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 Gloucestershire
A county in the south-west of England, Gloucestershire shares borders with a number of counties - including Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire and Somerset - as well as Wales.
Various towns and cities are located here, such as Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud, Tewkesbury and Cirencester, and it offers a wealth of choice for those seeking Head of Facilities vacancies.
For much of its past, this region has been agricultural, with market towns trading wool and dairy products. During the Industrial Revolution, textile making and cloth production became important to the local economy, and the canal network helped to make transport around the area easier.
These days, the service sector and tourism are both important for the area. Gloucestershire serves as a financial centre, home to companies like Cheltenham & Gloucester and Ecclesiastical Insurance, and it also has a number of aerospace companies like the Gloster Aircraft Company and GE-Aviation.
There's a large amount of light industry, with products being manufactured in Gloucestershire including foods and electronics.
The Government Communications Headquarters, also known as GCHQ, is located in Cheltenham, while a number of colleges and universities are also based within Gloucestershire.
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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