JOB DESCRIPTION

Employment status and working hours

Permanent, full time 35 hours per week, working Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00.

Organisation structure

Chief Operating Officer, Facilities Management Team.

Your line manager will be Kathy Matthews, Head of Facilities.

Place of work flexibility

Given the nature of the job role, you will work at our Horizons, Reading
office from Monday to Thursday inclusive. The office closes to staff on Fridays and you will typically be required to work at home, unless building works or other contractor visits require your attendance on site. On occasions and due to technical need, we may ask you to attend other University sites, such as Hackney in London.

High level summary of job role

In this important and responsible role, you will ensure University of the Built Environment’s (“the University”) buildings and working environments remain compliant, functional, efficient, and safe at all times. This is predominately a hard services technical FM role for the Horizons site however you will also deputise for and support the Head of Facilities, in the wider work of the team.

You will play an integral part in the University’s ambitious drive to net zero by championing sustainability, concentrating specifically on elements relating to carbon management, energy, and water management. You will ensure the institution continually improves its capabilities and efficiencies in this area.

Being the expert in hard services FM, you will uphold building compliance and energy-related requirements, for example L8, ESOS and SECR, and provide advice and guidance to others as necessary.

Specific job role accountabilities and responsibilities

• Ensure all building statutory testing takes place and act as the responsible person and duty holder across multiple systems, including but not limited to L8, Fgas, PAT testing, low voltage electrical systems and lifting equipment (LOLER).
• Proactively manage Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) at all University properties, including fire alarm and emergency lighting. Plan and schedule the maintenance workload to ensure minimal disruption to business as usual activities. Supervise all visits to Horizons and record outcomes.
• Assume full responsibility for contract management of FM service providers including utilities, air conditioning, the Building Management System, fire prevention, lift servicing, drainage and plumbing, and water hygiene testing (L8). Act as host for external contractors undertaking servicing and works at the Horizons site.
• Keep thorough, accurate and up-to-date records in relation to contractor management, ensuring compliance with legislation and ISO certification.
• Review the FM process for contractor management, Safe System of Work and permit to work, and then implement and manage across all sites, ensuring active promotion and compliance.
• Respond to any maintenance issues reported at Horizons and liaise with the Head of Facilities and/or third parties to rectify any issues. Escalate incidents or requests to the appropriate person or team when necessary. Work within the assigned Service Level Agreement at all times.
• Deputise for the Head of Facilities in all aspects of work, covering any periods of absence such as holidays.
• As required, assist in incident management and business continuity activities.
• Fulfil the following roles: First Aider (if you are willing), Fire Warden, and Key Holder. We may ask you take on a Duty Manager role in the future.
• Deliver excellent customer service in all aspects of the role and contribute to a safe, clean and positive work environment.

Supporting the sustainability agenda

• Ensure that internal systems, procedures, and processes relevant to the role, support the delivery of the University’s sustainability aspirations.
• Offer technical support and guidance concerning energy and water efficiency. Develop KPIs and targets to measure performance and monitor against these to identify trends and opportunities for performance improvements. Provide detailed findings and recommendations on energy consumption, efficiency and management.
• Support in leading change by being a Sustainability Champion. Encourage innovation and engage staff, influencing their thinking and changing behaviours, so that sustainability is always considered in decision making processes.

Analysis and reporting

• Analyse data and site visits, pinpointing and delivering savings/risk management opportunities.
• Produce monthly and ad-hoc reports on utilities consumption and building issues, to ensure colleagues receive appropriate information in an accurate and timely manner; this also supports annual sustainability reporting.
• Ensure the FM team comply with institutional reporting requirements when required.

Policies, procedures, and compliance

• Review and where necessary write Local Operating Procedures (LOPs), Risk Assessments and Method Statements, for FM maintenance activities.
• Undertake building audits and health and safety checks, including recording and storing appropriate COSHH records.
• Ensure building compliance in accordance with BS 8210:2020.
• Keep up to date with legislation, policy, accreditation and programme requirements, to ensure these are implemented and understood by both University staff and supply partners.
• Participate and fully support the process of securing and maintaining our accreditation under ISO 14001 and any future standards.
• Responsible for submission and compliance with ESOS, SECR, EPC, DEC and TM44.

Project work

• When requested, commission building surveys and oversee CAPEX building improvements and small works projects. This includes identifying needs, costing and budget proposals, and finding suitable suppliers. Oversee works and producing LOPs / O&Ms after, in accordance with policies.

Other important features of the job role

Line management responsibilities: To be discussed.

Budget responsibility: None, however you will work closely with the Head of Facilities to deliver various items against the Facilities and CAPEX budgets.

In this role you will liaise with the following: Employees across the University, third party suppliers, and contractors.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

E = Essential person requirement; D = Desirable person requirement

How the person requirement will be assessed:

A = Application; I = Interview; T = Test or other assessment

Please be aware that as part of onboarding processes, we will seek original documentary evidence of the relevant academic and/or professional qualifications which you include within your job application. This is all part of our comprehensive pre-employment screening which also includes checking your identity, right to work, criminal record history (basic disclosure), and three years employment history.

Qualifications and training

GCSE Maths and English language Grade C or 4 or above (E, A).

Technical FM qualifications or extensive knowledge of Hard FM services with supporting experience (E, A).

