Managing Director

Managing Director - Eric Wright Facilities Management (EWFM)
Preston, Lancashire

Are you looking for the opportunity to work for an outstanding Construction, Property and FM company?

An award-winning organisation, The Eric Wright Group has grown its annual turnover to exceed £200M and developed a Facilities Management arm (EWFM) which generates over £13M per annum in revenue. EWFM currently has an extensive portfolio of public and private sector facilities; covering healthcare, extra care, educational and commercial facilities, Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) partners, Private Finance Initiative (PFI) Partners, local Authority and 3PD Schemes.

The Eric Wright Group is 100% owned by a Charitable Trust that last year alone, invested over £2.2M into local social enterprise projects. The activities of the Group have enabled over 1,500 children and young adults in the North West region to achieve vocational qualifications - together with 65,000 children from disadvantaged backgrounds to experience, through the support of the Trust, new life skills, confidence building exercises and teamwork focused challenges.

This unique organisation is committed to a sustainable model of prudent growth and long-term stability, freed from the short-term aims of institutional shareholders. It is committed to ensuring that its profits are either used to support future growth or returned to the community via the activities of the Charitable Trust.

Would you like to be a driving force in this organisation’s success?

Catch 22 are proud to be representing EWFM as they seek to appoint a Managing Director to take the lead in the company’s exciting growth plans. Reporting to the Group Managing Director, you will oversee and direct the strategic and operational management of the FM business ensuring that quality, health and safety, and financial targets are achieved in line with the Group Board expectations.

From a stable business model, our new Managing Director will be expected to:

• Take ownership of the implementation and development of the FM business strategy based on Group Board objectives
• Lead the growth of the business through targeted business development and organic growth including taking the lead on significant bids
• Maintain and nurture effective strategic relationships with existing and potential clients
• Ensure that the company achieves financial targets
• Report to the Board on company performance and progress with implementation of the FM strategy
• Lead, motivate and manage the EWFM team
• Fully engage with and support the charitable ethos of the wider Eric Wright Group
• Actively contribute to Group Main Board discussions and decisions

This will be a challenging role, faced with increased competition in an ever-changing FM World, so we are seeking FM Executives with a proven track record and a strong reputation.

You will possess:

• Strong visionary and leadership skills
• A successful track record in the management and delivery of profitable FM contracts
• A successful track record in representing an organisation at senior level, effectively building partnerships and developing and sustaining influential relationships with multiple stakeholders
• The ability to create vision and ‘stay on strategy’, communicating what this means and working methodically to achieve the stated goals
• Strong communication skills, both oral and written, with excellent presentation and public speaking skills
• Experience of working within complex budgets and diverse income streams, an ability to develop effective financial strategies and controls
• An understanding of a multi-faceted business operation
• Strong financial acumen
• The ability to deliver complex problem solving and effective decision making
• A sound understanding of the broader FM market to enable effective identification of strategic direction and future opportunities
• The drive to succeed and ability to manage performance to get the best out of people and achieve desired outcomes
• Flexibility of thought to respond astutely to changing circumstances and complex problems, including internal and external challenges
• The ability to create and work to tight deadlines as part of a team
• The ability to accept constructive feedback and reflect with a willingness to learn/develop own skills, knowledge and behaviours

In return you will receive a generous basic salary, company car, healthcare, pension, discretionary bonuses and a platform on which you can shape and build an FM Business to rival anything else in the region.

To discuss the role in more detail, please contact our retained search partners Catch 22 for an informal and confidential discussion. Catch 22 has been working in the FM Sector for over 35 years and understands the sector and our business in detail.