Head of Facilities and H&S

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REPORTING TO: Managing Partner

HOURS: 37.5 hours per week, Core hours between 09.00am - 17.30pm

LOCATION: Any Hempsons office, ideally London or Southampton (or time spent in both offices, and occasional travel to Harrogate, Manchester and Newcastle offices)

About Hempsons

With 250 staff and lawyers working across our five offices nationwide (all in multi-tenanted buildings with areas ranging between 1000 square feet to 4500 square feet, Hempsons is a leading law firm for the health and social care, charity and social enterprise sectors. We help clients largely in the public sector and the majority within the NHS overcome a constantly evolving list of challenges as the healthcare market changes. Our aim is to provide outstanding legal services that deliver the best possible client outcomes whilst nurturing a culture that makes us a "great place to work".

The team:

The Head of Facilities and H&S role will sit within our Senior Management team reporting directly to the Managing Partner but working closely with our HR, Finance and Quality and Risk teams. You will have overall responsibility for a team which is currently made up of a Facilities Manager, and nine individuals in our Docucentre team across all our offices, and one in our First Impressions Team. The role can be based in any of Hempsons' offices; however, we are focusing our search on London and Southampton currently.

The role:

The Head of Facilities and H&S will help to deliver excellent innovation and customer service to our clients and our employees. As the legal market continues to evolve with more flexible working and our advancing adoption of technology this role will help define and deliver a future facing, innovative UK facilities strategy.

This includes designing and delivering our UK property strategy, creating and managing innovative and engaging workspaces for our people and clients, redesigning and managing our business continuity plan, creating a first-class service environment and managing the facilities team to provide the numerous day-to-day services offered to Partners, staff, clients and visitors including front of house services in some offices. These services affect everyone each time they enter the building, so seen or unseen, the facilities service is of great importance to the business 24 hours a day 365 days a year.

Hempsons has a hybrid working environment, so you will have the flexibility to come into the office and work from home.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Project Delivery

• Create and deliver a working environment that enables us to deliver both the best client experience and help us attract and retain top talent.
• Drive service innovation across the facilities, front of house and Docucentre team.
• Act as the main stakeholder between Landlords and clients, ensuring an effective, fit for purpose building in each of our locations.
• Work closely with the HR & Recruitment team to effectively manage recruitment, with the facilities, Docucentre and front of house teams to carry out performance reviews and in relation to talent liaison and staff development.

  Operational Delivery

• Be an active member of the business continuity committee and be involved in the continual improvement of the Business continuity plan and ensure the business has a strong, fully trained incident response team.
• Play a key role in the firm's rent reviews and further matters.
• Create, develop and robustly manage the UK facilities budgets, identifying savings and service development opportunities and together with the finance teams to provide robust examination and challenge of service charges
• Manage and develop supplier relationships to ensure the business receives a proactive, cost efficient and suitable service.
• Ensure procurement procedures are efficient, effective and open, and in line with the firm's procurement policy.
• Manage effective and proactive sub-tenant relationships. (there are none at the moment)

  Leadership

• Lead a team of circa 10 employees across the firm
• Manage, mentor and support direct reports to ensure ownership and implementation of their work streams strategies, developing a continual improvement work ethic.
• Manage, mentor & develop the facilities teams to deliver a first-class service to the firm and its clients.
• Sit on SMT to help deliver firmwide initiatives and role model any change agenda projects across the firm

  Risk Management

• Ensure Hempsons is compliant with all relevant legislation, relevant standards and good practice in each office.
• Identify and actively manage relevant risks in each office, including those relating to employees and other external parties.
• Maintain our Business Continuity Plans and managed related resilience activities.
• Contribute to ISO27001, ISO9001 and ISO14001 certification
• Particular awareness of ISO and quality standards, specifically the Environmental impact of the firm, see below for more details

  Environment, sustainability and health & safety

• Ensure all regulatory and legal H&S standards are met and adhered to, to the highest level within the business.
• Ensure all regulatory and legal environmental standards are met and adhered to, to the highest level within the business.
• Develop & manage firm's environmental & sustainability strategy.
• Along with the firm's lead Environment Partner, to attend and maintain a leading presence as one of the founder firms of the Legal Sustainability Alliance.
• Ensure effective management of ISO50001.
• Ensure compliance with all environmental legislation and record keeping.
• Coordinate Environmental strategy with fellow tenants and landlords.
• Ensure that the firm's own contracts dovetail appropriately with the landlord's building contractors, where relevant
• Ensure firm's business activities comply with all relevant legislation.
• Ensure all risk assessments are in place and correct procedures followed.
• Ensure co-ordination of H&S policy with fellow tenants and landlords.
• Ensure staff training is organised to support their personal development and progression.
• Ensure effective management of ISO14001 Environment Management System and work closely with Q&R to set objectives and deliver outcomes of the standard. The standard itself is to stay in Q&R
• Leading the firms Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) in line with client requirements and work with external consultants already in place, and lead on going CRP initiatives
• To pro-actively manage the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) if / when staff levels exceed 250. This will include ensuring the firm stays compliant with the updated ESOS, and making the necessary submissions as / when required.

