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 Walsall
Walsall has gone through countless changes through history, not least with its name, which was once Walesho, meaning valley of the Welsh speakers. It was also historically in Staffordshire, but is now part of the West Midlands metropolitan county, along with Birmingham and Wolverhampton, its neighbour in the west.
The population of Walsall, which had been a relatively small village, exploded during the Industrial Revolution, and it was an important coal mining, limestone quarrying, iron and brass founding and leatherworking centre. This latter trade is still associated with the town, hence the football club’s nickname The Saddlers. Modern industries include plastics, aircraft parts, chemicals and electronics. The RAC has its control centre nearby, as anyone who has travelled on the M6 will know. Recently the high street clothing and homeware store TK Maxx opened its regional depot there.
The town is particularly well served by the road and rail networks, which along with its location right in the centre of England, has opened up the opportunity for companies to locate their depots and warehouses in the area. This means that Head of Facilities positions are frequently asked for by local employers. And like many towns and cities with strong links to Britain’s industrial past, there’s a workforce and work ethic to fulfil them.
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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