Finding a Facilities Manager to Play a Key Role in the FM Function of Usborne Publishing

Background

In January 2023, Usborne Publishing, one of the UK's leading children's book publishers, appointed Maxwell Stephens to recruit an experienced Facilities Manager to oversee its London headquarters and support its wider UK property operations.

With approximately 290 employees across London, Eynsham in Oxfordshire and Wolverhampton, Usborne needed a Facilities professional able to hold consistent workplace standards across several locations at once.

The role was centred on the company's headquarters at Saffron Hill, Farringdon, with additional responsibility for supporting the regional offices. It brought together multi-site Facilities Management, health and safety, supplier management, maintenance coordination and stakeholder service in a single appointment.

The Challenge

Usborne Publishing needed a capable and dependable Facilities Manager able to take ownership of a broad range of building-related responsibilities while supporting more than one location.

The position called for strong technical and operational FM experience, but communication, negotiation and relationship management mattered just as much.

The brief covered:

• Head office Facilities Management. Day-to-day management of the Saffron Hill headquarters, keeping the building safe, functional and properly maintained.
• Multi-site support. Facilities Management support to the offices in Eynsham and Wolverhampton, holding consistent standards across the wider estate.
• Health and safety management. Implementing and maintaining health and safety procedures and supporting compliance across the organisation's premises.
• Building maintenance. Coordinating planned and reactive maintenance so building issues were identified, prioritised and resolved efficiently.
• Third-party and supplier management. Managing contractors and service providers, monitoring their performance and holding them to Usborne's requirements.
• Workplace standards. Keeping environments comfortable, functional and well presented for employees and visitors.
• Stakeholder engagement. Working with colleagues across the organisation and providing a responsive Facilities service against real operational demands.
• Problem-solving. Dealing with Facilities issues proactively and resolving them before they disrupted employees or business operations.

Roles shaped like this one are harder to fill than the job title suggests. A single Facilities Manager covering a head office and regional sites is doing work that a larger organisation would split across a team, and the sites that are not on the doorstep depend almost entirely on how well contractors are briefed and held to account. Health and safety responsibility follows the postholder to every location regardless of how often they are there.

Our Approach

Maxwell Stephens ran a targeted recruitment campaign focused on Facilities professionals with proven experience managing multi-site corporate environments.

A detailed understanding of Usborne Publishing's requirements allowed us to assess candidates against both the technical responsibilities of the position and the interpersonal qualities needed to succeed within the organisation.

Our search concentrated on professionals with experience in:

• multi-site Facilities Management
• office and workplace operations
• health and safety
• planned and reactive maintenance
• contractor and supplier management
• negotiation and commercial awareness
• stakeholder engagement
• problem-solving
• customer-focused service delivery
• Facilities administration and compliance

Particular emphasis was placed on finding someone who could pair solid operational knowledge with a proactive and approachable working style. In a business of this shape, the Facilities Manager is the person colleagues go to directly, and an FM who is difficult to approach hears about problems late.

Following an extensive search and a rigorous selection process, Maxwell Stephens presented Usborne Publishing with a shortlist of qualified candidates.

The Outcome

The process resulted in the appointment of an experienced Facilities Manager whose background closely matched Usborne Publishing's requirements. The successful candidate brought:

• Multi-site experience. Substantial experience managing Facilities across several locations, giving Usborne the capability to run the London headquarters while supporting its regional offices.
• Health and safety oversight. A strong grasp of health and safety procedures, supporting workplace standards and a safe environment for staff and visitors.
• Facilities coordination. Dedicated Facilities leadership, strengthening the coordination of building maintenance and day-to-day operational requirements across the organisation.
• Supplier management. Communication and negotiation skills applied to third-party suppliers and contractors.
• Proactive problem-solving. Facilities issues identified and addressed early, limiting disruption and keeping workplace operations reliable.
• Improved workplace experience. Standards held across Usborne's premises, supporting a safer, more functional and more comfortable working environment.

Candidate Testimonial

Robyn was extremely helpful and supportive throughout the recruitment process, from recommending roles to arranging interviews. She always provided me with information promptly and checked up on my progress after interviews etc. I have worked with Maxwell Stephens several times now and always found the service to be both professional and personal

Peter King
Facilities Manager, Usborne Publishing

Why This Placement Worked

The appointment gave Usborne Publishing a Facilities Manager who could hold multi-site property operations, maintenance, health and safety, supplier management and stakeholder support together in one role.

The assignment shows how Maxwell Stephens recruits for multi-location corporate environments, where success rests on operational expertise combined with communication, initiative and a genuine commitment to workplace service rather than on technical depth alone.

If you are recruiting a Facilities Manager to look after a headquarters building and a wider property portfolio, Maxwell Stephens can help you define the brief and reach candidates who have done it across sites rather than in one building. Get in touch with our team.