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 Middlesex
One of the smallest of England's historic counties, Middlesex was abolished in the 1960s and most of the region became part of the Greater London area.
The London boroughs that are today known as Barnet, Ealing, Haringey, Hounslow, Hillingdon, Enfield, Brent, and Richmond upon Thames, were once part of Middlesex. While other counties that absorbed bits of the region included Hertfordshire, Surrey and Berkshire.
These days, the area that was once known as Middlesex is thriving, and it benefits greatly from its proximity to the capital. It's also a great place to find Head of Facilities vacancies.
Most of the economy of the area is based in retail and the service sector. The UK headquarters of McDonald's is located in East Finchley, while other companies that call the region home include GlaxoSmithKline, British Sky Broadcasting, Sega Europe, JCDecaux and Guoman Hotel Management.
Fuller's Brewery is located in Chiswick and Cadbury plc has head offices in Uxbridge. What's more, the region, which is very close to Heathrow Airport, is home to a number of aviation companies including British Airways, Air France, KLM and Menzies Aviation.
Middlesex is also an important location for sport, with two of England's largest sporting arenas - Wembley and Twickenham - within its old boundaries.
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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