The Challenge
As part of its long-term estates strategy, University College London (UCL) is delivering one of the largest and most ambitious capital investment programmes in the UK higher education sector. This multi-billion-pound transformation includes a series of landmark developments designed to enhance teaching, research and innovation for decades to come.
Major projects within the programme include:
- UCL East at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
- Institute of Neurology / Dementia Research Institute (ION/DRI).
- Project Oriel, the joint development with Moorfields Eye Hospital.
- The Royal Free Hospital Hampstead Campus Masterplan.
- The Bloomsbury Heat & Power Network Upgrade.
To provide strategic leadership across this portfolio, UCL sought to appoint a Director of Major Projects—a pivotal executive role responsible for overseeing the successful delivery of multiple capital projects, each valued at more than £100 million.
This was a highly influential appointment requiring an exceptional leader capable of operating at board level while managing complex stakeholder relationships across the University, NHS partners, government bodies, consultants and contractors.
The successful candidate would be responsible for:
- Providing strategic leadership across UCL's portfolio of major capital developments.
- Representing UCL Estates on project boards and governance committees.
- Ensuring projects were delivered safely, on time, within budget and in line with approved business cases.
- Embedding best practice, governance and consistency across all major programmes.
- Driving a zero-harm culture across construction and project delivery activities.
- Acting as the senior escalation point for programme risks and complex project challenges.
- Leading procurement strategies for consultants, contractors and professional teams.
- Developing high-performing project teams capable of delivering world-class facilities.
- Providing clear reporting and assurance to the University's executive leadership.
- Acting as an ambassador for UCL throughout the construction and development community.
Given the scale, visibility and complexity of the appointment, UCL required an individual with an outstanding track record of leading major capital programmes, exceptional stakeholder management skills and the ability to influence at the highest levels.
Our Solution
Recruiting for a role of this calibre required a highly targeted executive search strategy rather than relying on traditional advertising alone.
Maxwell Stephens worked closely with UCL's senior leadership team to develop a comprehensive understanding of the University's long-term estates vision, organisational culture and the technical, commercial and leadership capabilities required for success.
Recognising that the strongest candidates for appointments of this nature are rarely active job seekers, we adopted a proactive headhunting approach supported by selective market advertising.
Our search strategy included:
- Comprehensive market mapping across higher education, healthcare, commercial property and major infrastructure sectors.
- Extensive utilisation of our specialist Facilities, Estates and Capital Projects network.
- Detailed searches of our database of more than 35,000 senior property, estates and facilities professionals.
- Direct approaches to passive executive candidates with proven experience delivering complex, high-value capital programmes.
- Rigorous competency-based interviews assessing technical capability, strategic leadership, governance experience and cultural alignment.
- Thorough benchmarking of candidates against UCL's long-term objectives and organisational values.
This structured executive search process enabled us to identify and engage senior professionals who would not have responded to conventional recruitment advertising.
Following a comprehensive national search, Maxwell Stephens presented a carefully curated shortlist of 11 exceptional senior executives, each possessing the experience, leadership capability and strategic vision required to lead one of the UK's most significant university capital programmes.
The appointment was successfully concluded, providing UCL with an outstanding leader capable of delivering transformational projects that will shape the University's estate for generations to come.