens appointed an experienced Site and Facilities Manager who exceeded the school's expectations both technically and culturally. The successful candidate quickly took responsibility for the site handover process and played a key role in ensuring the Parson Street campus was fully operational and ready for occupation.
They brought extensive facilities and site management experience, strong health, safety and compliance expertise, proven maintenance and contractor management capability, experience of supporting building mobilisation and handover projects, sound technical knowledge of building services and infrastructure, strong leadership and stakeholder management skills, and a proactive, solutions-focused approach.
Following the appointment, the Site and Facilities Manager established operational processes, implemented maintenance programmes and ensured compliance standards were maintained across the new facility. The benefits to Kisharon School during a critical stage of its development included:
- Successful mobilisation and operational handover of the new Parson Street campus
- Implementation of Planned Preventative Maintenance programmes
- Improved health, safety and statutory compliance management
- Effective contractor and supplier oversight
- Improved operational readiness and building performance
- Stronger facilities governance and risk management
- Safe, secure and well-maintained learning environments
- Ongoing support for staff, students and visitors
The placement gave Kisharon School the facilities leadership it needed for a smooth transition into its new campus, supporting the school's commitment to providing outstanding educational environments for young people with complex needs.
Why This Placement Worked
Site manager appointments for schools are often made on general maintenance experience alone. That is rarely enough for a new building. This search was scoped around the handover itself — mobilisation, PPM set-up, statutory compliance from day one — and around the particular demands of a specialist school, and candidates were assessed against both.
Maxwell Stephens supports schools, colleges, universities and specialist educational organisations with recruitment across facilities, estates and property management, including site and facilities management, building handover and mobilisation, health & safety compliance, maintenance, contractor and supplier management, and property and workplace services. If you are planning a similar appointment, get in touch with our team.