Facilities Manager- Soft Services

Hastings Direct; Bexhill-on-Sea; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Car allowance

Hybrid working

4Cs bonus

Private medical insurance

Pension contributions

27 days annual leave

Job summary

Hastings Direct is seeking a Facilities Manager – Soft Services in Bexhill, with a hybrid pattern requiring three in-office days weekly. You will oversee housekeeping, security, catering, and events while managing suppliers, budgets and compliance to deliver a safe, welcoming workplace.

The role sits within the Property Services team and focuses on continuous improvement and employee experience. The ideal candidate has FM soft services experience, strong leadership, and IOSH Managing Safely or

Qualifications

• Practical knowledge of commercial FM soft services processes and health and safety requirements.
• Experience with budgets, cost control and service performance management.
• Proven ability to manage supplier relationships and projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead a range of soft services including housekeeping, security, catering, reception, events and supplier contracts.
• Oversee health, safety and compliance across a corporate workplace.
• Manage budgets and supplier performance, driving continuous improvement.
• Develop and lead high-performing teams within facilities management.

Skills

Facilities mgmt

Health & safety

Budget management

Contract management

People leadership

Education

IOSH Managing Safely

IWFM qualification

NEBOSH

Job description

Role: Facilities Manager – Soft Services Location: Bexhill – Hybrid (3 days per week minimum requirement working in the office)

Welcome to Hastings Direct. We’re a digital insurance provider with ambitious plans to become The Best and Biggest in the UK market. We’ve made huge investments in our data and tech capabilities over the past few years, along with nurturing our 4Cs culture. We’re proud of the journey we’re on as a company and know that our continued success will rely on the contribution of our talented colleagues.

We provide insurance for over four million customers, but we know there’s even bigger opportunity out there.

The fact you’re now reading this job advert means we’ve tempted you to find out more about #lifeatHD – we really hope you like what you see, and you’ll join us to share in the success of the exciting chapter that lies ahead. We understand some people may not apply for jobs unless they feel they tick every box. If you’re excited about joining us and think you have some of what we’re looking for, even if you’re not 100% sure we would love to hear from you.

Role overview

As part of the Property Services team, the Facilities Manager - Soft Services plays a key role in creating a safe, welcoming and efficient workplace environment across our office locations. With primary responsibility for Conquest House, the role leads a diverse range of services including housekeeping, front-of-house security, catering, events and supplier management. Working closely with colleagues, contractors and stakeholders at all levels, the successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring excellent service delivery, maintaining high standards of health, safety and compliance, managing budgets and suppliers, and driving continuous improvement across facilities and workplace services. This is a highly visible leadership role that combines operational management, people development, sustainability initiatives and project delivery to support an outstanding employee and visitor experience.

Job details – you’ll need to have demonstrable experience in:

• Experience leading operational teams within facilities management, workplace services or a similar customer‑focused environment.
• Proven experience managing multiple soft service functions such as housekeeping, security, catering, reception, on-site visitor and parking operations, events or supplier contracts.
• Strong track record of building and managing effective relationships with external suppliers and service providers.
• Experience overseeing health, safety and compliance requirements within a commercial or corporate setting.
• Previous responsibility for budgets, cost control and service performance management.
• Experience coordinating projects, workplace changes or service improvement initiatives from planning through to implementation.

Essential skills/experience:

• Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate, coach and develop high-performing teams.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, able to build trusted relationships with senior leaders, suppliers, contractors and colleagues at all levels whilst balancing differing priorities.
• Outstanding customer service mindset, always focused on delivering a positive experience for colleagues and visitors.
• Highly organised with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously, balancing operational demands, project work, events, compliance requirements and unexpected challenges without compromising service quality.
• Strong problem‑solving skills with a proactive, solutions‑focused approach.
• Excellent planning, coordination and relationship‑building skills, with the ability to balance operational delivery alongside longer‑term improvements.

Qualifications: Essential:

• Practical knowledge of commercial FM soft services processes and relevant health and safety requirements.
• A relevant health and safety qualification, such as IOSH Managing Safely, or a willingness to complete appropriate training within an agreed period.

Qualifications: Desirable:

• A recognised qualification, certification or professional membership in facilities management, property management, health and safety or a related field, such as IWFM, IOSH or NEBOSH.

The interview process – Our interview process involves the below:

• Recruiter screening call
• 1st stage interview with hiring leader
• 2nd interview with hiring leaders leader

As a Disability Confident employer, we’re committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are fully inclusive – what this means to you is if you’re applying for a job with us, you’ll have fair access to support and adjustments throughout your recruitment journey.

We also welcome applications through the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS). For more information on the DCS, please visit our inclusive business page on our careers website.

Regrettably we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

Benefits:

• in addition to a competitive salary and £5k car allowance you will also receive…
• Flexible working – we champion a flexible hybrid working approach – please speak to your recruiter to discuss in more detail
• Competitive bonus scheme - all colleagues are eligible for our annual 4Cs performance bonus
• Physical wellbeing – as a Band 4 colleague, Hastings pay for you to receive private medical Insurance (also known as PMI). This gives you flexibility and convenience to see a specialist or consultant and allows you to decide when and where you will be seen
• Financial wellbeing – as well as providing you with 4x your salary with our life assurance cover, income protection at no extra cost, and matched pension contributions up to 10%, we are proud to provide you with an award winning package which includes – discounts, cashback, free independent mortgage advice and free access to financial wellbeing support
• Mental wellbeing programme – we have the thrive mental health app, our colleague assistance programme available 24/7, our own in-house mental health first aiders, support groups and a dedicated team to make sure we are covering your needs
• There’s more! – 27 days annual leave + bank holidays, with the option to buy or sell one of your weeks, access to our health care cash back plans, dental plans, discounted health assessments, Cycle to work and tech schemes, discounted and free onsite facilities, social events throughout the year and much more …

Join us and you’ll find a different way of doing things. We call it the 4Cs. We focus on getting it right for our colleagues, customers, company and community. As one of our colleagues, you’ll be helping to drive our growth, so in return, we’ll give you all the support, training and development you need.

Our 4Cs principles are simple: we believe by creating the right culture for our colleagues and giving them the right tools to do their job, we’ll deliver good outcomes for every customer, helping us to grow the company profitably and sustainably and allowing us to invest in the communities we serve.

Hastings Group is an equal opportunities employer which means we treat people fairly. We welcome applications from all suitably skilled persons regardless of their gender, age, race, disability, ethnic background, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or marital/family status.

Please also note that we have a thorough referencing process, which includes credit and criminal record checks.

If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, we encourage you to be open with us.

Our recruitment team is here to provide the support you need to ensure a fair and accessible experience for all.

Hastings Direct is a fast growing, agile, digitally focused general insurance provider of products and services to over 4 million customers in the UK, employing over 4,600 colleagues. Our vision – to be the best and biggest digital insurance provider in the market. It's our attitude and the way we run our business that makes us different. We focus on getting it right for our colleagues, customers, company and community. It's a dynamic, flexible, fun and constantly changing environment. You'll enjoy the scope to make a real difference for our customers, influence our company, benefit the communities we work in and have fun along the way.