Facilities & Services Officer

Role Overview

The Facilities & Services Officer will oversee the smooth running of school facilities and general support services, making sure the campus operates efficiently, safely, and to a high standard. The role focuses on creating a strong service mindset across teams, coordinating resources on time, and maintaining a reliable environment for staff and the school community.

Key Duties

• Lead the delivery of facilities and general services across the school, with an emphasis on timely support, effective staffing, and sensible use of resources.
• Maintain the campus to a high level of cleanliness, upkeep, and safety while ensuring support teams work efficiently.
• Manage staff accommodation needs in line with school expectations, housing policy, and applicable allowances.
• Oversee purchasing and contracting activities so they remain cost-effective, budget-aligned, and consistent with school development plans.

Operational Responsibilities

• Coordinate repair and maintenance work, including checking required repairs, engaging external providers where needed, and confirming that completed work meets the agreed scope.
• Protect the security and day-to-day operation of the school buildings and grounds through regular inspections, safety compliance, and monitoring of cleaning standards.
• Implement approved policies, systems, procedures, and student safeguarding measures in coordination with central leadership.
• Plan and resource school events and activities in a practical and timely way.
• Ensure core services such as catering, security, maintenance, cleaning, transport, waste handling, and recycling are properly arranged and that external service providers are managed effectively.
• Support space planning and the reorganisation of premises as required.
• Oversee daily checks of building management system alerts, where installed.
• Support the management of staff accommodation standards, including procurement and ongoing maintenance where applicable.
• Serve as the school’s designated Incident Commander and remain reachable outside regular working hours, including attending site when required under critical incident procedures.

Leadership and Team Management

• Monitor external support teams to ensure they are adequately resourced, meeting contractual commitments, and providing strong value for the school.
• Lead the facilities and general services teams so that service quality remains consistently high and a strong service culture is embedded across the school.
• Support team development through appraisal, training, professional learning, and individual development planning.

Budget, Purchasing and Procurement

• Manage relevant budgets and expenditure carefully, keeping costs under control while ensuring the school receives quality service and standards.
• Look for opportunities to share resources, costs, or services with partner schools where this can improve access to support teams and physical assets.
• Follow purchasing rules and Delegation of Authority procedures at all times.

Stakeholder, Compliance and Audit

• Ensure the school remains compliant with local government authority requirements and avoids penalties linked to missed or expired contracts.
• Complete internal and external audit actions promptly and appropriately.

Health, Safety and Environment

• Encourage a positive, proactive health and safety culture across all teams.
• Ensure compliance with current health and safety laws and guidance issued by central leadership.
• Review and monitor the safety performance of contractors and suppliers working in the school.
• Support environmental objectives and ensure they are delivered within required timelines.
• Ensure health, safety, and environmental audits are completed on time and to standard.

Qualifications and Experience

The ideal candidate should hold at least a diploma or degree in higher education, or a related graduate-level industry qualification in the relevant functional area. A Facilities Management certificate or NEBOSH/IOSH qualification is preferred. At least 3 years of experience in a mid-level role within education or a facilities/service-oriented environment is required.

Skills and Competencies

This position calls for strong English communication skills, sharp attention to detail, disciplined follow-up, the ability to work under pressure, and excellent organisation. The role also requires forward planning, practical decision-making, cultural sensitivity, stakeholder influence, good interpersonal ability, supervisory strength, commercial awareness, and a willingness to go beyond standard working hours when the work demands it.

Additional Information

The role requires regular contact with external service providers and internal stakeholders, along with responsibility for ensuring compliance, service quality, and operational readiness across the school. Some duties may require availability outside normal school hours.