Murphy Group Head of Facilities Recruitment

Background

Murphy Group (J. Murphy & Sons), the engineering and construction contractor, appointed Maxwell Stephens to recruit an experienced Head of Facilities to provide strategic leadership across a complex, multi-site estate.

The facilities function played an important role in maintaining the organisation's workplaces and supporting its wider business operations, with responsibility spanning both hard and soft facilities management services across multiple locations.

This was a senior appointment requiring a professional capable of moving beyond day-to-day service delivery to provide clear strategic direction across procurement, outsourced contracts, financial management, compliance, environmental performance and stakeholder engagement. The successful candidate needed to combine extensive facilities management expertise with strong commercial judgement, leadership capability and the ability to build effective relationships throughout the organisation.

The Challenge

Murphy Group required a Head of Facilities capable of leading a broad and commercially significant FM function while ensuring services remained efficient, compliant and aligned with organisational objectives. The role demanded a senior professional who could balance operational performance with longer-term strategy and continuous improvement.

Key requirements included:

• Strategic facilities leadership. Providing direction to the facilities team and ensuring hard and soft FM services supported the organisation's wider business priorities.
• Hard and soft FM management. Overseeing a comprehensive range of building and workplace services across multiple locations while maintaining consistent standards.
• Outsourced contract management. Managing, reviewing and retendering outsourced facilities contracts to ensure suppliers delivered the required quality, performance and commercial value.
• Procurement and commercial management. Developing effective procurement strategies, reviewing supplier arrangements and identifying opportunities to improve value for money.
• Financial and budget management. Analysing financial information, managing facilities budgets and ensuring expenditure remained appropriately controlled.
• Health and safety compliance. Ensuring facilities operations remained aligned with relevant health and safety legislation, policies and organisational standards.
• Environmental management. Maintaining appropriate environmental standards and ensuring facilities management contributed to the organisation's wider environmental responsibilities.
• FM systems and technology. Reviewing and implementing effective facilities management systems to improve operational visibility, reporting and service coordination.
• Stakeholder engagement. Building trusted relationships with colleagues, senior management, contractors and service partners while ensuring facilities services responded effectively to organisational requirements.
• Team leadership. Providing clear leadership to the facilities team, developing capability and creating a culture focused on accountability, service quality and continuous improvement.

Our Approach

Maxwell Stephens conducted a targeted search for senior facilities management professionals with proven experience leading complex, multi-site hard and soft FM operations.

Given the strategic nature of the appointment, our assessment extended beyond technical facilities knowledge. Head of Facilities searches often surface strong operators who have never owned a retender or a budget at this scale, so the commercial and leadership strands were tested as rigorously as the FM fundamentals. Candidates were evaluated on their experience in:

• senior facilities management leadership
• hard and soft FM service delivery
• outsourced contract management and retendering
• procurement and supplier negotiation
• budget and financial management
• health and safety compliance
• environmental management
• FM systems and technology
• senior stakeholder engagement
• team development and organisational change

Particular attention was given to candidates who could demonstrate the ability to combine commercial discipline with strong people leadership and strategic thinking.

The Outcome

Following a detailed search and selection process, Maxwell Stephens placed an experienced Head of Facilities who closely matched Murphy Group's operational, commercial and cultural requirements. The successful candidate brought significant facilities management expertise and quickly strengthened the performance of the function:

• Stronger strategic leadership. Clearer strategic direction for the department, ensuring operational activity remained aligned with wider organisational priorities.
• Improved contract management. A more structured approach to outsourced contracts strengthened supplier accountability and supported better-informed procurement and retendering decisions.
• Tighter financial control. The candidate's ability to analyse financial information and manage budgets improved visibility of facilities expenditure and supported stronger commercial decision-making.
• More effective procurement. Greater scrutiny of supplier arrangements and procurement processes helped identify opportunities to improve value for money while maintaining required service standards.
• Improved facilities systems. The implementation and development of modern facilities management systems strengthened reporting, operational visibility and coordination across the function.
• Stronger compliance. Close attention to health and safety and environmental responsibilities helped ensure facilities services remained aligned with regulatory and organisational requirements.
• Better stakeholder engagement. Strong communication and relationship-management skills improved collaboration between the facilities function, senior stakeholders and external service partners.
• Greater operational efficiency. The candidate's strategic and improvement-focused approach helped streamline processes and strengthen the overall effectiveness of facilities management across the estate.

Why This Placement Worked

The placement gave Murphy Group a Head of Facilities capable of combining strategic leadership, operational FM expertise, procurement, financial control, compliance and stakeholder management. The appointment helped strengthen the effectiveness of the wider facilities function while establishing a more commercially focused and structured approach to service delivery.

It also shows what a senior FM search should test for: not just the ability to manage day-to-day operations, but the capacity to transform FM performance, improve commercial control and align workplace services with wider business strategy.

If you are recruiting a Head of Facilities to lead a complex multi-site operation or reshape your FM function, Maxwell Stephens can help. Get in touch with our team.