Facilities Manager Recruitment for Tower Transit

Background

Tower Transit is one of London's leading public transport operators, delivering bus services on behalf of Transport for London (TfL). Since its launch in 2013 the company has grown rapidly, operating hundreds of buses across the capital and employing more than 2,000 people in support of London's transport network.

To support its expanding operations, Tower Transit appointed Maxwell Stephens exclusively to recruit a Facilities Manager with responsibility for multiple operational sites, including its major depots in Notting Hill and Walthamstow.

This was a business-critical appointment. The postholder would be responsible for keeping facilities running in a demanding, safety-critical transport environment.

The Challenge

The Facilities Manager would take responsibility for the company's buildings, engineering infrastructure, plant, equipment and property assets, keeping every location safe, compliant and fully operational.

Working across multiple sites, the successful candidate needed to balance day-to-day operational demands with longer-term maintenance planning, capital projects and environmental improvements. Key responsibilities included:

• Managing facilities management across multiple operational depots.
• Overseeing planned and reactive maintenance programmes.
• Managing property, plant and engineering assets.
• Leading contractor procurement and performance management.
• Delivering facilities and property improvement projects.
• Managing facilities and property budgets.
• Advising on capital expenditure and investment planning.
• Developing Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) programmes.
• Ensuring full compliance with health & safety, fire safety and environmental legislation.
• Supporting operational managers with technical property advice.
• Driving environmental performance and sustainability initiatives.
• Managing emergency response and out-of-hours incidents.
• Building strong relationships across operational and engineering teams.

Depot facilities management is not the same job as managing an office estate, and candidates rarely move between the two easily. The buildings exist to keep vehicles on the road, so maintenance has to be planned around a fleet that leaves early and returns late, and plant failures translate directly into missed service. The role therefore called for strong organisational skills, technical knowledge and the ability to make sound decisions quickly.

Our Approach

Working closely with Tower Transit's leadership team, Maxwell Stephens built a detailed understanding of both the technical requirements and the operational culture of the business.

Our executive search targeted experienced facilities professionals with a record of managing multi-site property portfolios in operationally demanding sectors such as transport, logistics, infrastructure and industrial environments. We focused on candidates who demonstrated:

• Extensive multi-site facilities management experience.
• Strong knowledge of building services and engineering infrastructure.
• Property project and capital works management.
• Contractor procurement and supplier management expertise.
• Health & safety and statutory compliance leadership.
• Environmental and sustainability management.
• Budget planning and financial management.
• Capable stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• Strong project management capability.
• Flexibility to support operational requirements outside normal working hours.

Throughout the process we placed particular emphasis on candidates who combined technical competence with commercial awareness, leadership capability and a practical, solutions-focused approach. In a round-the-clock operation that matters more than it sounds: the people who succeed can make a workable call at short notice and stand behind it.

The Outcome

Following a full executive search and assessment process, Maxwell Stephens placed an experienced Facilities Manager with the operational expertise and leadership qualities the role required.

The appointed candidate quickly established themselves as a key member of Tower Transit's operational leadership team, taking ownership of facilities management across multiple sites while supporting the continued reliability of the company's transport infrastructure.

The role covered facilities management across operational depots, contractor and maintenance performance, health and safety compliance, and capital improvement projects.

Candidate Testimonial

"I was very impressed with the guidance and attention to detail throughout the recruitment process. Maxwell Stephens took the time to understand where I wanted my career to go and only discussed opportunities that genuinely matched my aspirations. The whole experience felt natural, professional and incredibly well managed. It was a pleasure to secure my new role through Maxwell Stephens."

Why This Placement Worked

Facilities management in transport and infrastructure settings asks for technical expertise, commercial awareness and operational resilience in the same person. Shortlists built on property credentials alone tend to fall down on the third of those.

Searching against multi-site experience in operationally demanding environments, rather than against the facilities job title, is what gave Tower Transit a professional able to support complex depot operations and keep essential transport facilities performing safely and efficiently.

If you are recruiting a facilities lead for depots, workshops or any estate where the buildings support a live operation, Maxwell Stephens can help you frame the brief and reach the people who have run one. Get in touch with our team.