About OC&C Strategy Consultants
OC&C Strategy Consultants is a global management consulting firm. In a professional services office the facilities function is visible to partners, staff and visiting clients alike, and it is judged on how the office feels to them as well as on whether the building works. That raises the bar on presentation, responsiveness and cost control at every level of the facilities team.
Our work with OC&C Strategy Consultants
Maxwell Stephens has recruited two roles in OC&C's Facilities Department:
- Facilities Manager, overseeing all property and office services, including reception, IT support, budgets and preparations for a move to New Street Square.
- Assistant Facilities Manager, supporting the Facilities Manager across hard and soft FM, compliance, contractors and budgets.
Facilities Manager
OC&C needed a Facilities Manager to oversee all property and office-related services. The brief required:
- Comprehensive management of office services, including reception, IT and building maintenance.
- Leadership of a core office team, including receptionists and IT staff, and front-of-house standards.
- Budget control, including approving invoices and controlling purchasing.
- Stakeholder liaison with landlords, suppliers and internal departments.
- Project support for office redesigns, moves and internal events.
- Health and safety and building management knowledge.
We started by mapping the full scope of responsibilities and the KPIs the appointee would be measured against, then drew on our FM network rather than relying on advertising response. Candidates went through multiple interviews and assessments covering leadership, budget management, stakeholder communication, project management and health and safety.
The appointee brought substantial experience of leading reception teams, managing budgets and liaising with a range of stakeholders. In post they lead the reception team and coordinate with IT and other departments, look after the upkeep of the building and all health and safety matters, manage budgets, invoices and purchasing, oversee third-party contractors, office supplies and security procedures, and support office moves, redesigns and internal events, including preparations for a move to New Street Square.
Assistant Facilities Manager
OC&C also asked us to recruit an Assistant Facilities Manager to support the Facilities Manager across strategic and day-to-day responsibilities spanning hard and soft FM, space planning, building maintenance, health and safety, business continuity, contractor management and financial control. Requirements included:
- hard and soft FM experience in a professional corporate environment
- detailed knowledge of UK health and safety, ideally with NEBOSH or IOSH
- managing maintenance contractors and service providers
- statutory compliance records and monitoring
- supervising and developing facilities staff
- contributing to budgets and value-for-money initiatives
- supporting or delivering facilities projects
After a detailed review of the role's operational, technical and cultural demands, we searched our network for corporate FM professionals with contractor management, compliance, project delivery and financial oversight experience. We assessed attitude and communication as closely as technical competence: OC&C wanted someone proactive, dependable and customer-focused, confident to own day-to-day responsibilities while working closely with the Facilities Manager.
The appointee took responsibility for key maintenance contracts and supplier relationships, helped maintain statutory and health and safety compliance, supervised and organised training for members of the Facilities team, contributed to the annual property and office-services budget and value-for-money initiatives, and supported projects and service improvements, freeing the Facilities Manager for longer-term planning.
Why it worked
Facilities roles in consulting firms are often broader than their titles imply, taking in front-of-house, IT support, budgets and project work as well as the building. Both searches mapped the full scope at the outset and assessed every candidate against each element, which is why each appointee could take on the whole role rather than part of it.
If you are recruiting a Facilities Manager or Assistant Facilities Manager for a professional services office, get in touch with our team.
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