Guide to Facilities Management Jobs – Part 1
Key Skills in Facilities Management
Facilities management jobs are available to job seekers with a variety of qualifications. It’s a career path that offers variety, responsibility, and excellent earning potential. According to salary.com, annual salaries for Facilities Managers range between around $83,000 and $112,000 per year.
What you can earn depends upon factors such as location, experience, certifications, and the additional skill-sets you bring to the table. This guide to facilities management jobs will help you decide if you have the skills needed, whether starting out or seeking a change of direction.
What Is Facilities Management?
In simple terms, facility management is the maintenance, operation and improvement of buildings – both private and public. It covers a range of disciplines, with facilities managers responsible for coordinating and managing services and supplies. The International Facilities Management Association (IFMA) describes the role as “the coordination of people, place, process, and technology”. In other words, facilities management jobs include managing facilities that might include elements such as:
- Central heating
- Lighting
- Furniture
- Structural factors
- Transportation
- IT services
- Employees
- Security
Hard and Soft Facilities Management Jobs – Difference
Facilities Management jobs generally fall under the heading of either hard facilities management or soft facilities management. In both, you may be employed in either a strategic or an operational role:
Strategic facilities management helps to define and determine facilities management decisions, and helps customers, clients and other business executives understand how those decisions impact the facility and business. At the operational level, facilities management concerns itself with ensuring that facilities are maintained effectively, are clean, in good working order, and safe. Operational facilities managers are often highly skilled and focused on a single area or element.
11 Key Skills for Facilities Management Jobs
There are many skills that employers seek from candidates for facilities management jobs. The IFMA published a list of 11 core competencies for facilities managers. Demonstrating these on your CV and at the interview stage will help you receive a lucrative offer from your preferred employer. Here they are in brief:
- Occupancy and Human Factors
You’ll be expected to help protect the facility and those who use it. This includes analyzing planning, design, maintenance, construction and management, as well as health and safety practices. - Operations and Maintenance
A working knowledge of building systems, interior and exterior, and grounds. This will help you ensure that the facility and its systems function effectively and safely. - Sustainability
Skills in this area include energy, water and waste management, and workplace and site management. - Facility Information Management / Technology Management
The planning, implementation and use of technologies that support operations, plus data collection, verification and analysis. - Risk Management
Experience in risk management planning, disaster recovery, and business continuity. - Communication
Facilities managers will need to communicate with a wide variety of people – customers, vendors, contractors, etc. – in numerous ways. The ability to communicate concisely and precisely is a coveted skill. - Performance and Quality
Performance management and quality management capabilities, measuring against expectations of customers and the facility. - Leadership and Strategy
Facilities managers may be required to participate in or lead strategic planning and ensure that policies and procedures are in compliance. People management and HR skills are in demand, as well as experience in change management. - Finance and Business
In overseeing strategy or operations, facilities managers will be involved in budgeting and decision-making. Experience in procurement, contracts, financial analysis and reporting are key sub-competencies. - Real Estate
Managing real estate to support the people who use it, facilities managers should be able to develop and assess strategies, and use their expertise and experience in acquisition and disposal, space management, and construction to inform and influence business strategy and decisions. - Project Management
A core skill in facilities management – to ensure that projects are planned and executed efficiently and effectively.
Facilities Management Jobs – Starting Out
Your CV probably includes many of the competencies that the IFMA highlight as key for facilities managers. But you could gain a big advantage by gaining credentials as a Facilities Management Professional (FMP). The FMP is an assessment-based credential, with no specific educational or experience requirements. You can purchase and complete the FMP program, which includes interactive online study tools. There are four assessments to complete.
As specialist recruiters, we help employers find the best employees for their facilities management jobs. And we help candidates identify their skills and match them with the best employers. To learn how we can help you find your ideal facilities management jobs, contact MAC Incorporated staffing team today.
In our next article, we discuss 6 Key Roles in Facility Management Jobs and How to Nail Your Ideal Job.
