Facilities Manager Recruitment for Local Pensions Partnership

Client Overview

Local Pensions Partnership (LPP) is one of the UK's leading pension services organisations, managing more than £21 billion in pension assets on behalf of public sector pension schemes. Operating from multiple locations across the country, LPP provides critical services to thousands of members, employers and stakeholders.

As the organisation continued to grow and evolve, LPP asked Maxwell Stephens to recruit an experienced Facilities Manager to oversee facilities operations across its national office portfolio and ensure the delivery of safe, compliant and efficient working environments.

The Challenge

LPP needed a Facilities Manager capable of leading facilities operations across four UK offices while supporting the organisation's wider operational objectives. The role demanded a versatile professional with strong leadership skills, technical facilities management expertise and the ability to manage multiple priorities across a geographically dispersed estate.

Key responsibilities included:

• Managing facilities operations across multiple office locations
• Leading and developing the facilities team
• Overseeing health & safety programmes and compliance activities
• Managing supplier and contractor relationships
• Negotiating contracts and service agreements
• Supporting office relocations, internal moves and workplace projects
• Ensuring compliance with ISO standards and data protection requirements
• Managing facilities budgets and operational expenditure
• Driving service improvements and operational efficiencies
• Acting as a key stakeholder across the organisation

Multi-site facilities roles in a regulated, professional environment set a higher bar than the job title suggests. The appointee cannot be in four places at once, so standards depend on the systems, suppliers and team they put in place; and in a pensions business, compliance failures carry reputational consequences well beyond the facilities function. The successful candidate therefore needed to combine operational excellence with strong communication skills and the ability to build relationships at all levels of the business.

Our Approach

Understanding the Requirement

Maxwell Stephens worked closely with LPP to gain a thorough understanding of the organisation's operational structure, facilities requirements and long-term objectives. Particular emphasis was placed on identifying candidates with:

• Multi-site facilities management experience
• Strong leadership and team management capability
• Health & safety expertise
• Project management experience
• Supplier and contract management skills
• Experience within corporate or financial services environments
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement abilities

Targeted Search

Drawing on our extensive facilities management network, we conducted a focused search for professionals with experience managing complex office portfolios and delivering facilities services across multiple locations. We prioritised candidates who demonstrated:

• Proven operational leadership
• Experience managing workplace change projects
• Strong compliance and governance knowledge
• Commercial awareness and budget management expertise
• A proactive, solutions-focused approach

Candidate Assessment

Candidates went through a comprehensive assessment process covering technical knowledge, leadership capability, project management experience and cultural fit. Special attention was given to their experience managing facilities teams, leading office moves, overseeing compliance programmes and delivering service improvements, because those were the areas where the role would be judged.

The Outcome

We appointed a highly experienced Facilities Manager who brought extensive multi-site facilities management expertise, strong leadership skills and a proven track record of operational delivery. The successful candidate quickly established themselves within the organisation, taking ownership of facilities operations across all locations and implementing improvements that enhanced service delivery and operational effectiveness.

In post, the appointment delivered results across each of the areas LPP had identified:

• Multi-site operational leadership. Effective oversight across all four offices, ensuring consistency of service delivery and operational standards throughout the estate.
• Enhanced compliance and safety. Strong management of health & safety programmes, policies and procedures strengthened compliance and supported a safe working environment for employees and visitors.
• Effective project delivery. Workplace projects, including office moves and accommodation changes, were managed with minimal disruption to business operations.
• Improved supplier management. Through effective contract negotiation and supplier oversight, service performance was strengthened while maintaining value for money.
• Strong team leadership. The Facilities Manager built strong relationships across the business and provided clear leadership to the facilities team, driving engagement and performance.

Taken together, the appointment strengthened facilities management across LPP's national portfolio: improved facilities performance across all locations, stronger contractor and supplier relationships, greater operational consistency and efficiency, and better support for employees and business stakeholders, all while supporting the organisation's continued growth.

Why This Placement Worked

The search was scoped from the start as a multi-site leadership role in a regulated environment rather than a single-office facilities job. That framing put multi-site experience, compliance and governance knowledge, and a background in corporate or financial services at the centre of the assessment, and produced a Facilities Manager able to lead operations, manage a complex stakeholder environment and deliver lasting operational value.

If you are recruiting a Facilities Manager for a multi-site estate, or a facilities lead for a regulated or professional services environment, Maxwell Stephens can help you define the brief and reach candidates with the right combination of operational and leadership experience. Get in touch with our team.