One Savings Bank PLC (OSB) is a specialist lending and retail savings group headquartered in Chatham, Kent. The group began trading as a bank on 1st February 2011 and was admitted to the main market of the London Stock Exchange in June 2014. Following previous successful consultation support, One Savings Bank approached Maxwell Stephens to support the recruitment of a Head of Estates and Facilities for the organisation.
Maxwell Stephens carried out extensive initial meetings and candidate screening to pinpoint the ideal candidates who fulfilled the requirements of the role and suited the organisation. From the shortlist we produced we sent the candidate who we felt matched the profile perfectly. One Savings Bank shared this opinion and following two interview stages they offered the candidate the job. Following this successful recruitment project, One Savings Bank have continued to work with Maxwell Stephens on a number of senior recruitment campaigns.
“I would like to thank Maxwell Stephens for the support and assistance they gave me throughout the whole recruitment process. Having been through various recruitment processes before, I have to say that Maxwell Stephens provided the smoothest recruitment experience I have had. I say this irrespective of the outcome. I am absolutely delighted to have been offered the role and I accepted it without hesitation. I see this position as a really great opportunity to work for a brilliant company and I was excited to take all of my skill, enthusiasm and experience to this organisation and provide a gold standard service.”
The Position
The Head of Estates and Facilities role carried senior and professional responsibility for the delivery and management of all esates and facilities services across the Group, leading the Facilities and Corporate Service team to deliver a “best in class” service in line with relevant policies, procedures, practices and regulations. With responsibility for the effective management of the facilities and corporate services, the position would have direct reports, including the Buildings Maintenance and Project Manager, Corporate Services Manager and Office Services and Helpdesk Supervisor.
The core responsibilities of the role included but were not limited to: ensuring the development and implementation of property estates and facilities management policies, procedures and systems; responsibility for the provision of health and safety procedures; developing suitable physical security policies; engaging with the risk team to ensure any threats to core business functionality were identified and managed; proactively asset managing the Bank’s wide ranging property portfolio; leading on appropriate cost quality control and management of facilities KPIs.
The Candidate
Due to the seniority of the position, extensive experience in relevant disciplines and areas was a necessity for the ideal candidate. At least five years previous experience in Facilities Management was essential, along with at least three years previous experience in property and estates management and line management. Comprehensive previous experience within health and safety was also a key compotent of the candidate profile.
The specialist nature of the role required a candidate who had knowledge in a number of key areas such as landlord and tenant estate management and negotiation, managing a property estate and facilities function including staff and budgets and a good knowledge of health and safety policies and practices. The ideal candidates personal attributes needed to closely align with the corporate ethos and values of One Savings Bank. They would understand departmental links and promote ‘joined up thinking’ across cross functional processes, prompting others to play an active role in the team and acknowledging and valuing different perspectives. Their communication would be structured, engaging and persuasive. They would need the ability to lead meetings and discussions effectively, instinctively adapting communication styles to meet the needs of the target audience.