Behind every great hospital is an invisible army of professionals ensuring that the environment is clean, safe, secure, and welcoming — long before a patient ever sees a doctor. The Soft Services Manager at the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) is the leader of that army. And in a facility of this ambition and stature, that leadership carries enormous weight.
Deloitte Human Capital Consulting, on behalf of its client AMCE — a groundbreaking healthcare institution operating in partnership with King’s College Hospital London — is seeking an exceptional Soft Services Manager to be based in Abuja. This is a full-time executive-level appointment for a facilities and operations professional who understands that in healthcare, the quality of the environment is inseparable from the quality of care.
About AMCE and Its Partnership with King’s College Hospital London
The African Medical Centre of Excellence represents a transformational vision for healthcare on the continent. Designed to deliver world-class medical services to patients across Africa, AMCE operates within a partnership framework with King’s College Hospital London — one of the United Kingdom’s most prestigious and historically significant NHS teaching hospitals.
This partnership is not cosmetic. It brings global clinical standards, internationally benchmarked operational frameworks, and a culture of continuous improvement into the heart of Nigerian healthcare. For the Soft Services Manager, this means working within — and actively upholding — standards that are measured not against local benchmarks alone, but against the best practices of a globally recognized institution.
The Role: What Soft Services Really Means in a Healthcare Setting
Soft services in a hospital environment is a far more demanding and consequential discipline than the same function in a corporate or commercial setting. At AMCE, soft services encompasses housekeeping, laundry, pest control, waste management, security, reception, and landscaping — every non-clinical operational service that touches the patient, visitor, and staff experience.
Get these services right, and the hospital hums. Wards are immaculate, infection risks are minimized, waste is managed safely, visitors feel secure, and staff can focus entirely on clinical care. Get them wrong, and the consequences range from regulatory penalties to patient safety incidents to reputational damage that no hospital of this calibre can afford.
The Soft Services Manager owns all of this — strategically, operationally, and from a quality assurance perspective.
Core Responsibilities
Strategic Planning and Development
The role begins at the strategic level. The Soft Services Manager will develop and implement the strategic direction for soft services operations, aligned to the broader objectives of the Directorate. This includes conducting market research, analysing industry trends, and identifying opportunities for service innovation.
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with all service providers will be developed and managed by this role, with clear performance expectations and full accountability for outcomes. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) will be established to track delivery and identify areas for improvement, and a comprehensive soft services budget will be built, managed, and optimized for both cost-effectiveness and impact.
Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement
In a healthcare environment, quality assurance is a matter of patient safety. The Soft Services Manager will implement and maintain a robust quality assurance program across all soft services, ensuring compliance with international standards and best practices. Regular audits and inspections will be conducted, customer feedback will be systematically analysed, and continuous improvement initiatives will be embedded as a permanent feature of how the department operates.
The ideal candidate does not just identify problems — they design and implement solutions that prevent the same problems from recurring.
Day-to-Day Operational Management
At the operational level, the Soft Services Manager oversees every aspect of daily service delivery. Compliance with health and safety regulations, local legislation, and infection control guidelines is non-negotiable. Service failures must be addressed promptly, with corrective and preventive actions implemented immediately. Cross-departmental coordination ensures that soft services support — rather than disrupt — the clinical and administrative work happening across the facility.
Contract management is also a core operational responsibility, with the manager ensuring that all service providers consistently meet their agreed targets and that the institution receives full value from every engagement.
Qualifications and Experience
Candidates must hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality Management, Facility Management, or a related discipline. Professional certification or membership of a recognized professional body is required, and certifications in facilities management — such as CFM (Certified Facility Manager) or FMP (Facility Management Professional) — are specifically listed as relevant credentials.
A minimum of five years of experience in building maintenance, facility management, or healthcare engineering is required. Healthcare sector experience is particularly valuable, given the infection control, regulatory compliance, and patient-centered service demands that define this environment.
The competency profile for this role is extensive. It includes in-depth knowledge of health and safety regulations, familiarity with soft services industry best practices, understanding of operational excellence frameworks, and proficiency in facility management software and reporting tools. Strong leadership, communication, analytical, and budget management skills are essential, as is advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.
On a personal level, the right candidate brings integrity, professionalism, a customer-focused attitude, meticulous attention to detail, and the ability to perform consistently well under pressure.
Why This Opportunity Stands Apart
Very few facilities management roles in Nigeria offer the combination of institutional prestige, clinical complexity, international partnership, and strategic scope that this position provides. Working at AMCE means operating at the intersection of African healthcare ambition and global best practice — contributing to an institution that has the potential to redefine what healthcare looks like on this continent.
For the right professional, this is not just a job. It is a defining chapter.
Apply now and bring your expertise to a place where it will truly matter.