Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Workplace Officer

🎯 Role Definition

The Workplace Officer (also known as Facilities Officer or Workplace Coordinator) manages the daily operations of office premises and workplace services to ensure the environment is safe, efficient and aligned with business needs. Primary responsibilities include facilities maintenance, vendor & contract management, space optimization, health & safety compliance, asset management, and coordinating office moves and workplace improvement initiatives. The role requires strong problem solving, project execution, budget oversight and a customer-service mindset to support employees and site stakeholders.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Facilities Coordinator / Facilities Assistant
Office Manager / Administrative Manager
HR Coordinator with workplace or onboarding responsibilities

Advancement To:

Workplace Manager / Senior Facilities Manager
Facilities Operations Manager
Head of Workplace / Director of Workplace Services

Lateral Moves:

Health & Safety Officer / EHS Specialist
Workplace Experience Manager
Project Coordinator (fit-out & relocations)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Oversee day-to-day facilities operations for assigned office(s), including maintenance scheduling, building systems monitoring (HVAC, electrical, plumbing), and rapid response to operational issues to ensure uninterrupted business continuity.
Manage and supervise external contractors and service providers (cleaning, security, catering, building maintenance), negotiating contracts, setting SLAs, monitoring performance, and ensuring compliance with contractual obligations.
Coordinate office moves, reconfigurations and space allocation projects end-to-end: planning, stakeholder liaison, space design, vendor coordination, asset relocations and post-move snagging.
Maintain and update facilities and workplace documentation, including floor plans, occupancy registers, asset inventories, maintenance logs and vendor contact lists to support auditing and operational transparency.
Implement and enforce health & safety policies at the workplace level; conduct regular workplace inspections, risk assessments, fire drills, and incident investigations and report findings with corrective actions.
Manage workplace-related procurement and purchasing: prepare purchase orders, obtain quotes, evaluate vendors, and ensure competitive pricing while maintaining quality standards and timely delivery.
Oversee asset management lifecycle: acquisition, tagging, tracking, preventive maintenance scheduling and end-of-life disposal of furniture, AV equipment and building assets.
Develop and manage the workplace operating budget for assigned sites, track expenditures, prepare budget forecasts, and identify cost-saving opportunities without compromising service quality.
Ensure security and access control procedures are maintained, including coordination with building security, management of access badges, visitor management systems and emergency lockdown procedures.
Support employee experience programs at the workplace level: reception services, wayfinding, ergonomic assessments, workplace hospitality and workplace communications to improve occupant satisfaction.
Act as a single point of contact for building management and landlords for lease-related matters, service charge issues, building compliance, and major repairs coordination.
Monitor and manage service level agreements (SLAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs) for facilities vendors and internal workplace services, preparing regular performance reports for senior stakeholders.
Lead small- to medium-sized workplace projects such as office refurbishments, furniture refreshes and workspace optimization initiatives, ensuring projects meet timelines, budgets and business requirements.
Coordinate environmental and sustainability initiatives in the workplace such as recycling programs, energy efficiency measures and carbon reduction tasks to support corporate sustainability goals.
Administer workplace systems and digital tools (helpdesk/work order systems, booking platforms, CAFM) for logging requests, tracking jobs and reporting on performance and occupancy data.
Respond to and resolve employee workplace requests and incidents, triaging urgent issues, escalating when required, and ensuring follow-through to a satisfactory resolution.
Maintain compliance with statutory building and fire regulations and ensure third-party contractors hold appropriate licences and insurances (e.g., gas safe, electrical certs).
Prepare and submit regular operational reports, dashboards and budget reconciliations to Workplace Manager and cross-functional stakeholders, including trends and recommendations for improvements.
Deliver induction and workplace safety briefings for new joiners, contractors and visitors, ensuring everyone understands building procedures, emergency exits and reporting lines.
Support continuity planning and emergency response: maintain up-to-date contacts, coordinate business continuity drills, and assist in executing recovery actions in the event of disruption.
Liaise with IT and AV teams to coordinate workstation setups, meeting room technology installs and troubleshooting to maintain high uptime and employee productivity.
Drive continuous improvement by reviewing processes, collecting occupant feedback, identifying efficiency opportunities and implementing workplace best practices.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc workplace analytics and reporting requests, including occupancy studies, utilization heatmaps and cost-per-person calculations to inform workspace strategy.
Contribute to the organization’s workplace strategy by providing operational insights, feasibility assessments and recommendations for future office demand and workplace standards.
Collaborate cross-functionally with HR, IT, Real Estate and Finance to translate business needs into workplace deliverables and operational requirements.
Participate in project planning and agile-style stand-ups for workplace-related projects; support sprints for vendor onboarding, platform rollouts and site-specific initiatives.
Assist with employee event logistics and large-scale site activations such as town halls, hybrid working pilots and wellbeing activities to enhance workplace engagement.
Maintain relationships with neighbouring tenants, building management and local authorities to coordinate shared services and resolve building-level issues.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Facilities management and building operations: maintenance scheduling, systems troubleshooting, vendor coordination and contract management.
Workplace space planning and occupancy management: understanding of workplace density, ergonomic layouts and move coordination.
Health & Safety compliance and risk assessment: incident reporting, fire safety protocols, and familiarity with local statutory regulations.
Contract negotiation and supplier relationship management, including drafting and enforcing SLAs and KPIs.
Experience with workplace management systems: CAFM, IWMS, helpdesk or work order platforms (e.g., FM:Systems, Archibus, iOffice, ServiceNow).
Budgeting and financial management for facilities: procurement processes, cost control, PO management and expense reporting.
Project coordination for fit-outs and refurbishments: scope definition, tendering, vendor oversight, and handover.
Asset management and inventory tracking: tagging, auditing, depreciation tracking and disposal.
Basic technical knowledge of building services (HVAC, electrical, plumbing) and the ability to coordinate technical trades.
Proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Excel for reporting, Outlook, Teams) and workplace collaboration tools.
Familiarity with sustainability initiatives and energy reduction programs (recycling, LED retrofits, metering).
Knowledge of access control and security systems, CCTV basics, and visitor management protocols.

Soft Skills

Strong stakeholder management: able to influence, negotiate and communicate with vendors, landlords and internal teams.
Excellent written and verbal communication for reporting, policy writing and team briefings.
Customer-centric mindset with a service-oriented approach to employee workplace needs.
Problem solving and troubleshooting under pressure, with ability to prioritize competing requests.
Attention to detail in documentation, compliance and project execution.
Organizational and time-management skills to handle multiple sites or simultaneous projects.
Adaptability and resilience in fast-paced, changing workplace environments.
Team player with ability to work collaboratively across functions and escalate appropriately.
Initiative and continuous improvement mindset: identifies opportunities and drives operational efficiencies.
Cultural awareness and the ability to support hybrid and flexible working models.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

High school diploma or equivalent; strong facilities experience may substitute formal qualifications.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's degree in Facilities Management, Business Administration, Real Estate, Engineering, Occupational Health & Safety or related disciplines.
Certifications such as NEBOSH, IOSH, BIFM/FMP (Facilities Management Professional) are advantageous.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Facilities Management
Business Administration / Operations Management
Real Estate / Property Management
Occupational Health & Safety

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

2–5 years hands-on experience in facilities, workplace operations, office management or FM services for medium to large organizations.

Preferred:

3–7 years experience including exposure to contract management, office moves/refurbishments, vendor management and health & safety compliance.
Experience using CAFM/IWMS platforms, managing budgets and delivering workplace projects.
Demonstrable track record of improving workplace services and employee satisfaction metrics.