Facilities Manager

Facilities Manager

Department: Facilities

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Head Office, Chelsea House

Reporting To: Frances Baker

Description

The Facilities Manager is responsible for leading and delivering the full facilities management strategy for our standalone head office-ensuring a safe, compliant, efficient and high performing workplace environment for all colleagues.

This role oversees building operations, maintenance, health & safety, security, sustainability initiatives, and all outsourced FM contracts. It plays a key role in creating a workplace that supports productivity, collaboration and the company's culture.

Key Responsibilities Strategic Facilities Leadership

• Develop and implement the facilities management strategy for the head office.
• Build and manage annual FM budgets, forecasting, and capital expenditure planning.
  Lead space planning and workplace optimisation to meet evolving business needs.
• Act as the subject matter expert on FM, ensuring the business remains compliant, future ready and cost efficient.

Building Operations & Maintenance

• Oversee all hard services: M&E, HVAC, fire systems, lifts, plant, and building fabric.
• Ensure the building is operated safely and efficiently, with proactive maintenance programmes.
• Manage planned preventative maintenance (PPM) schedules and reactive maintenance.
• Commission building works, refurbishment projects, and lifecycle replacement plans.

Workplace Experience & Services

• Ensure all soft services deliver an excellent colleague experience (cleaning, catering, reception, post room, waste, landscaping).
• Champion a service led culture that enhances the working environment and supports hybrid working.
• Oversee workplace technology (access control, room booking, desk utilisation tools).

Health, Safety & Compliance

• Act as the Responsible Person / Duty Holder for the building.
• Oversee statutory inspections, risk assessments, fire safety, water hygiene and compliance reporting.
• Maintain clear and auditable compliance documentation.
• Lead incident management, business continuity planning and emergency response procedures.

Supplier & Contract Management

• Manage all FM contracts (hard and soft services), ensuring performance against KPIs and SLAs.
• Run procurement processes for key contracts, ensuring value for money and high service quality.
• Build strong relationships with suppliers and hold them accountable for delivery standards.

Sustainability & ESG

• Lead sustainability initiatives within the workplace-energy efficiency, waste reduction, carbon footprint improvements.
• Implement monitoring and reporting of utilities usage and sustainability performance.
• Support company wide ESG targets through facilities based initiatives.

Team Leadership

• Lead an internal FM team and oversee all external FM providers.
• Drive a culture of ownership, continuous improvement, and high performance.
• Ensure the team has the training and skills needed to support a safe and operational building.

Key Skills & Experience

• Significant experience in facilities management leadership, ideally within retail head office or large corporate environments.
• Strong knowledge of UK H&S legislation, compliance frameworks, and building operations.
• NEBOSH General Certificate
• Proven experience managing both hard and soft FM services, and large outsourced contracts.
• Budget ownership and financial management capability.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and influencing skills.
• Experience leading workplace transformation, refurbishments or office moves is beneficial.
• IWFM qualification (Level 5 or above) preferred but not essential.

Personal Attributes

• Proactive, organised and solutions focused.
• Strong leadership presence and the ability to engage at all levels of the organisation.
• Calm under pressure with excellent problem solving skills.
• Commercially astute with a continuous improvement mindset.
• Passionate about creating a high quality workplace experience

About Us

We're a much-loved brand with an exciting future. Our Islanders are a diverse bunch of bright, talented people who love working together - and are proud of the work they do. Progression here can take you in all kinds of directions. This is what a career at River Island is like. And this is where yours starts.

This role is based at our Head Office in West London. Check us out here on a map.

What we can offer you:

• Generous 50% staff discount so you can treat yourself to the latest products, and a bargain staff shop on site!
• Reducing Islanders everyday expenses through discounts, benefits, financial advice, wellbeing solutions and more through the Retail Trust.
• A free onsite gym, subsidised restaurant & café to fill you needs. Various social events to socialise throughout the year.
• Every family is unique, we support Islanders with all different family setups enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption & fertility treatment. We also work closely with the Retail Trust to create dedicated support for all our Islanders!
• Flexible working is a given, on top of payday and summer early finish Fridays.
• Give as you earn scheme, a 'Giver Island' day each year and receive matched funding.
• Support with upskilling through on the job training and qualifications. A succession plan if you want to progress.
• A generous bonus scheme & private pension plan.
• The choice to opt in for healthcare through our provider AXA.
• An allowance supporting your commute to work.
• ️ 25 days paid holiday, exclusive of Bank Holidays. With the added option to purchase additional holiday twice a year for whatever the need!

Keeping You Safe

At River Island we are committed to the safeguarding of all of our employees regardless of age or job role. We will fulfil our obligation under the Prevent duty which seeks to stop extremism and extremist views from materialising in our business. We promote and encourage the belief in British Values- including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. To find out more, please visit .

Our Island is made up of a diverse community, where we all belong and feel part of something bigger. We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We will consider flexible working requests for all roles unless operational requirements prevent otherwise. To find out more about this interview process, check out our hiring process below.