Senior and head of facilities management (integrated degree)
- Level
- 6
- Typical duration
- 42 months (about 3.5 years)
- Max funding band
- £18,000
- Route
- Construction and the built environment
Delivering a variety of integrated facilities management operational services across multiple sites.
About the role
FM practitioners work in the private, public or third sector and all sizes of organisation. Specific job roles at this level may include: Senior facilities manager; Head of facilities; Head of estates; Head of FM operations. This role is accountable for the delivery of a variety of integrated FM operational services (e.g. cleaning, catering) across multiple sites or a portfolio of property assets and FM services, nationally or regionally. They are accountable for setting the FM strategy and budgets, overseeing the financial and operational performance of the FM function, managing client relationships, building the FM client base, business growth and developing the organizational capability of the FM workforce. They may be employed in-house by an FM company or this function might be outsourced and they may provide FM services in any industry sector.How it compares
At 42 months (about 3.5 years), it is about average length for a degree-level apprenticeship (the average across all 172 Level 6+ standards is 39 months).
The funding band — the maximum an employer's levy can contribute to training costs — is £18,000, below the £21,500 average for degree-level standards. Apprentices never pay tuition either way.
Typical job titles
- Senior Facilities Manager
- Head of facilities
- Head of estates
- Head of FM operations
What you'll learn
The official standard defines 11 knowledge areas, 11 skills, 7 behaviours. This is the actual assessed content of the apprenticeship — worth reading before an interview, because competency questions are usually written straight from these lists.
Knowledge 11
- Requirements of strategic asset management; requirements of an occupancy strategy; option appraisal techniques; ergonomics
- Service delivery requirements; service delivery models & their implications; analysis & interpretation of data (trends in FM services & delivery models; quantitative & qualitative analysis)
- Drivers to compliance; relevant legislation; calculating cost & consequences of compliance and non-compliance; risk management techniques; governance requirements; how to establish monitoring arrangements; risk evaluation; development of risk mitigation plans
- Functionality & limitations of management information solutions; how to validate & extract information from data sources; flow of information within an organization; ISO 41001 (international FM standard); “smart building” technology, data analysis and operation; strategic quality management approaches
- Scope of FM; trends in FM & FM profession; strategic planning techniques; contribution of FM to the success of an organization and the economy; FM delivery plans for a range of contexts; stakeholder management
- Characteristics & uses of programme management theories and techniques (schedule, scope, contract, financial, risk, time, cost, quality, resource and integrative management); strategic impact of change on FM services and teams
- How to analyse the links between organizational strategies and plans; FM-related risks and BCP requirements
- FM resource, capacity and succession planning; FM technical leadership and management; HR-related legislation affecting the FM function; employee relations
- How income is generated in FM; interpretation of financial reports; business planning technique; setting & managing budgets; how to evaluate financial performance; use of capital and revenue budgets
- FM procurement policy and practices and their implementation within an overall procurement framework; types of contract (local, organization- wide, formal, informal); contract management techniques
- Compliance requirements and their impact on FM; relationship between CSR activities & FM business objectives
Skills 11
- Manage portfolios of FM property assets strategically (develop property management strategy; evaluate, monitor and control premises, fabric & building services; identify value creation opportunities)
- Lead on FM service delivery and identify opportunities for innovation that create value (evaluate scope and effectiveness of FM service delivery; determine its feasibility; evaluate effectiveness of FM service delivery and innovation)
- Scope and evaluate the extent and nature of FM compliance requirements and recommend actions that address the shortfalls (assess risks and implications of non-compliance; differentiate compliance-related accountabilities; monitor and report on compliance performance)
- Evaluate FM management information systems to develop FM knowledge and enable quality management (evaluate effectiveness of FM information systems; make recommendations for improvement; develop FM quality management strategy, policies, plans and procedures)
- Develop and implement FM strategy and policy for a portfolio of FM services (analyse internal & external environment; ensure policies are ethical, sustainable and aligned with the strategy; evaluate effectiveness of FM stakeholder arrangements)
- Apply change and programme management techniques in an FM context (scope need for change; assess strategic impact of change; develop change management plans; evaluate effectiveness of change)
- Develop and evaluate FM business continuity plans (BCP) (scope and role of FM in BCP; test & evaluate effectiveness of BCP plans)
- Lead and develop the FM workforce to manage assets and deliver services (manage teams to achieve FM objectives; evaluate personal effectiveness; plan & resource teams)
- Develop and implement FM operational business plans and budgets (evaluate commercial impact of decisions; analyse implications of improvements; address FM function budget variances)
- Procure FM-related goods and services and manage FM supplier and/or contract performance, driving through efficiency and value for money in the supply chain (evaluate effectiveness of procurement arrangements; evaluate supplier proposals; agree contracts; monitor contracts; manage supplier performance)
- Develop and evaluate a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plan aligned with the corporate FM strategy (evaluate social, economic, environmental & ethical responsibilities; implement & evaluate CSR plan; promote CSR activities; encourage innovation in CSR in FM function)
Behaviours 7
- Work in partnership with others for the common good
- Anticipating and responding to others’ needs and influencing them to enhance performance
- Aim for a higher level of excellence
- Work for the greater good and not sacrifice high standards for immediate gain or personal benefit
- Foster the growth of themselves and others, inspiring them to exceed their personal and professional goal
- Approach work in an orderly way
- Exceed customer expectations and add value
Live vacancies
No live vacancies for this course as of 2026-07-24 — new adverts appear on Find an apprenticeship daily, and many degree apprenticeship employers recruit on their own careers sites instead.
Universities registered to deliver it
2 universities are on the government provider register for this standard. Registration means they can deliver it — live vacancies depend on employer partnerships each recruitment cycle.
Related courses in Construction and the built environment
Architect (integrated degree)
Working on the design of new buildings and the redesign of existing buildings.
Architectural assistant (integrated degree)
Working with Architects and other professionals such as Engineers, to design buildings and deliver architectural projects.
Building control surveyor (integrated degree)
Providing an impartial, independent and accountable third party service to confirm that building work achieves compliance with minimum standards.
Building services engineer
Official sources
- Official standard page (Skills England)
- Registered training providers (Find apprenticeship training)
Occupational summary, duties, knowledge, skills and behaviours reproduced from the ST0410 apprenticeship standard (last updated 2018-03-27) — contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Always check the official page before applying: standards get revised.