Client Overview
Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College (RHACC) is one of the UK’s leading providers of adult education, delivering a diverse range of academic, vocational and community learning programmes. With a strong commitment to supporting learners and the wider community, the college operates a significant estate that plays a central role in delivering an outstanding educational experience.
To support its continued development and long-term strategic objectives, RHACC required a Head of Estates to lead the management of its estate, facilities and compliance functions while ensuring that operational excellence remained aligned with the college’s community-focused mission.
The Challenge
RHACC required an experienced Head of Estates capable of providing both strategic leadership and operational oversight across its estate portfolio.
The successful candidate needed to balance day-to-day facilities management responsibilities with longer-term estate planning, ensuring that buildings, infrastructure and services continued to support the needs of students, staff and the wider community.
Key areas of responsibility included:
• Strategic estates management
• Facilities management leadership
• Health, safety and statutory compliance
• Estates service desk management
• Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) programmes
• Reactive maintenance oversight
• Contractor and supplier management
• Budget management and financial control
• Estates policy development and implementation
• Capital planning and asset management
• Team leadership and development
• Customer service and stakeholder engagement
The role required a senior facilities and estates professional capable of leading a high-performing team while maintaining compliance, operational efficiency and excellent service delivery across the college estate.
Strong leadership capability, commercial awareness and a customer-focused approach were essential, together with the ability to develop long-term estates strategies that supported the organisation’s future growth.
Our Approach
Understanding the Requirement
Maxwell Stephens worked closely with RHACC’s senior leadership team to gain a comprehensive understanding of the role, organisational culture and strategic objectives.
The successful candidate needed to demonstrate not only strong technical estates expertise but also a commitment to supporting the college’s community-focused values and educational mission.
Specialist Search Process
Drawing upon our extensive Estates and Facilities Management network, we conducted a targeted search focused on candidates with experience across:
• Estates Management
• Education Sector Facilities Management
• Health & Safety Leadership
• Asset and Property Management
• Contractor and Supplier Management
• Strategic Estates Planning
• Budget and Financial Management
• Compliance and Risk Management
• Team Leadership and Service Delivery
Particular emphasis was placed on identifying candidates with a proven ability to lead estates functions while delivering operational improvements and exceptional customer service.
Candidate Assessment
Candidates were assessed against a comprehensive range of technical, leadership and behavioural competencies, including:
• Estates and facilities management expertise
• Health, safety and compliance knowledge
• Strategic planning and policy development capability
• Budget management and commercial awareness
• Team leadership and staff development
• Contractor and supplier management experience
• Customer service and stakeholder engagement skills
• Communication and organisational effectiveness
Our recruitment process focused on identifying an individual capable of supporting both the operational demands of the estate and the long-term ambitions of the college.
The Outcome
Maxwell Stephens successfully appointed a highly experienced Head of Estates who brought a strong combination of technical expertise, leadership capability and customer-focused service delivery.
The successful candidate demonstrated extensive experience managing estates operations and a proven ability to lead teams, develop policies and drive continuous improvement.
Key strengths included:
• Extensive estates and facilities management experience
• Strong health, safety and compliance expertise
• Proven leadership of operational and technical teams
• Experience developing and implementing estates strategies
• Strong budget management and financial control capability
• Effective contractor and supplier management skills
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication abilities
• A proactive and service-led leadership style
Following their appointment, the Head of Estates assumed responsibility for the strategic and operational management of the college’s estate, helping to strengthen service delivery, compliance and long-term planning.
Results Delivered
The appointment delivered significant benefits across the college’s estates function, including:
• Enhanced leadership of estates and facilities operations
• Improved responsiveness through effective service desk management
• Strengthened health, safety and statutory compliance performance
• Improved contractor and supplier oversight
• Enhanced policy development and operational governance
• Greater alignment between estates services and organisational objectives
• Improved team performance and service delivery standards
• Stronger foundations for future estate development and investment
The successful placement provided RHACC with a Head of Estates capable of delivering operational excellence while supporting the college’s long-term vision for growth, community engagement and educational success.
Specialist Estates & Education Facilities Recruitment
Maxwell Stephens supports colleges, universities, schools and educational organisations with specialist recruitment solutions across estates, facilities and property management.
Our expertise includes:
• Head of Estates Recruitment
• Estates Management
• Facilities Management Leadership
• Education Sector Facilities
• Health & Safety Compliance
• Asset & Property Management
• Contractor Management
• Strategic Estates Leadership
By combining specialist Facilities Management recruitment expertise with a deep understanding of educational environments, we help organisations secure the leaders responsible for maintaining safe, compliant and high-performing estates that support learning, development and community engagement.