Background
Moore Stephens LLP appointed Maxwell Stephens to recruit a Facilities Services Manager to oversee facilities management operations across a portfolio of 10 sites.
The brief called for an experienced FM professional who could lead a facilities team, manage both hard and soft services, improve supplier and contract performance, and maintain high standards of health and safety compliance across the estate.
The Challenge
Multi-site facilities roles ask for a broader mix of skills than a single-building post. Three requirements shaped this search:
- People leadership. The appointee would lead and develop a team of eight facilities professionals, and the client wanted someone who could raise performance, accountability and consistency of service delivery rather than simply keep things running.
- Commercial management of contracts. Existing contracts needed reviewing against agreed KPIs, service levels and planned preventive maintenance requirements, with service provision benchmarked against industry standards. That calls for a manager as comfortable with the commercial side of FM as with the operational.
- Health and safety governance across an estate. The role carried responsibility for implementing, maintaining and auditing a comprehensive Health & Safety strategy across the whole portfolio. In multi-site environments, consistency between locations is usually the hardest part to achieve.
Our Approach
Maxwell Stephens concentrated on facilities managers with a track record across several sites rather than candidates whose experience was confined to a single building. Each was assessed against the four strands of the brief — team leadership, multi-site operations, contract and supplier management, and health and safety compliance — so that the client saw only people who could evidence all of them, not just the operational core.
The Outcome
We placed a candidate with the operational, commercial and leadership experience the brief demanded. In post, the Facilities Services Manager has covered the full scope of the role:
- Team leadership. Led and developed a team of eight facilities professionals, improving performance, accountability and the consistency of service delivery.
- Multi-site facilities management. Managed property and facilities management operations across 10 locations, overseeing delivery of both hard and soft FM services.
- Contract and supplier optimisation. Reviewed existing contracts against agreed KPIs, service levels and planned preventive maintenance requirements, identified opportunities for improvement and benchmarked service provision against industry standards to strengthen quality and cost-effectiveness.
- Health & Safety compliance. Implemented, maintained and audited a comprehensive Health & Safety strategy, helping to ensure legislative compliance and consistent standards across the property portfolio.
Impact for Moore Stephens LLP
The appointment gave Moore Stephens LLP an experienced Facilities Services Manager capable of improving operational performance while maintaining strong governance across a complex multi-site environment:
- Improved service delivery. Stronger team performance and a more efficient, consistent facilities management service across the estate.
- Better-run facilities operations. Improved processes, supplier performance and contract management, supporting greater operational efficiency and value for money.
- Strengthened compliance. Enhanced Health & Safety procedures and auditing, reducing operational risk and supporting a safer working environment across all 10 sites.
Why This Placement Worked
Estate-wide roles are often recruited on operational experience alone, with the commercial and compliance strands left to be learned in post. This search treated people leadership, multi-site operations, commercial management and compliance as equal parts of the brief, which is why the appointee could deliver measurable value across all four.
If you are recruiting a facilities manager to run a multi-site portfolio, Maxwell Stephens can help you define the brief and reach candidates with the breadth it needs. Get in touch with our team.