Head of Facilities & Estates

Head of Facilities & Estates: Opportunity Brief

Ford & Stanley Executive Search – Specialists in Executive Interim & Permanent appointments have been instructed on the search for a Head of Facilities & Estates on behalf of Chessington World of Adventures.

Chessington World of Adventures forms a part of a world–leading group in the entertainment industry and whom were one of the first themed amusement parks in Britain.

Client Opportunity Statement:

With our customer number rising back to pre–Covid levels we have the perfect opportunity to break away from doing things because that s the way we have always done them and bring about innovation, positive change and new ways of working. With plans for a new water park, a world–exclusive guest experience sector and resort/hotel development in which this role will play a pivotal part in the successful launching of there really is no better time to get on board

Scope of Job:

Working in a fast–paced and guest–facing business, Technical Services is a dynamic team responsible for all elements of maintenance across the resort to ensure the park is operating safely and effectively at all times. Our team members are enthusiastic and motivated to deliver and improve the service we provide, while having a sense of fun and community that comes from working with Merlin Entertainments and Chessington World of Adventures.

You are responsible for the resort facilities and infrastructure. You will ensure the repairs and upgrades are conducted safely and effectively by your facilities, creative, landscapes, and waste management and recycling teams who provide preventative and corrective maintenance, cleanliness and theming across the hotels and park.

Main Purpose of the role:

• Manage the Facilities, Creative, Landscapes and Waste & Recycling teams to keep the park operating safely and effectively.
• Manage all Health and Safety elements of facilities' work and compliance with relevant codes, standards and regulations.
• Manage the larger facilities projects to continue to improve park infrastructure.
• Innovate to reduce maintenance time and costs, while reducing the reliance on contractors for all work on the park.

• Work in close partnership with the Technical Services Director to pioneer the function, challenge current ways and develop new efficiencies / marginal gains across the park.
• Lead a team of 25 (5 Direct reports 20 indirect reports)

• Manage the Facilities team to ensure all facilities and working areas across the park and hotels are maintained to the highest professional standard and fit for operation in line with guest expectations and Health & Safety guidelines.
• Manage the Waste & Recycling team to ensure the park is clean and fit for purpose, and all waste is collected and recycled in accordance with regulations, CWOA initiatives and Merlin direction.
• Manage the Creative and Landscapes teams to ensure that all the theming, including effects, sound and light, security and festive equipment, trees and gardens are kept to the highest standards, enhance the guest experience and improve our KPIs.
• Project manage a wide range of infrastructure projects to effectively deliver on time and within budget.
• Be prepared to work weekends and bank holidays during our busiest times, in accordance with your contract, to support peak demand and workload.
• Perform Incident Director duties as part of the operational management team.

Candidate Essentials:

• Candidates will be experienced in working with complex facilities/estate management environments ideally from a hotel or resort background.
• Good leadership and management experience with a strong personality. Have proven examples of implementing change both operational and culturally. Ability to take the team on the journey from good to great.
• Proven experience in managing systems and processes
• An engaging, clear and concise communicator who gets things done with offices based within the Park it is expected this person will interact with Park guests
• Strong experience working with Microsoft office package such as Word, Excel & PowerPoint
• Qualified from a degree or qualified by experience in Facilities Management
• Strong background in continuous improvement
• Live local to Chessington as the role is required to be on–site 5 days per week / full time

Good to know:

• The role reports to the Technical Services Director and has 5 direct reports and 20 indirect reports
• The role is based inside the park and next to the Zoo with existing employees stating that they thoroughly enjoy being able to interact with animals throughout their working days.
• Opportunity to play a pivotal role in its defining and development of the role, looking for a candidate who will rip up the rule book and implement best–in–practice procedures and processes.
• The Group has big plans for the park, from new IP rides to adding a water resort hotel and a premium location–based entertainment venue. There are a lot of exciting plans ahead in which this role will also play a key part.
• The biggest challenges the role represents are innovation (doing things differently from the industry norm and using the data/fact to drive change within the business). We need a strong character who can work with the team/colleagues and superiors to inspire, encourage and cajole change yet not be afraid to have hard conversations where needed.
• With attendance numbers of 1.69 million customers pre covid, Chessington has returned to full capacity.
• This role will require walking the park with a Lanyard on and interacting with guests a world–class customer experience is required at all times.
• There is a lot happening at any one time, circumstances can change quickly sometimes hourly and one of the challenges in this role is the ability to spin several plates at once.
• Candidates are likely to live within 1–hour commutable distance of Chessington due to the role needing to have a full–time site presence
• There will be a 2 stage interview process, on–site competency–based for stage 1 (4 candidates) and face–to–face for the final stage (2 candidates) which will include a site tour, presentation and formal interview with Chessington Technical Director and Group Technical Director. Interview dates are already pre–booked for Mid/late Feb.
• We have an organisational chart and role profile available for candidates to review upon request.
• This role averages 40 hours per week and will include ad hoc weekends (1 in every 5 on average), evenings and bank holidays working as required by the business.

Budget:

• Base Salary Banding: Low of GBP60k, Mid of GBP65k and top end of GBP70k (depending on experience)
• Annual Salary Reviews
• Private Healthcare
• 25 days Holiday + 8 Statutory
• 4% Pension matched contributions
• Business Expenses Covered
• Employee Assistance Plan
• Life Assurance x 4 Salary
• Sick Pay
• Bonus up to 17.5%

Perks:

We strive to ensure we offer our employees a great place to work. Alongside a fun and friendly environment, a competitive annual salary and 33 days holiday (including bank holidays) you can look forward to enjoying a great benefits package including a Group Personal Pension Plan, Private Medical Healthcare, Life Assurance, Employee Assistance Programme, and of course a Merlin Magic Pass which gives you and your friends and family free admission to all of our attractions worldwide, as well as 25% discount in our retail shops and restaurants and 40% discount on LEGO, and much more! Perhaps the biggest benefit of joining us, however, is the outstanding opportunities for career development across the expanding group.

Likely Job Titles:

Facilities Manager, Head of Facilities, Estate Manager, Head of Estate, Facilities Director

Executive Search Delivery Team:

• Emma Barlow Senior Associate (Coordination)
• Oliver Nunn Lead Researcher (Research, Search & Selection)
• Dan Taylor Director of Executive Search (Search Director & Assignment Advisory)

About Ford & Stanley Executive Search:

At Ford & Stanley Executive Search we go beyond a recruiting transaction with our core mission being that of every interaction we have with clients and candidates is best in class. We are select in the opportunities we represent, as such, work under strict exclusivity or retained agreements with forward thinking and proactive Rail companies that place their trust in our ability to deliver a winning shortlist at the first time of asking.

Our Search Directors (who are themselves members of the F&S Group Board) and in house research team invest time at the front end of process with our client s leadership team or stakeholders to consult, understand the opportunity inherent within the role, business need, map and agree timescales with supporting delivery plan well in advance of conducting the search.

All candidates both active and passive (head–hunted) can expect full and professional engagement from the Executive Search team in addition a timely, thorough and engaging recruitment process from a committed employer that seeks to secure cream of the crop from a busy and noisy Global Rail candidate market.

Ford & Stanley Group Ltd is committed to a policy of equal opportunities for all opportunity seekers and approach all opportunity with a mindset of who is right for the job irrespective sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment . click apply for full job details