Technical Facilities Manager

This is an excellent opportunity to take ownership of a technically complex environment incorporating cleanrooms, engineering laboratories, manufacturing areas and critical infrastructure systems.

You will coordinate an internal facilities team and external service providers, ensuring the site operates safely, efficiently and reliably. The position requires a strong technical engineering background combined with proven facilities management experience gained within a regulated or technically advanced environment.

Relevant sectors may include semiconductor manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, scientific instrumentation or a similar industry.

Key Responsibilities

Site Operations and Technical Infrastructure

• Provide technical guidance across mechanical, electrical, controls and life-safety systems.
• Establish engineering standards aligned with statutory requirements, manufacturer guidance and industry best practice.
• Act as the technical authority for safe systems of work, isolation management, switching protocols and engineering change control.
• Ensure engineering teams work within clearly defined competency and authorisation frameworks.
• Oversee technical risk assessments and ensure operational activity does not compromise safety, resilience or compliance.
• Manage critical building services and infrastructure, including:
  • HVAC systems
  • Cleanroom environments
  • Gas and water systems
  • Electrical infrastructure
  • Building Management Systems
• Maintain the uptime, reliability and performance of systems supporting manufacturing and research and development activities.
• Develop and implement planned preventive maintenance strategies.
• Introduce reliability-centred and condition-based maintenance approaches to reduce downtime and equipment failure.
• Coordinate reactive maintenance and emergency response activities.
• Ensure the CAFM system accurately records asset criticality, maintenance history, lifecycle information and redundancy arrangements.
• Maintain the resilience of critical infrastructure, including:
  • HV and LV distribution
  • UPS systems
  • Standby generators
  • Chillers
  • Boilers
  • Clean utilities
  • Life-safety systems
• Coordinate incident investigations, root-cause analysis and post-incident reviews.
• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency, sustainability, reliability and cost control.

Cleanrooms and Specialist Environments

• Maintain cleanroom performance in line with required classifications and standards.
• Oversee environmental monitoring and contamination-control processes.
• Ensure compliance with applicable ISO cleanroom standards.
• Work collaboratively with engineering, manufacturing and operational teams to meet specialist laboratory and production requirements.
• Ensure maintenance and facilities activity does not compromise controlled environments or operational output.

Contractor and Supplier Management

• Manage external facilities service providers covering areas such as:
  • Engineering maintenance
  • Security
  • Waste management
  • Cleaning services
• Establish and monitor service-level agreements, performance indicators and supplier review processes.
• Ensure contractors work safely and follow site permit systems, procedures and compliance requirements.
• Promote accountability, value and continuous improvement across supplier relationships.
• Review contractor competency, performance and service quality.

Asset Management and Budget Control

• Develop and manage facilities operating and maintenance budgets.
• Support capital-investment planning and infrastructure upgrade projects.
• Maintain accurate asset lifecycle, condition and criticality information.
• Align lifecycle planning with operational resilience and business continuity requirements.
• Support equipment replacement, obsolescence and long-term infrastructure planning.
• Monitor facilities expenditure and identify opportunities to improve value without compromising safety or reliability.

Health, Safety and Compliance

• Ensure compliance with relevant UK legislation, guidance and regulations, including:
  • Electricity at Work Regulations
  • PUWER
  • LOLER
  • PSSR
  • COSHH
  • DSEAR
  • HSG274 and ACoP L8
  • Fire-safety legislation
• Maintain facilities-related risk assessments, permits to work and safe systems of work.
• Ensure statutory inspections, testing and regulatory requirements are completed within the required timescales.
• Maintain emergency, contingency and business continuity arrangements.
• Support internal, external, regulatory and customer audits.
• Promote a proactive, safety-focused and service-oriented working environment.

Team Development

• Manage, support and develop the internal Facilities Team.
• Set clear objectives, expectations and development plans.
• Ensure team members have the appropriate technical competencies, training and authorisations.
• Encourage collaboration, accountability and continuous improvement.
• Support succession planning and the continued development of technical capability across the team.

Experience and Skills

The successful candidate will ideally demonstrate:

• Proven facilities management experience within a technical, regulated or manufacturing environment.
• Strong knowledge of critical mechanical and electrical building services.
• Experience managing cleanrooms, laboratories or controlled environments.
• Experience overseeing planned and reactive maintenance programmes.
• Strong contractor, supplier and service-provider management experience.
• A good working knowledge of UK health, safety and compliance legislation.
• Experience managing and developing technical teams.
• Knowledge of asset management, lifecycle planning and business continuity.
• Experience using CAFM systems and maintenance-performance data.
• An understanding of sustainability, energy management and operational-efficiency practices.
• The ability to communicate effectively with technical specialists, contractors, operational teams and senior stakeholders.

Desirable Qualifications

• A degree or equivalent qualification in Engineering, Facilities Management or a related discipline.
• Membership of a relevant professional body, such as IWFM or CIBSE.
• Relevant health and safety, electrical, mechanical or facilities-management qualifications.

Benefits

• Salary of 50,000- 64,000.
• Structured career-development opportunities.
• Private healthcare.
• Share incentive plan.
• 25 days' annual leave.
• Half-day Fridays.
• Defined contribution pension scheme.
• Flexible benefits package.
• Excellent work-life balance.