IOSH Managing Safely (E, A).

NEBOSH (D, A).

Previous experience

Experience in a similar role and knowledge of FM building operations (E, A, I).

A confident and experienced engineer who is driven by the notion of excellence in compliance, customer satisfaction, and continuous improvement (E A, I).

Familiarity with Building Energy Management Systems, monitoring and targeting software (E, A, I).

Experience of ISO14001 certification (E, A, I).

Experience of BREEAM and SKA certification / Well building (D, A, I).

Contractor management (E, A, I).

Skills, knowledge, and aptitudes

Ability to take ownership of tasks from start to completion, including spotting and potentially diagnosing technical problems (E, I).

Be curious, ask questions, and learn (E, I).

Strong communication skills, both written and verbal – including writing procedures and reports (E, A, I).

Digital skills confidence: We use MS Office which includes Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and several other systems/technologies (E, I, T).

Ability to undertake, write and review Risk Assessments (E, A, I)

Organisational skills and the ability to meet deadlines (E, I, T).

Ability to make and build relationships at all levels both internally and externally, and work well within a team (E, I).

Interest in the sustainability agenda, as well as ongoing continuing professional development in your technical field (E, I).

Knowledge and understanding of legislation relating to L8 and water management (E, A, I) and relating to energy and carbon management including Fgas (D, A, I).

Ability to adapt quickly to changing pressures and demands whilst maintaining accuracy and attention to detail (E, I).

Previous history of managing and building a compliance function to BS 8210:2020 (D, A, I).

Other requirements or special requirements

Alignment to the University’s core values of Passion, Integrity, Excellence and Support; all employees are expected to demonstrate our values at work (E, I).

Commitment to delivering positive outcomes for our students; we want our students to be successful (E, I).

You must be prepared to undertake mandatory online training should you be appointed including Data Protection, Health and Safety, Safeguarding, Prevent, and EDI. We will also expect you to undertake Manual Handling Training (E, I).

People management or supervision of teams (D, I).

Willingness to become a Fire Warden (D, I).

Clean Driving License to operate the Company van as appropriate, or use your own vehicle (E, I).

PAY AND BENEFITS

Salary: £40,000 per annum.

Holiday: 26 days paid holiday (rising to 28 with service) plus paid bank/public holidays plus up to five paid closure days (typically between Christmas and New Year); all per holiday year Full Time Equivalent. Our holiday year runs from 1 August to 31 July. We also have a holiday buy and sell scheme in place. Sometimes the University does not need to close for five days per year and any balance (for example one day), can be used as a paid Wellbeing Day to take time out for your own physical or mental health.

Pension and life assurance: Pensions auto-enrolment to the People’s Pension which is a default salary sacrifice scheme. You may opt out of salary sacrifice but remain in the scheme, or you may choose to opt out altogether. We provide life assurance (death in service) cover as standard to all employees.

Family-friendly policies: Policies in place for all types of family-friendly statutory leave with enhanced pay available from day one of employment for some leave types. Access to Tax-Free Childcare (Government scheme).

Wellbeing: Full access to the Employee Assistance Programme as well as the Thrive Mental Wellbeing app. Several employees are trained Mental Health First Aiders and can support staff. We have a wellbeing policy and we focus on five pillars of wellbeing.

Sustainable travel: Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice schemes.

Parking: We have locked sheds for bicycles. For cars, for Horizons based roles, we may in the future be able to offer parking on site however you must not assume this will be possible. Every now and then we may have a spare parking space become available and you can ask to join the waiting list. The University is keen wherever possible, to encourage staff to commute as sustainably as possible.

Other health related benefits: Employer-funded Health Cash Plan (Simplyhealth) and voluntary dental insurance (Unum).

Other valuable benefits:

• Charity giving options available including one voluntary paid day, per annum.
• You will have access to Microsoft Office 365 applications for personal use.
• You will have access to range of lifestyle discounts and everyday savings.
• We offer learning platforms including LinkedIn learning.

On the Join the team page of our website, you will find the full list of employee benefits.

APPLICATIONS - THINGS TO CONSIDER

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Kathy Matthews on 0118 467 2077 or email k.matthews@ube.ac.uk. For any other enquiries please contact HR on 0118 467 2454 / 2433 or email recruitment@ube.ac.uk

Did one of our employees recommend you? If you apply on the recommendation of an existing employee, please make sure to mention their name within your application.

We're passionate about sustainability and we have a five-year strategic plan: We expect job seekers to be curious about who we are and what we do. We point you towards a couple of resources about who we are and sustainability.

Closing date and next steps

We will receive applications until the advert closes on Wednesday 3 December 2025 at 17:00. We will not consider late applications. Our ATS does not screen applications, we humans do. Applications may be reviewed prior to the closing date and occasionally, you may be invited to interview ahead of the closing date.

Interview details

Dates for interview will be advised to you later in the process. We'll ask you to tell us about any dates you cannot make, up to 4 weeks from the closing date; this helps us to plan interviews should you be shortlisted, prior to contacting you.

Please be prepared for a two-stage interview process, held on different dates. As part of the interview process, you will likely meet a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

Note for internal candidates

If you are an existing employee, we request you inform your current line manager of your intention to apply for this role.