Join us at Carnall Farrar (CF) and contribute to our mission of being an employer of choice in the healthcare sector. Your role as Facilities and Office Manager will be integral to the smooth and effective running of the company. The role will lead on facilities management, contracting with providers, on all aspects of IT and knowledge management. Together these functions are essential to creating and maintaining a positive working environment for all team members. 

Carnall Farrar (CF) is a growing management consultancy which works across all aspects of the healthcare sector from supporting the NHS to serving major life science companies. We are passionate about, and experts in, healthcare. Founded in 2013 we have grown over the past 11 years to a core staff of around 70 across consulting, data science and corporate functions. We have a strong reputation in the healthcare sector and are highly regarded both internally and externally for the level of support and development we give our people. As a professional services business, CF has three primary assets – its people, its knowledge and its data and associated products. The CF team are consequently central to the success of the business.

About the role

The role is pivotal to the future growth of the company. As CF expands within the UK and internationally, the Facilities and Office Manager will be responsible for assessing options and securing great CF offices in new locations which maintain standards, facilities, IT and facilitate a sense of one company and one team wherever the work is delivered from. 

Reporting to the Partner with responsibility for facilities and office management, the role will be part of the wider Corporate Team. The role has a direct report, the Facilities & Office Management Assistant who supports the daily running of the office and ensures standards are maintained. Providing support and development opportunities to the Assistant will be vital in ensuring their success at CF and in their apprenticeship. The role will also collaborate with other Corporate Team members to support the delivery of their duties and with the personnel of companies providing services to CF e.g. those supporting the servicing of our offices and our IT.  

Being agile and unfazed by evolving and emerging priorities is critical in this role, combined with a direct and collaborative approach to engaging with the leadership team, all staff and suppliers. Clear communication and strong interpersonal skills are essential, role modelling the behaviours we are committed to at every level of the company. Having an eye for detail and a proactive nature will ensure that the office standards are maintained. Being open to new ideas but also being able to hold suppliers and team members to account for delivering on responsibilities and corporate agreements is vital for this role. 

Responsibilities

The requirements, responsibilities and duties of the role will include, but are not limited to:

Strategic and business planning 

• Assess the facilities and office requirements to underpin the corporate strategy 
• Keep abreast of industry practice on creating excellent working environment and assess the adaptions CF should be making

• Collaborate in the business planning process, planning facilities and office management requirements, preparing budgets and options

• Set annual business goals for the team and quarterly OKRs to enable a high-performing function and team.

Office management 

• Assess and secure the best offices for CF, creating an attractive and productive working environment for all staff 
• Always maintain a professional working environment, ensuring the Facilities Management Assistant proactively fulfils the daily tasks, and filling in when necessary 

• Collaborate with the wider CF team to ensure their duties to the creating a positive working environment are maintained 

• Serve as the main point of contact for the CF Leadership Team regarding all building facilities and queries relating to our office space(s) 

• Ensure that office processes and systems are maintained to provide a seamless work environment for employees and guests; this includes visitor and resource management (e.g. desk and meeting room bookings) 

• Oversee inventory management of office supplies, kitchen goods, equipment and refreshments maintaining high standards, delighting team members and making cost-effective use of resources 

• Organise the distribution of incoming and send outgoing mail for CF, ensuring the highest levels of discretion 

• Oversee our physical learning resources, with support from the People Team to ensure employees have access to materials that support continued development 

• Organise events and hospitality for both internal and external stakeholders 

• Identify improvement and maintenance requirements and coordinate office changes to minimize disruption to the work of the team 

• Manage relationships with contractors, suppliers, and service providers, ensuring high standards are met 

• Monitor and manage office costs within the set budget, contributing to a cost-effective operation 

Remote working environments 

• Keep abreast of the remote working environment that client delivery teams are based in and support them in working effectively  

• Provide assistance to support effective remote working covering internet accessibility, technology and equipment 

• Maintain CF’s home working policy and the offer for equipment purchases and budgets to facilitate this, understanding and monitoring the tax implications of this policy

Information technology 

• Assess the IT needs of the company to enhance effectiveness and efficiency and create an excellent working environment for employees 

• Review IT service support requirements, procure and manage contracts for support ensuring high standards for employees and excellent value for money for the company 

• Set and manage IT budgets each year, taking account of corporate strategy, business goals, the needs of staff, licenses, software, security issues and audits needed to meet legal requirements 

• Work closely with our IT service provider to improve our systems, review security reports and act on issues with urgency with the support of the Lead Partner 

• Purchase all IT equipment working with the Apple Account Manager to secure the most cost-effective plans and to remediate any issues that arise 

• Manage the phone network provider costs for contracts and make adjustments to contracts for specific needs 

• Establish effective management of CF’s equipment, ensuring the timely issuance of equipment to new joiners and the return of equipment from leavers, working with our IT support service to continuously monitor and ensure correct equipment supplies 

• Manage the resale and/ or donation of used equipment to employees leaving the business or to not for profit companies. 

