How Cobalt recruited a Property Management Lead for Europe’s largest REIT

Europe’s largest REIT needed a senior Property Management Lead for a newly-created role – someone technical, commercially sharp and able to lead a team of twelve, including two Associate Directors. Cobalt was mandated exclusively to find them. Here’s how the search was run, and what made the final hire the right one.

The Challenge

Europe’s largest Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) had created a new Property Management Lead role that they needed to fill.

They wanted someone who could bring a ‘one-team’ approach into the business, while streamlining processes and integrating new technology into the way the team worked. With responsibility for a team of around 12 people, including two Associate Directors, it was essential to find a strong manager with extensive experience of leading and developing teams.

They were looking for someone highly technical and personable, as well as a proven leader with the commercial astuteness to bring everything together and deliver best-in-class property management.

The successful candidate would also need working knowledge of overseeing supply chains and tendering processes.

The challenge was finding candidates at the senior or director level the position required who had this combination of technical expertise, leadership ability and commercial judgement – and who would be willing to move into a newly-created role.

The Solution

Being exclusively mandated for the position allowed us to develop a detailed understanding of how the new role would work and what the client needed from the successful candidate. It also meant we could confidently take the opportunity to market and explain it to prospective candidates.

We had previously worked on senior-level property management appointments, giving us both an existing talent pool and an extensive network to leverage for the search.

We approached the market as a team. This combined our team lead Chris Sycamore’s existing senior-level network, research across our database of more than 10,000 candidates, and a targeted LinkedIn outreach project aimed specifically at senior leaders within the industry.

From this research, we identified a longlist of more than 15 candidates.

We spoke with each candidate directly and assessed their suitability against the requirements of the role. This initial phase took around three days.

Over the following three days, we narrowed the longlist based on those conversations, identifying the strongest profiles and best potential fits. Eight candidates were ultimately shortlisted and presented to the client for consideration.

There was an additional challenge during the interview process: the hiring manager had pre-booked annual leave.

That meant maintaining candidates’ interest and momentum while the process moved through its different stages around the hiring manager’s availability. We managed this through regular check-in calls with each candidate, keeping them informed and engaged throughout the process.

The Results

Five of the shortlisted candidates were invited to interview. Three progressed to the second stage, with two reaching the final third-stage interview.

The successful candidate had worked for major retail brands and brought extensive experience of managing, training and overseeing large-scale teams. Importantly, they also had first-hand experience of working in facilities management roles themselves.

This combination of hands-on technical knowledge and senior leadership experience made them particularly well suited to the demands of the new position.

The client has been highly appreciative of both the recruitment process and the impact their new employee has already made, telling us they are:

“Running with the demands of the role, have got all the team on one page, and made my life easier.”

The candidate is equally positive about their new role. They have already identified areas for change, as well as recruitment requirements as they continue shaping their team.

Our relationship has continued beyond the original appointment. We are now supporting them with one of those hires: a Property Manager to join their team.

Frequently asked questions

What does a Property Management Lead do?

At senior level, a Property Management Lead runs the property management function across a portfolio — leading the team (here, around twelve people including two Associate Directors), streamlining processes, integrating new technology, and overseeing supply chains and tendering. It blends deep technical property knowledge with proven people-leadership and commercial judgement.

What experience do you need for a senior property management role?

Roles at this level typically call for a proven track record of leading and developing large property or facilities teams, strong technical property management experience, and commercial astuteness — plus working knowledge of supply-chain oversight and tendering. The sector background can vary: the successful candidate here came from large-scale retail with hands-on facilities management experience.

Which recruitment agency specialises in property management recruitment?

Cobalt has recruited across property and facilities management since 2001, including senior and director-level appointments for major real estate investors. On the project covered here, Cobalt was mandated exclusively to fill a newly-created Property Management Lead role for Europe’s largest REIT.

How does Cobalt recruit for a senior property management role?

Through an exclusive, research-led search combining the team’s senior network, targeted LinkedIn outreach and a 10,000-plus-strong specialist database to build a longlist of more than fifteen, then assessing each candidate against the brief to reach a shortlist of eight. Cobalt stays close to candidates through every interview stage and keeps them warm even when timelines slip, right through to the offer.

Total Facilities Recruitment

Covering hard and soft FM, as well as health and safety, Cobalt recruits across facilities management, building management and workplace management throughout the UK.

From Building Managers and Regional Facilities Managers through to Head of FM roles, we place FM specialists across commercial, residential and alternative asset classes for both landlords and occupiers.

Have a property or facilities management recruitment challenge? Get in touch with Cobalt.

Thank you to our Contributors, Hamza Khan, Executive Consultant, Facilities Management