Background
The Rutland Group is a family-owned property development, investment and management company, founded in 1984. Its team brings together expertise spanning commercial property ownership, management, development, finance, communications and events.
The organisation appointed Maxwell Stephens to recruit a new Facilities Manager for Dunsfold Park — a professional able to combine strategic facilities management with hands-on responsibility for maintenance, compliance and the ongoing improvement of the estate.
It is a varied role calling for strong technical and organisational capability alongside a willingness to take an active part in health and safety, planned and reactive maintenance, statutory testing and emergency preparedness.
The Challenge
The Facilities Manager plays an important part in keeping Dunsfold Park safe, compliant, well maintained and operationally effective. The successful candidate needed to provide strategic direction while staying closely involved in the practical delivery and coordination of facilities and maintenance activity.
Key responsibilities included:
- Facilities and maintenance strategy. Providing direction for facilities and maintenance improvements across Dunsfold Park, and identifying opportunities to improve the performance and condition of the estate.
- Improvement, alteration and repair works. Coordinating property improvements, alterations and repair projects, and making sure the works were delivered effectively.
- Health and safety compliance. Managing compliance with the relevant health and safety systems and legislation, and helping maintain appropriate standards across the site.
- Statutory testing and servicing. Ensuring required servicing, inspections and statutory testing were completed appropriately and within the necessary timescales.
- Planned maintenance. Managing planned building and grounds maintenance to support asset condition and minimise avoidable disruption.
- Reactive maintenance. Working closely with the Maintenance Manager to coordinate reactive building and grounds maintenance and see that issues were addressed efficiently.
- First Aid responsibilities. A willingness to undertake First Aid duties, with appropriate training provided to achieve the required certification.
- Continued health and safety development. A willingness to undertake further health and safety awareness training and apply that knowledge within the role.
Estate briefs of this shape sit between two familiar candidate profiles. Strategic facilities managers often want to step back from day-to-day delivery, while hands-on estate and maintenance managers may never have been asked to set direction for a site. The First Aid duties and the commitment to further health and safety training narrow the field again — small asks individually, but together they describe a particular kind of person rather than a particular CV.
Our Approach
Given the specific requirements of the position, Maxwell Stephens ran a personalised headhunting campaign built around the Rutland Group's brief rather than around incoming applications.
We searched our facilities management network and candidate database for professionals whose experience, working style and career aspirations matched the opportunity, and approached 53 potential candidates directly. Each was assessed against the operational responsibilities of the role as well as the client's requirements around health and safety, maintenance and personal approach.
The search then narrowed in stages:
- 53 candidates approached. A broad but carefully targeted section of the market, reached directly rather than through advertising.
- Six candidates presented. Following detailed screening and assessment, we put forward the six who showed the strongest alignment with the brief.
- Three candidates interviewed. The Rutland Group selected three for interview, working from a shortlist already tested against the key requirements.
- Two at final stage. Two candidates progressed to a second-round interview, and an offer was made to the preferred candidate.
The Outcome
The targeted process enabled the Rutland Group to appoint a Facilities Manager with the experience and personal qualities needed to support the effective management of Dunsfold Park.
Approaching 53 candidates and narrowing to six gave the client a strong shortlist without a volume of unsuitable applications to work through. The appointed candidate showed the facilities and maintenance capability the position required, alongside a willingness to develop further in areas such as health and safety and First Aid.
The value of the appointment also showed after the process closed. When Maxwell Stephens contacted the appointed candidate approximately one year after they started, they reported that they were extremely happy in the role — an indication that the placement had delivered the longer-term cultural and career alignment a facilities management appointment depends on, and not only the professional fit.
Why This Placement Worked
The assignment shows the value of a focused, proactive headhunting strategy for specialist facilities management roles. From 53 candidates approached, six strong prospects were identified, three were interviewed, two progressed to the final stage and the process concluded with an appointment.
The feedback a year later makes the wider point. Where a role mixes strategic responsibility with hands-on delivery, motivation and working style predict success at least as reliably as technical experience, and a shortlist should be built to test them.
If you are recruiting a Facilities Manager who needs technical expertise, compliance knowledge and the right fit for a single estate, Maxwell Stephens can help you shape the brief and approach the people who match it. Get in touch with our team.