Established in 2009, The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry is the Patrons’ primary charitable vehicle. It is working towards becoming a leading philanthropic investor, aiming to create lasting change in targeted areas and geographies through new initiatives with charities, social enterprises and others.
The Foundation has four main theme lines: veterans, young people, conservation and mental health. The Royal Foundation approached Maxwell Stephens to support exclusively on the recruitment of an Office and Systems Manager to be based in their offices in Kensington.
“Maxwell Stephens has successfully placed me in my current high profile opportunity. The team at Maxwell Stephens have prepared and coached me during the interview stage and regularly communicated throughout and after the process to ensure I had settled in the role. I have found job searching these days tends to be very remote and difficult to have that personal connection with someone who knows your skills and experience which is why I like working with Maxwell Stephens as my preferred agency.”
The Position
As the Office and Systems Manager, the postholder would be responsible for the smooth, efficient and cost-effective management of the Foundation’s space and its facilities.
Facilities Management was a key component of this position, with accountability for managing all central facilities services including utilities, repairs, security, reception, archiving, cleaning, catering and recycling.
The role also involved liaising and negotiating all office related contract services such as equipment lease agreements, IT and Telecoms providers, insurance renewals, office stationery and travel agents.
Ensuring the office environment is safe, the successful candidate would act as the designated Health and Safety representative, maintaining all relevant compliance and developing appropriate Disaster Recovery Plans. The remit of this position would also cover the organisation and management of office move projects, in addition to any other building projects, renovations or refurbishments as required.
The Results
The Royal Foundation is a high profile organisation and the successful candidate had to appreciate and understand the wider context in which the organisation operates. The ideal candidate had to demonstrate experience of maintaining discretion and confidentiality and a mature and professional approach. The candidate would need to be flexible, able to adapt and willing to turn their hand to a range of tasks to support the broader Foundation team. Key skills and competencies for the role included but were not limited to: procurement and negotiation skills, project management skills, excellent communication skills, research skills with an ability to draw information from a variety of sources, team work skills with an ability to lead and motivate others, experience of delivering work to tight deadlines and the ability to tackle difficult problems by understanding the reasons for obstacles and taking personal responsibility for finding solutions.
Following initial discussions we met with the client on several occasions to gain a thorough understanding of the organisation, it’s culture and the requirements of the position.
Following and extensive executive search process, a shortlist of six candidates was presented. All six candidates were invited to an initial interview. Several candidates were then invited back for a further interview and presentation task, resulting in a successful appointment to the role.