  Catering & Reception

• Where catering is required for staff or client events, to deliver first-class hospitality and to manage catering supplier contracts pro-actively.
• Supporting the team to deliver a first-class catering service in the workplace and hospitality.
• Deliver a professional and excellent front of house and concierge service.
• Provide an excellent "visitor experience" constantly seeking how it can be developed and improved.

  Service, Supplier & Budget Management

• Develop new and existing services to address the day-to-day needs of the firm, deliver continuous improvement that underpins our business plans and associated growth while also supporting our culture.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key internal stakeholders as well as understand and anticipate their needs with the ability to think creatively and problem solve in line with their business plans and goals.
• Negotiate and agree operations related contracts on behalf of the firm, ensuring that they are procured on acceptable commercial terms and conditions, seeking input from the firm's internal legal experts as required. Support any service owners in managing responses to any internal feedback or complaints, providing status updates and co-ordinating follow up activity as required.
• Ensure all current and ongoing supplier relationships operate with reference to the firm's values and adhere to legal, ethical and responsible business codes of conduct/best practice.
• Drive longer term evolution of the wider firm's procurement and supplier management good practice, working closely with Board members to develop the necessary capabilities across our teams and practice areas to ensure appropriate levels of consistency and excellence across the full range of our procured services.
• Budget development and ongoing management demonstrating robust controls and good return on investment across all operations areas.

  Person specification:

  The successful candidate must demonstrate an affinity for the culture of the firm, strong alignment with our values as well as be highly organised and able to demonstrate a pro-active approach to their work.

  They must enjoy working in a dynamic team-orientated environment and will need to have a flexible and co-operative nature, as well as excellent management and stakeholder engagement skills.

  Experience and Qualifications:

• Proven experience and good knowledge of ISO standards especially (although not limited to) ISO14001 Environment Management System.
• Ability to carry out all relevant tasks in line with the scope and seniority of the role.
• Ability to juggle a varied workload and to prioritise tasks
• A strong attention to detail, with good report writing skills
• Flexible approach to work and work hours
• Self-motivated, pro-active and able to use their own initiative
• Good written/report writing skills
• Ability to lead, motivate, develop and inspire immediate team, as well as colleagues across the business, to deliver business goals and behavioural change where required.
• Exceptional organisational, administrative and co-ordination skills and able to work with agility.
• Ability to effectively procure, implement and manage the necessary services and associated contracts to ensure the delivery of a best-in-class operations service to the firm
• Knowledge and experience to be able to effectively negotiate these supplier terms and conditions and provide the necessary functional, commercial, legal/regulatory expertise to ensure excellent service levels on appropriately favourable terms.
• Demonstrable experience of working with equity partners, senior management, and wider colleagues, preferably in legal or professional services sectors.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, influencing and communication skills, both written and oral.
• Advanced skills in preparation of presentations and documents to ensure audience interest and effective communication of content and key messages.
• Track record of service improvement and successful project delivery.
• Proven experience and expertise in dealing with Health and Safety Regulations and managing health and safety issues in order to ensure compliance.

  Educational and professional qualifications required:

• The following are desirable:
• Health & safety, environmental, building and maintenance qualifications, such as NEBOSH/IOSH
• Professional Operations Accreditation
• Relevant procurement and supplier management qualifications
• Risk Management qualifications
• Project and programme management qualifications e.g. although not limited to Prince2

What can we offer you?

Our benefits package is designed to enable all colleagues to thrive in an inclusive and supportive environment. These benefits range from private health insurance, life assurance, income protection to season ticket loans and cycle-to-work scheme.

Hempsons is an equal opportunities employer

Hempsons is committed to providing equal opportunities for all and to encouraging diversity through recruitment. Applications are welcome from all sections of the community and decisions to progress will be made with reference to entirely objective criteria only.

Job Description can be found here: Head of Facilities HS_Job Description_300824.pdf