Facilities Manager - Marylebone, London

Department: Property & Asset Management

Sub-Department/Team: Facilities Management

Location: Marylebone, London

Reports to: Head of Facilities Management

Direct Reports: Maintenance Supervisor

About the Company: The Howard de Walden Estate (HdWE) owns one of London’s largest and most prestigious estates which it manages on behalf of the Howard de Walden family. The Estate owns, manages, and leases approximately 850 properties within 95 acres of Marylebone and is highly diversified spanning five sectors: healthcare, offices, residential, retail and education.

About the role: To lead and support the Facilities Management (FM) team in delivering facilities management services to best practice standards, ensuring compliance with current regulations and legislation across the Estate. The Facilities Manager will take ownership of maintaining the highest standards of property management and service delivery for occupiers, while collaborating closely with the Property & Asset Management department to meet Estate-wide objectives.

What you will do:

• Ensure the on-site management of the building(s) is undertaken in accordance with HdWE policies, processes and procedures. Identify gaps in processes and seek to improve them to ensure best practice.
• Manage properties within the Estate throughout their lifecycle prioritising safety, compliance, maintenance, and improvements, to create a secure and functional environment for the business, colleagues, tenants, and other stakeholders.
• Ensure the collection and monitoring of O&M manuals, warranties, PPM schedules, asset registers, and other documentation required to ensure maintenance is delivered to the required standards.
• Lead the FM team in the delivery of hard and soft services across the Estate, with a sound understanding of the purpose and general operation of mechanical and electrical equipment within properties.
• Engage with tenants, offering assistance and guidance in connection with the day-to-day operation of the building(s), in support of occupier matters.
• Understand the principal terms of lease agreements as they affect the facilities management of the property, and HdWE’s obligations to provide services, including clarity on communal services and mixed-use buildings.
• Be available to attend the building(s) during emergencies and adhere to HdWE’s escalation and out-of-hours processes. Follow incident reporting protocols as required.
• Support the financial management of the Estate, ensuring alignment with HdWE objectives and meeting quantified targets, through preparation and reconciliation of service charge budgets, monitoring and allocation of spending, raising work orders and processing invoices, as applicable.
• Maintain a high level of current Health and Safety knowledge and collaborate with the Health and Safety department to ensure accurate completion of compliance activities. Actions raised are instructed, recorded, and completed utilising Dynamics 365 (D365).
• Work closely with the Sustainability department to support HdWE’s environmental, social and governance objectives, assisting with compliance and aiming for a net-zero carbon future.
• Collaborate with Procurement in the onboarding of suppliers and services within the Estate in accordance with HdWE’s procurement policy. Regularly review accredited contractors, tender as required and implement contracts and framework agreements as needed.
• Lead the in-house Maintenance Team via the Maintenance Supervisor, ensuring effective supervision of the Maintenance Technicians, and ensure that all planned, reactive, and out-of-hours maintenance activities are delivered to the required standard, with team productivity, resource utilisation, and cost efficiency monitored through D365.
• Manage external service providers to ensure a professional delivery for the best value. Monitor contractor performance against agreed standards/KPIs to ensure the highest standards for the best price. Hold progress monitoring meetings, review service agreements as appropriate and ensure the correction of under-performance issues.
• Review quotations and manage minor works to ensure value for money, obtaining approval, when necessary, before work is instructed. Ensure works are completed safely, on schedule and to the required quality and cost.
• Visit sites and inspect properties according to agreed operational requirements. Ensure any actions identified are raised, recorded, and addressed in a timely manner.
• Liaise with and assist the Project department on refurbishments or major works as they affect site operations and maintenance.
• Support due diligence enquiries on lettings, acquisitions, and disposals from a facilities perspective.
• Assist in monitoring vacant/void properties in conjunction with HdWE’s insurance and H&S policies.
• Work with the Insurance department to submit claims and manage the completion of required works, in accordance with HdWE’s insurers and insurance procedures.
• Become fully conversant with HdWE systems, including MRI, D365 and M-Files utilising reporting functions to drive optimisation.
• Collaborate with all HdWE departments to ensure a high level of management in all areas, raising any matters for improvement.
• Contribute to making HdWE the preferred property partner by demonstrating our values and remaining collaborative, supportive, and solution focused, embracing diversity and inclusion, and respecting others.
• Undertake further role-specific training and continuous professional development.

What you will need:

• 5+ years’ experience in facilities management, delivering combined hard and soft services.
• IOSH and/or NEBOSH.
• Technical knowledge of maintenance methods, operating requirements, and safety precautions related to facilities management.
• Confident in budget management, service charges and financial interpretation.
• Knowledge of current compliance and health and safety regulations.
• Able to prioritise and organise workload and work collaboratively as part of a team to solve problems with professionalism and service focused approach.
• Strong administrative background with knowledge using Microsoft Office and property/CRM databases.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills for determining and discussing building needs and communicating this with colleagues, contractors, and tenants.
• Experience liaising with a range of stakeholders and effectively dealing with high pressure situations.
• Strong understanding of process and technology to streamline duties and create efficiencies.

What we offer you:

• 25 days holiday per year, plus statutory holidays and 3 discretionary days to cover the Christmas office closure.
• Private medical insurance with Bupa.
• Defined contribution pension scheme with 12.5% employer contributions.
• Discretionary bonus.
• Life assurance at 7x salary.
• Group Income Protection Scheme.
• Interest free season ticket loan.
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and wellbeing app.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Onsite gym with 7 weekly classes and 2 Wattbikes.
• Regular staff socials and an annual company away day.
• Free fruit and breakfast cereals.
• Hybrid working arrangements – 155 days in the office per year with minimum of 2 days (not fixed) per week in the office.
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and shared parental leave policies (12-month qualifying period).
• Volunteering opportunities aligned with the HdWE Community Investment Programme.