Global Facilities Director

Kennedys is looking to recruit a Global Facilities Director. The role is responsible for managing the firm's office footprint across jurisdictions, ensuring the property portfolio supports the firm's operational and strategic objectives, with a focus on commercial lease management, negotiation, and strategic real estate planning.

The successful Global Facilities Director will be an experienced Facilities or Real Estate leader with excellent understanding of commercial lease structures, landlord negotiations, global property markets, and the operational demands of a large professional services environment.

The Global Facilities Director will act in a leadership capacity managing a global, cross-jurisdictional team to oversee the delivery of global projects, fostering collaboration across Business Services teams. This is an exciting time to join a growing, global law firm during a period of transformation.

Kennedys Facilities team ensure the firm s offices are maintained and consistently delivered to a high standard. They drive the continuous improvement of all aspects of Kennedys facilities management and property portfolio globally. The team is over 80 employees with presence in all of Kennedys global offices.

Leadership and Strategy:

• Lead the global Facilities team and set the strategic direction in line with the firm s overall goals
• Promote a culture of service excellence, responsiveness, and continuous improvement within the Facilities function
• Lead and develop a high-performing team of Regional Leads, Office Managers and Facilities coordinators
• Act as the senior facilities lead for the firm s environmental sustainability strategy and net zero action plan working with Executive Leadership, Responsible Business, Finance and Risk
• Provide strategic leadership on carbon reduction across real estate and facilities operations, ensuring consistency across all global offices
• Partner with HR, IT, Risk, and Partners to plan space allocations, workplace design, and future growth needs
• Lead cross-functional project teams through office openings, refits, relocations, and refurbishment projects

Property And Lease Management:

• Lead lease negotiations for new office space, renewals, and space optimisation initiatives across multiple jurisdictions
• Manage and review all commercial lease agreements for the firms global real estate
• Negotiate service contracts, and vendor agreements to secure the best terms for the firm
• Foster strong relationships with landlords, contractors, and service providers to facilitate effective negotiations
• Lead in planning and delivery of all office moves globally, including expansions, refurbishments, reconfigurations, and new office openings
• Keep abreast of all property related compliance and ensure they are adhered to throughout the firm.

Facilities:

• Oversee the management of the firm s facilities, including but not limited to, storage, maintenance, cleaning, catering, post, print, records, copiers and stationery and couriers
• Work closely with Local Managing Partners and COO to ensure strategic alignment and cost-effective Facilities Management solutions
• Set and manage the Global Facilities budget ensuring expenditure is in line with the approved budget and analyse costs throughout the budget year
• Produce reporting for the executive group on costs and performance metrics
• Deliver facilities projects in line with the firm s strategic plan.

Required Experience:

• Demonstrable experience managing high-end premises, facilities, and general support services, within a professional services environment
• Extensive experience managing end-to-end real estate strategy including, embedding Net Zero and sustainability outcomes, property acquisition, lease negotiation, office moves, and site exits, while balancing commercial, operational, and environmental priorities
• Strong leadership skills with a track record of motivating and managing teams effectively, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture
• Extensive experience managing the end-to-end real estate lifecycle and location strategy including, embedding Net Zero and sustainability outcomes, property acquisition, lease negotiation, office moves, and site exits, while balancing commercial, operational, and environmental priorities
• Strong financial acumen and analytical skills
• Ability to think and act independently, with a flexible approach
• Ability to be resilient, dealing effectively with changes to plans
• Excellent understanding of working in a commercial environment including the identification of commercial risk and providing high level commercial advice to stakeholders at all levels
• Confident communicator with strong influencing skills and stakeholder management experience
• Strong understanding of Facilities Management best practices and supplier management.

Please let us know if you require any additional support or adjustments to be made in order to submit your application to Kennedys.

Where a level of experience is indicated, this is a guideline only and…