Facilities Assistant

This is a fabulous opportunity to work for an award-winning educational establishment, with an outstanding reputation. As a Facilities Assistant, you will have the opportunity to work amongst beautiful surroundings in Central Cambridge. As part of the team, your primary responsibilities will be to maintain clean, safe and secure school premises, carry out routine maintenance and refurbishment and minor repairs and all other aspects of site management as directed by the Facilities Manager

The role of Facilities Assistant will suit someone who has previous experience in a similar or relevant position, is able to multitask, adopts a flexible and adaptable approach to their work and demonstrates excellent interpersonal skills.

PLEASE NOTE: The hours of work for this role are 40 hours per week (9 hours a day). The start and end times of the day will be set by the Facilities Manager and may vary across the team in order to provide cover on site before and after the normal school day. You may be required to occasional work evenings and Saturdays for special events such as Parents Evening, Sports Day and Open Days.

Specific Responsibilities

General Duties

• Carry out porterage duties, such as moving deliveries, furniture and equipment around the school
• Maintain the general school premises, furniture and fittings, and report any issues to Facilities Manager

Cleaning

• Carry out some daily cleaning and ad-hoc duties, such as litter picking and arranging the disposal of waste when school is in session
• Carry out emergency cleaning duties, such as gritting and cleaning up spillages

Security

• Check at the end of the day that all windows, doors and gates are locked, lights switched off, and gas and electrical appliances are turned off
• Bring to the attention of the Facilities Manager on all matters relating to school security and safety

Health and Safety

• Ensure a safe working and learning environment in accordance with relevant legislation
• Provide safe access to the school in cold weather conditions
• Assist with the drop-off of younger children at the beginning of the day
• Take appropriate action to identify, evaluate and minimise any risks to health, safety and security in the school working environment
• Comply with the policies and procedures relating to child protection, health and safety, security, confidentiality and data protection, and equal opportunities, and report all concerns to an appropriate person

Other Areas of Responsibility

• General duties as directed by the Facilities Manager
• Decoration works
• Prepare for School and Parents’ Association Events - Fireworks, Parties, Speech and Sports Day etc, which may involve work out of hours as directed by the Facilities Manager
• Drive the school minibus when required (training will be provided if required)
• Establish constructive relationships and communication with all staff and other agencies/professionals

Person Specification

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the following:

Essential

• Experience in a relevant, similar position or the ability to demonstrate the required competencies to fulfil the duties of the role as outlined
• Excellent range of interpersonal skills for dealing with the parents, children, staff and the public
• Good communication and listening skills
• A friendly and approachable manner and an ability to maintain this when dealing with difficult or challenging situations
• Ability to work on own and form part of an effective team
• Ability to learn quickly and a willingness to adapt, be flexible and happy to be deployed across the School
• Ability to multi-task with ability to prioritise and deal with multiple issues on a regular basis and work under pressure
• Ability to work in a manual handling environment, lifting heavy equipment and furniture on occasion in line with training and support equipment provided
• Ability to use basic hand tools, fuel powered tools and undertake basic minor repairs or maintenance
• Ability to undertake cleaning duties using chemical substances
• Ability to implement emergency procedures, and an awareness of health and safety at work practice
• Ability to be flexible and adaptable
• Full and clean UK driving licence

Desirable

• First Aid qualification (or a willingness to undertake training)
• A valid MiDAS training certificate to drive minibuses (or a willingness to undertake training)
• A relevant qualification in Building Maintenance and Multi-Trade Repair (or a willingness to undertake training)
• A relevant qualification in Electrical Installations or Plumbing (or a willingness to undertake training)
• Completion of relevant training courses or a willingness to complete them, e.g.: IOSH Working Safely; Asbestos Awareness; Legionella Awareness; Fire Safety Awareness; Manual Handling Awareness; Working at Height Awareness; COSHH Awareness; Data Protection Awareness

To apply for the role of Facilities Assistant, please send a covering letter together with a copy of your CV in MS Word.