Head of Facilities
When a business has just one location, there’s always going to be a person whose job it is to ensure the building itself and all its functions are running properly. It might be an office manager, plant manager or such like. But businesses with multiple locations need a more strategic, joined-up and budgeted way to run the properties, and that task is fulfilled by the head of facilities.
The role will be a blend of planning the facilities for future needs, ensuring the books are balanced for all the locations and planning maintenance, cleaning, services, safety and so on – in summary, keeping the facilities functional, profitable, legal and sustainable.
Under the head of facilities, management usually acts on a hierarchical basis, more so in larger operations with multiple plants, offices, depots and storage facilities. That means the head of facilities will often be based in the head office and will delegate tasks and goals to facility managers at the locations, but there will also be regular attendance on-site within the region covered.
The skills required
Head of facilities jobs usually demand experience in overseeing multiple locations of an organisation, and successful candidates will be able to demonstrate a strong aptitude for delegation to, and communication with, the various location managers. The job will be a blend of strategic planning and more urgent decision-making – you could be where the buck stops when a location manager needs to troubleshoot a pressing issue and a potentially costly decision has to be made and then justified to the board.
For some positions, however, experience managing a single facility will be a sufficient qualification, as many of the budgetary and management skills scale up straightforwardly.
Head of Facilities Jobs in Aberdeen
Scotland's third most populous city after Edinburgh and Glasgow, Aberdeen is also known as the Granite City, since many of its beautiful 18th and 19th century buildings are constructed from the local stone. It's a great place for those seeking Head of Facilities vacancies.
There have been settlements in the region for over 8,000 years and it was an important site during the Wars of Scottish Independence.
Significant expansion occurred during the 19th century, with the growth of the shipbuilding and fishing industries, as well as textiles, metalwork, papermaking and stone quarrying. Much of the existing harbour was built during this time, including the Victoria Dock, the South Breakwater and part of the North Pier.
During the late 20th century, oil was discovered in the North Sea and Aberdeen has since become known as the oil capital of Europe. A number of off-shore oil rigs have been erected and companies in the region have begun to focus their efforts on finding renewable energy sources as well.
In addition to the energy and petrochemicals sector, Aberdeen is home to various research facilities that study everything from fisheries, soil, food, nutrition and agriculture through to technology and electronics design.
Just some of the firms that call Aberdeen home include Abbot Group Ltd, Dana Petroleum, Wood Group and Aberdeen Asset Management.
Popular locations
Heads of facilities use Cast UK
At Cast UK, we only deal with high calibre people and positions, so if you’re looking for a head of facilities for your business, please reach out, as we’ll be able to shortlist a superb selection of candidates for your role. If you want us to be your recruitment partner, call us on 0333 121 3345 and speak to one of our consultants.
If you’re looking to take a step up the ladder as a facilities manager and you’ve got the skills and experience, why not click the link below and register with us? We could have just the role for you.
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