The building manager, also known as a facilities manager, organises, controls and coordinates the strategic and operational management of buildings and facilities to ensure the proper and efficient operation of all its physical aspects, creating and sustaining safe and productive environments for residents. In residential buildings, this is typically conducted at all times of the day, every day of the year.
The building manager can consist of a single individual or a team, with services able to be delivered by dedicated ‘in-house’ professionals or ‘out-sourced’ in whole or part to external providers.
An important role of the building manager is to provide services, meet varying expectations, support, information, be a good listener, and deal with conflict to create a community environment residents are willing to call home.
Their role includes dealing with various contractors and suppliers in carrying out maintenance and upgrades and providing services such as security, cleaning, and property maintenance.
In larger buildings, the building manager may be required to manage staff and be part of the recruitment and induction process. Therefore, they are again required to have excellent people management skills.
Their relationship with support staff and contractors is critical in ensuring the building is a great place to live and work.
Key responsibilities of a building manager:
- Access and egress
- Asset management (mechanical services, etc.)
- Building management control systems
- Building Code and Regulatory Compliance
- Building repairs and maintenance
- Cleaning and general maintenance
- Concierge, mail and other ‘soft’ services
- Conserving asset value
- Contract and contractor management
- Energy and water management (lighting use, etc)
- Enhancing comfort and amenity for facility users
- Essential services provision (fire systems, etc)
- Gardening and grounds maintenance
- Improving building performance
- Maintaining security for property occupants and assets
- Maintenance planning (equipment, etc)
- Projecting a building’s identity and image
- Record keeping (legal requirements, monitoring, etc)
- Reducing operational impacts and life cycle costs
- Responding to complaints and suggestions
- Risk management
- Space management (i.e. effective utilisation of space)
- Sustainability projects and implementation
- Tracking and recording energy & water consumption
- Undertaking larger capital or maintenance projects
- Stakeholder engagement
- Waste management.
Building manager contracts
A building manager can be appointed in writing before or after the strata scheme begins.
Before the appointment, building managers must disclose:
- if the person is connected with the original owner
- any direct or indirect monetary interest in the strata scheme
If an agreement is made between the original owner and the building manager during the initial period, the agreement ends at the first Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Three Property has been providing Building Management Services for more than a decade. Read more about our building management services.
If you are interested in a career in building management. Check out our careers page for more information.
