Executive Facilities Management Recruitment for Paddy Power Betfair

Background

Paddy Power Betfair (now Flutter Entertainment) is one of the world's largest sports betting and gaming companies, operating a portfolio of internationally recognised brands across retail, online and mobile platforms. With thousands of employees and offices throughout Europe, the business supports millions of customers through its technology and digital products, and its workplace environment has evolved rapidly alongside them.

As the organisation continued its international expansion, Paddy Power Betfair appointed Maxwell Stephens to recruit several senior Workplace, Corporate Real Estate and Health & Safety leaders. These appointments underpinned the organisation's global workplace strategy, operational governance and continued growth. The assignments were:

• Senior Workspace Manager – Health, Safety, Security & Environment (HSSE)
• Head of Health, Safety & Quality Assurance (HSQA)
• Senior Manager – Corporate Real Estate, Contracts & Services

These were specialised appointments requiring experienced leaders capable of operating across multiple international locations.

The Challenge

Each position carried significant strategic responsibility and required professionals capable of operating within a fast-moving, international corporate environment. Recruiting three related senior roles for one organisation also meant the appointments had to work as a team, with clear boundaries between HSSE, quality assurance and the commercial management of the estate.

Senior Workspace Manager – HSSE

Reporting to the Head of European Workspace, this role provided strategic leadership for Health, Safety, Security and Environmental compliance across an extensive international office portfolio. The remit included workplaces in London, Dublin, Malta, Porto, Barcelona, Milan, Sofia, Cluj, Denmark, Halifax and Scotland. Responsibilities included:

• Developing global HSSE strategy.
• Implementing policies and governance frameworks.
• Driving best practice across international offices.
• Supporting workplace risk management.
• Ensuring legislative compliance across multiple jurisdictions.
• Promoting a positive safety culture throughout the organisation.

Head of HSQA

This senior leadership role was responsible for shaping the organisation's overall Health, Safety and Quality Assurance strategy. Key responsibilities included:

• Developing occupational Health & Safety policies.
• Managing compliance programmes.
• Delivering training and awareness initiatives.
• Monitoring regulatory performance.
• Driving continuous improvement across workplace standards.
• Providing strategic advice to senior leadership.

Senior Manager – Corporate Real Estate, Contracts & Services

Reporting into the Head of Corporate Real Estate & Workplace Management, this appointment focused on commercial oversight across the international property portfolio. Responsibilities included:

• Managing strategic supplier contracts.
• Leading procurement activities.
• Negotiating service agreements.
• Delivering value and cost optimisation initiatives.
• Supporting Corporate Real Estate projects.
• Developing contract governance frameworks.
• Advising operational teams on commercial matters.

Together, these appointments supported the organisation's international growth and workplace strategy.

Our Approach

Given the seniority and international scope of these appointments, Maxwell Stephens undertook a targeted executive search programme across the UK and Europe.

Working closely with the leadership team, we developed a detailed understanding of both the technical requirements and the organisational culture, so that every shortlist combined experience, leadership capability and cultural alignment. Our search focused on professionals with expertise in:

• Corporate Real Estate.
• Global Workplace Services.
• Health, Safety & Environmental Management.
• International Facilities Management.
• Contract and supplier management.
• Procurement and commercial governance.
• Multi-site operational leadership.
• Regulatory compliance.
• Strategic workplace transformation.

In addition to technical capability, candidates were assessed for their ability to influence senior stakeholders, lead geographically dispersed teams and operate within a fast-growing business.

Professional qualifications including NEBOSH, IOSH and membership of relevant industry bodies were important considerations throughout the search. At this level, those qualifications are less a filter than a signal that a candidate has treated health and safety as a discipline in its own right, which matters when compliance has to hold across several legal jurisdictions.

The Outcome

Maxwell Stephens delivered strong candidates across all three senior appointments. Each individual brought significant experience in global workplace operations, Health & Safety leadership, corporate real estate and strategic Facilities Management, enabling them to contribute from the outset.

Collectively, these appointments have helped strengthen:

• Global Health, Safety and Environmental governance.
• Corporate Real Estate operations.
• Supplier and contract management.
• International workplace standards.
• Procurement and commercial performance.
• Compliance across multiple jurisdictions.
• Workplace strategy and operational resilience.

The appointments supported Paddy Power Betfair's continued international growth while ensuring the organisation maintained the high operational standards expected across its global office portfolio.

Candidate Testimonial

"The recruitment process with Maxwell Stephens was professional, engaging and genuinely supportive from beginning to end. Communication was excellent throughout, with regular updates, detailed interview preparation and valuable advice at every stage. Their expertise ultimately helped me secure a fantastic opportunity, and I would highly recommend Maxwell Stephens to anyone working within the Facilities Management sector."

Why These Placements Worked

International organisations need senior leaders who can balance operational delivery with commercial awareness, regulatory compliance and strategic workplace leadership. Recruiting the three roles as a single search programme, with a shared understanding of the culture and the reporting lines, gave each shortlist a consistency that separate, unconnected searches rarely achieve.

Through its specialist executive search expertise, Maxwell Stephens delivered a series of senior appointments that strengthened Paddy Power Betfair's international Workplace, Corporate Real Estate and Health & Safety functions. If you are planning a similar programme of senior workplace or HSSE appointments, get in touch with our team.