Facilities Management Appointments for British Arab Commercial Bank

About British Arab Commercial Bank

British Arab Commercial Bank (BACB) was founded in 1972 and is a UK-regulated international wholesale bank specialising in trade finance and banking solutions across the Middle East and Africa. Headquartered in the City of London, it operates an international network of representative offices, including Algeria, Libya, Dubai and Côte d'Ivoire, supporting clients trading in emerging markets.

As the bank strengthened its operational infrastructure and workplace services, it appointed Maxwell Stephens exclusively to recruit key roles across its Facilities Management function.

Our work with BACB

Over the partnership we have made appointments at three levels of the Facilities function:

• Head of Facilities
• Senior Associate, Hard Facilities Management
• Facilities Coordinator

Each role carried different responsibilities, but every appointment had to reflect BACB's standards of governance, customer service and continuous improvement in a regulated banking environment. Building a team in stages also raises the stakes on each hire: the technical and coordination roles have to complement the leadership appointment rather than duplicate it.

Head of Facilities

Reporting into the Executive Management Team, the Head of Facilities leads the bank's entire Facilities Management function. The remit covered:

• Developing and delivering Facilities strategy.
• Leading and developing the Facilities team.
• Managing the London headquarters and tenant services.
• Driving operational improvement initiatives.
• Managing supplier relationships and outsourced services.
• Budget management and financial planning.
• Statutory compliance and operational resilience.
• Supporting workplace projects and business transformation.
• Promoting innovation and continuous improvement across the department.

This was a strategic leadership role requiring an experienced Facilities executive able to align workplace operations with the bank's wider objectives. Maxwell Stephens placed the Head of Facilities.

Senior Associate, Hard Facilities Management

The Senior Associate supports both the operational and strategic delivery of hard FM services, keeping the bank's workplace safe, secure, compliant and cost-effective. The remit covered hard FM and building services; security services and systems; mechanical and electrical engineering; planned and reactive maintenance; health and safety compliance with UK legislation; procurement and supplier review; contractor and team supervision; technical project support; continuous improvement; and contributing to the development of the Facilities function.

In a bank, facilities is not judged on cost alone. Security, the resilience of building systems and demonstrable compliance sit alongside it, and the person running hard services must be comfortable being scrutinised on all three. That narrows the field well beyond what the job title suggests.

We searched for professionals with proven experience across hard services, security, M&E, compliance, procurement and cost control in regulated corporate environments, and gave cultural fit the same weight as the technical checklist. The Senior Associate placed brought a more proactive approach to day-to-day FM, strengthened security and M&E oversight, kept Facilities activity aligned with legal and organisational requirements, tightened procurement and supplier management, and supported the wider development of the department.

Facilities Coordinator

The Facilities Coordinator provides operational support to the wider Facilities team and helps the London headquarters run smoothly day to day. Responsibilities included coordinating contractors and suppliers, reception and front-of-house support, invoice processing and Facilities administration, supporting Health & Safety and fire compliance, assisting with building operations, and office services coordination. Maxwell Stephens placed the Facilities Coordinator.

Our approach

As BACB's exclusive recruitment partner, we built a tailored strategy for each appointment while keeping a consistent focus on the bank's culture. Our search drew on candidates with experience in corporate banking, multi-disciplinary FM, hard and soft FM leadership, Health & Safety, building engineering, contractor management, regulatory compliance and financial management.

Every candidate was assessed against BACB's core competencies:

• Driving Results through continuous improvement, customer focus and accountability.
• Leadership & Influence through communication, collaboration and relationship building.
• Judgement & Decision Making through planning, organisation and problem solving.
• Knowledge & Expertise through professional development and technical competence.
• Governance & Compliance through an understanding of regulatory obligations and risk management.

Candidates were also assessed against the bank's organisational values: Integrity, Innovation, Excellence, Teamwork and Client Focus.

The outcome

All three appointments were delivered. Collectively, the team has strengthened Facilities leadership, Health & Safety and statutory compliance, contractor management and service delivery, operational resilience and business continuity, and workplace standards across the London headquarters.

Candidate testimonial

"The team at Maxwell Stephens were consummate professionals throughout the recruitment process. Their attention to detail and thoughtful approach ensured they matched both my experience and the client's requirements perfectly. Their communication and support were exceptional from beginning to end, and I would have no hesitation in working with them again or recommending them to others."

Why it worked

Financial institutions need Facilities professionals who combine technical expertise with professionalism, regulatory awareness and commercial judgement. Searches of this kind tend to fail when they are briefed as engineering appointments and then found wanting on the commercial and security side, or the reverse. Assessing every candidate against the full remit and the same competency and values framework meant the appointments arrived as a coherent team rather than separate hires.

If you are building or strengthening a Facilities team in a regulated environment, get in touch with our team to discuss each brief.