Workplace Manager – UK

About Waystone

Waystone is a leading asset-servicing solutions provider of institutional governance, administration, risk and compliance services to financial institutions. With over 25 years’ experience and a comprehensive range of specialist services to its name, Waystone helps our clients structure, operate and grow through our expertise, innovation and digitisation, backed by the operational scale to support global expansion.

SUMMARY: The Facilities Manager - UK is the first point of contact for the Facilities function in the UK and is responsible for overseeing facilities operations across all UK offices. As a key member of the Real Estate & Facilities Team, you will directly manage the UK facilities team, ensuring each team member has clear direction, support and accountability for the effective operation of their assigned office. Local facilities team members retain day-to-day responsibility for their offices, while you maintain oversight of facilities standards, servicing, Health & Safety, risk controls, compliance documentation, budgets and projects. Working with the Associate Director and Head of Real Estate & Facilities, you will coordinate UK stakeholders and vendors, support wider business teams where agreed, and assist the department ESG Champion with agreed ESG activities.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

Real Estate

• Manage local UK facilities projects assigned by the Chief Product Officer, Country Head, Head of Real Estate & Facilities or Associate Director of Real Estate & Facilities, coordinating the relevant internal stakeholders, local facilities team members and external partners.
• Support UK office moves, fit-outs, integrations, desk moves, seating plans and space utilisation activity, ensuring actions, timelines and practical requirements are clearly coordinated and communicated.
• Maintain proportionate project plans, action trackers and budget updates for assigned initiatives, escalating material risks, issues or decisions where required.
• Support the rollout of agreed initiatives, systems, reports and processes affecting the UK offices.

Health & Safety

• Coordinate the UK facilities teams’ completion of Health & Safety activities set by the Global Health & Safety Pillar Owner, ensuring required actions are assigned, tracked and followed through.
• Work with the relevant local facilities team to ensure requested Health & Safety documentation is completed, maintained and escalated appropriately.

ESG (Position Green)

• Support the department ESG Champion with agreed sustainability activities, including Position Green requirements, information gathering, documentation and reporting inputs.
• Coordinate assigned ESG actions with local representatives, tracking progress and following up on outstanding items as required.

Vendor Management and Budget

• Maintain oversight of the monthly UK facilities budget for the London office and send this along with the Leeds and Exeter reports, as provided by your team, to the Associate Director, clearly highlighting material variances, risks, upcoming commitments and approvals required.
• Oversee UK facilities expenditure, project costs, commitments, quotes and invoices against agreed budgets, working with local facilities team members to ensure information is accurate and up to date.
• Manage the UK facilities vendor portfolio and key relationships with vendors, landlords and building management, ensuring clear communication, timely follow-up and consistent service delivery.
• Monitor vendor performance and compliance with contractual obligations and Waystone requirements, addressing service issues and escalating material concerns where necessary.
• Support appropriate procurement and onboarding of UK facilities vendors, seeking value for money and maintaining the required documentation.

General

• Establish, maintain and improve departmental documentation, registers, trackers and governance records.
• Act as the first point of contact for the Facilities team in the UK and directly manage and mentor the UK facilities team, providing clear direction, development support, coordination, prioritisation and consistent oversight of service delivery across the UK offices.
• Actively question methods and processes to improve efficiency, repeatability and standards across the UK facilities function.
• Ensure local facilities team members effectively manage the day-to-day operation of their assigned offices and that required servicing, statutory and regulatory requirements, documentation, risk controls and facilities standards are maintained and escalated where necessary.
• Maintain sufficient capacity within the UK facilities function to provide practical on-the-ground support to teams such as Marketing, Client Services and Communications where this is operationally appropriate and agreed with the Associate Director.
• Provide day-to-day coaching and mentorship to direct reports, supporting their development, helping them resolve local issues and building consistent ways of working across the UK facilities team.
• Demonstrate sound judgement, ownership and decision-making, escalating only where appropriate and bringing clear recommendations where decisions are required.
• Able and willing to support additional duties as required, including team coverage for out of office periods.
• Adhere to Waystone company policies, procedures, culture and values.
• Represent Waystone in an ethical and professional manner.
• Maintain an up-to-date understanding of the Waystone Group structure, relevant key contacts, decision-makers and escalation routes required to perform the role effectively.

REQUIREMENTS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed in this job description are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Waystone has an open and inclusive culture, and we encourage candidates from varied backgrounds and experiences to apply.

Education:

• An internationally recognised professional qualification.

Competencies:

To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following:

• Adaptability/Flexibility
• Communication
• Customer Service
• Dependability
• Integrity/Ethics
• Self-Development
• Decision Making/Judgment
• Initiative
• Organization Savvy
• Problem Solving/Analysis
• Sense of Urgency

Language Skills

Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Written and spoken English as a Mother tongue.

Computer Skills

To perform this job successfully, an individual should have mastered MS Office including Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint. Finance applications such as Yooz would be an advantage.