Background
Riverstone Living develops retirement residences in central London for people over 65, blending private apartments with the services of a members club and a luxury hotel. As it prepared its first two residences, in Kensington and Fulham, it asked Maxwell Stephens to recruit the people who would run them.
Our work for Riverstone covered more than one appointment. This page describes the Maintenance Manager post, the first of its kind in the business.
The Challenge
This was a role with no predecessor. The Maintenance Manager reports to the General Manager, with a dotted line to Group Facilities, and leads a team of maintenance operatives. The remit covers planned and reactive maintenance, installations, renovations, the gardens and a handyman service for residents, all to a standard that matches a premium brand.
The compliance load is heavy for a residential building. The post holder plans preventative programmes for fire and life safety, HVAC, water hygiene, domestic water, electrical systems, lifts under LOLER and the leisure facilities, including a pool, sauna and steam room. The work is managed through a CAFM system, with contractors held to RAMS and permit-to-work requirements and spend tracked against budget.
Qualifications and experience mattered: multi-trade building maintenance, an M&E discipline, statutory compliance, IOSH Managing Safely or equivalent, and ideally NEBOSH. Mobilising new buildings, snagging and defect periods were desirable. Just as important was the personal fit, someone with a real feel for older residents and high net worth households, and the temperament to build a team from nothing.
Our Approach
- We took a detailed brief on the Riverstone model, the reporting lines and how hands-on the role would be.
- We searched for maintenance and engineering managers from premium residential, hotel and leisure estates who had run compliance programmes and, ideally, opened new buildings.
- We screened for genuine multi-trade credibility, safety qualifications and the ability to manage contractors, budgets and a team, as well as for a service-led manner with residents.
- We presented a shortlist with full CVs and our interview notes, then managed the process through to offer and acceptance.
The Outcome
Maxwell Stephens made the appointment.
If you are opening a new site or building a maintenance function from scratch, talk to Maxwell Stephens about how we would approach the search.
Planning a similar appointment?
If you are recruiting for a similar role, our team can help you define the brief, reach the right candidates and manage the process through to appointment.