Facilities manager: Career development

Facilities managers may start in assistant manager roles focused on one operation, such as cleaning, catering or maintenance. They may then progress to being the manager of the department and subsequently move into general management where they are in charge of all the operations. There may be area, regional and sector management roles to follow before achieving director level.

It is also possible to specialise in consultancy and some facilities managers go on to set up their own consultancy business. If working in a small organisation, career progression may be dependant on moving to a larger company which has more managerial roles to offer.

Seeking opportunities to work with different operations and functions is a useful way to secure career progression and gain further experience.

Flexibility, multi-tasking and client-management skills, coupled with commercial acumen and the ability to juggle tight budgets mean that facilities managers are well placed to take up other general management jobs within their organisations or in different sectors.