Knowledge management 

• Own the knowledge management strategy and plan for company which facilitates staff to deliver consulting excellence whilst maintaining required confidentiality and information governance standards 

• Protect the intellectual property that CF creates through the establishment of systems and processes that recognize its value 

• Monitor adherence to the knowledge management strategy and provide management information to the leadership team via SharePoint to enable compliance 

• Manage the legal requirements associated with knowledge management 

• Continuously update SharePoint’s structure to improve the sharing of knowledge and communications 

• Work with the commercial and leadership teams to ensure compliance against the requirements of the closedown of projects. 

Policies, risk management and audits 

• Review and maintain company policies associated with the facilities and office management brief covering working environments, expense policies, technology and equipment 

• Own the company contingency plan and cybersecurity policy 

• Provide operational leadership supporting the accountable Partner for facilities and office management in the event of an incident 

• Mange the ISO audits, ensuring accreditation is maintained 

• Identify and obtain accreditations that would enhance the operations and reputation of CF with clients and employees. 

Team leadership and development  

• Cultivate and lead a high-performing team, encouraging collaboration, excellence, innovation, and a culture of ongoing learning and growth 

• Be the line manager to the Facilities Management Assistant  

• Delegate tasks effectively to direct reports and other team members, considering capabilities, development goals, and capacity 

• Collaborate with teams across the business, including the administration team, the CEO’s office, the data innovation team, the finance team, and the people team.  

Corporate communications 

• Use corporate systems or forums to actively engage with all staff on the effectiveness of facilities and offices 

• Proactively communicate plans, building awareness of planned changes and any disruptions that may be caused 

• Gain and leverage feedback for making improvements to the working environment and ensure staff understand the relationship between feedback and action. 

Requirements

Mandatory 

• 2+ years of office management experience  
• Exceptional organisational skills and time management abilities 
• An eye for detail and a true appreciation for upholding high standards 
• An eye for aesthetics and an understanding of how to create an appealing and positive working environment for all staff 
• Appreciation of the equality and diversity in working environments and best practices to ensure inclusive spaces 
• Experience with SharePoint as a document storage and management centre 
• Robust administrative and operational process experience  
• Ability to manage budgets and track expenses 
• Knowledge of office operations, vendor management and contract negotiation 
• Familiarity with workplace compliance and health and safety regulations 
• Excellent verbal and written communication 
• Relevant degree or certification 

Our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

We are committed to building an inclusive and supportive culture where diversity thrives, and all our people can excel. We only recruit, promote and reward our people based on their skills and contribution, without regard to gender, race, disability, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or other characteristics.

We are Disability Confident Accredited, and we want you to feel comfortable and able to perform at your best in the recruitment process, if you require any reasonable adjustments for any part of the recruitment process, please let us know.

Flexible Working 

We operate a hybrid-working policy; corporate team members need to be physically together for a minimum of 4 days a week between core office hours of 10am-4pm. Travel to other CF offices in the UK may be required as and when established. In addition, for up to four weeks a year each member of staff can work entirely virtually.

Benefits

• Holiday entitlement: 25 days/year for staff and 30 days/ year for leadership, increasing by 1 day for every year of service up to a maximum of 35 days of holiday per year
• We contribute 7% of your salary into your pension, while you contribute 3% (or more if you like)
• Access to a flexible benefits programme giving you the chance to increase pension contributions, gain access to a cash plan or benefit from a ClassPass subscription

• Annual leave purchase: employees with less than 35 days annual leave entitlement are able to purchase additional annual leave days
• Income protection: in the event of long-term incapacity and a qualifying claim, 75% of salary will be paid
• Enhanced sick pay benefit beyond Statutory Sick Pay for up to a total 12 weeks in any 12-month period
• Life insurance covering four times your basic salary in a tax-free lump sum payable to your beneficiaries in the event of your death whilst in service
• Enhanced family leave policies: additional pay for parents who have a baby or adopt
• Access to an interest free loan of up to £10,000
• Access to an interest-free season ticket loan, repayable by 12 monthly instalments
•  Workplace nursery scheme: access to a scheme to help working parents save tax and NI on the cost of the nursery care
•  Flexible working policy: including the ability to work fully remotely for up to 4 weeks a year
•  An employee assistance and wellness Program: including access to telephone counselling, life coaching, interactive tools online and digital content downloadable from Lifeworks
•  Seasonal flu jabs: provided by Boots annually
•  Eye care tests: vouchers and discounts at Vision Express
•  Ride to work scheme, saving up to 42% on bikes and cycling accessories at Evans Cycles
• Membership to the Health Service Journal (HSJ)