Twenty Essex Buildings and Facilities Manager Recruitment

Background

Twenty Essex, a barristers' chambers specialising in international commercial arbitration and public international law, appointed Maxwell Stephens to recruit an experienced Buildings and Facilities Manager.

The role was central to keeping the chambers' premises safe, compliant, properly maintained and capable of supporting the needs of barristers, employees, clients and visitors.

Chambers are a demanding setting for facilities management. The building is a working environment for barristers under constant deadline pressure and, at the same time, the place where clients and instructing solicitors form their first impression of the set. Given the standards expected in a leading legal environment, Twenty Essex needed a facilities professional who could combine technical building knowledge, project-management capability, health and safety expertise and close attention to detail.

The Challenge

Twenty Essex needed a Buildings and Facilities Manager capable of taking ownership of a varied property and facilities management remit while holding service standards steady. The successful candidate would have to balance day-to-day operational demands against longer-term maintenance, compliance and improvement priorities, usually without the layers of support found in a larger corporate estate. Key requirements included:

• Building and facilities management. Overseeing the efficient operation and maintenance of the chambers' premises and keeping essential building services reliable.
• Health and safety compliance. Maintaining appropriate health and safety processes, documentation and working practices so that the premises met relevant requirements.
• Maintenance management. Coordinating planned and reactive maintenance activity, and ensuring issues were identified, prioritised and resolved promptly.
• Contractor and supplier management. Managing external contractors and service providers, monitoring performance and ensuring works were completed safely and to the required standard.
• Project management. Supporting and delivering facilities and building-related projects from planning through to completion, while keeping control of quality, cost and disruption.
• Stakeholder management. Working effectively with barristers, employees, suppliers and other stakeholders in a professional, client-facing environment.
• Operational improvement. Identifying opportunities to strengthen processes, improve service delivery and raise the overall performance of the facilities function.

That breadth is what makes briefs of this kind harder to fill than the job title suggests. Candidates tend to arrive strong on either the technical and compliance side or the service and stakeholder side. A post carrying the whole remit needs both, because there is nobody else to absorb the half the appointee is weaker on.

Our Approach

Maxwell Stephens ran a targeted search for facilities management professionals with proven experience in high-quality corporate, legal or professional services environments. Our assessment focused on candidates who could evidence technical competence, professionalism and service orientation together rather than in isolation. Particular attention was given to experience in:

• building and facilities management
• planned and reactive maintenance
• health and safety compliance
• contractor and supplier management
• workplace and property projects
• risk management
• stakeholder communication
• continuous improvement

Cultural fit carried equal weight. Twenty Essex needed someone able to operate with discretion, responsiveness and professionalism while maintaining the standards expected of a barristers' chambers. Discretion is not a soft preference in a legal setting: a facilities manager moves through rooms where confidential work is in progress, and briefs the contractors who will do the same.

Following a detailed search and assessment process, Maxwell Stephens placed an experienced Buildings and Facilities Manager.

The Outcome

The appointed manager integrated into the chambers and strengthened several aspects of premises and facilities management:

• Operational efficiency. A structured and proactive approach to facilities management improved the coordination of day-to-day building services and operational activity.
• Safety and compliance. Closer oversight of health and safety requirements helped keep appropriate procedures and standards in place across the premises.
• Maintenance management. A more organised approach to maintenance activity supported the continued reliability and condition of the chambers' facilities.
• Contractor oversight. Clearer management of suppliers and contractors strengthened accountability and helped hold service standards consistent.
• Project delivery. Facilities-related works and improvements were managed with close attention to quality, timescales and operational requirements.
• Premises management. The appointment gave Twenty Essex dedicated facilities leadership responsible for the integrity, functionality and presentation of its premises.

The placement gave Twenty Essex a Buildings and Facilities Manager able to balance building operations, compliance, maintenance, projects and stakeholder expectations within a demanding professional services environment.

Why This Placement Worked

Facilities briefs in legal and professional organisations are often written as though the technical scope is the difficult part. It rarely is. The harder test is whether one person can hold the technical remit and the client-facing standard at the same time, in a building where disruption is noticed immediately and where the people affected are not in a position to work around it.

This search was assessed against both from the outset, which is why the shortlist was narrower and the fit more durable. It also reflects what Maxwell Stephens does for legal and professional organisations more broadly: match operational reliability with the discretion, attention to detail and service standards those environments expect.

If you are recruiting a Buildings or Facilities Manager to take charge of a high-quality professional workplace, Maxwell Stephens can help you set the brief realistically and reach the candidates who genuinely cover it. Get in touch with our team.