JOB DESCRIPTION

Employment status and working hours

Permanent, full time 35 hours per week, working Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00 although some flexibility can be agreed.

Organisation structure

Chief Operating Officer, Facilities Management team.

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

Place of work flexibility

It is expected most of your time will be spent at our Horizons, Reading office Monday to Thursday. The office is normally closed on Fridays unless building works or other contractor visits require your attendance on site. Occasionally we may ask you to attend our London site.

High level summary of job role

You will ensure the University’s buildings and working environment remain compliant, functional, efficient, and safe at all times. Working with the wider team to deliver excellent customer service, you will take the lead on building services matters as well as playing an integral part in the University’s ambitious drive to net zero as part of its sustainability ambitions.

Using your acquired FM knowledge and skills, you will uphold building compliance and energy-related requirements, manage Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) and contracts, and look after policies and procedures. You will be expected to keep up to date with changes in legislation and compliance matters and analyse relevant data to produce reports.

Specific job role accountabilities and responsibilities

• Ensure all building statutory testing takes place and be the 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) across sites, including fire alarm and emergency lighting, minimising disruption to business as usual activities. Supervise visits, record outcomes, track actions.

• Manage contracts with 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 on site, monitoring performance, challenging where necessary, and escalating risks where appropriate.

• Keep thorough, accurate and up-to-date records in relation to contractor management, ensuring compliance with legislation and ISO certification.

• Review processes for contractor management, Safe System of Work and permit to work, making sure they are successfully implemented across all sites.

• Respond to any maintenance issues reported at Horizons, rectifying where possible. Escalate incidents or requests to the appropriate person or team, working within Service Level Agreements.

• Deputise for the Head of Facilities and covering periods of absence.

• 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.

Supporting the sustainability agenda

• Ensure that internal systems, procedures, and processes support the delivery of the University’s sustainability aspirations.

• Offer technical support and guidance concerning energy and water efficiency, developing targets to measure and monitor performance, and providing data and recommendations.

• Support in leading change by being a Sustainability Champion, to encourage innovation and engage staff, and for sustainability to be considered in decision making.

Data 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.

Policies, procedures, and compliance

• Review and where necessary write or contribute to 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.

• Submit returns for ESOS, SECR, EPC, DEC and TM44.

Budget and contract support

• Assist in obtaining quotes from potential suppliers after identifying needs, including for projects. Assist in appointing and arranging suppliers.

• Assist with budget planning for proactive, CAPEX and lifecycle works.

Other important features of the job role

Line management responsibilities: None.

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

IOSH Managing Safely (E, A).

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

NEBOSH (D, A).

Previous experience

Experience within a facilities environment where your work involved building services and operations (E, A, I).

Contractor management (E, A, I).

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

Technical experience (hard services) (D, A, I).

Experience of ISO14001, BREEAM and SKA certification / Well building (D, A, I).

Skills, knowledge, and aptitudes

Demonstrable commitment to compliance, customer satisfaction, and continuous improvement (E, A, I).

Proactive approach and taking ownership of your work (E, I).

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

Curiosity and willingness to learn (E, I).

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

Ability to build relationships and work well as part of a team (E, I).

Written and verbal communication skills, 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).

Interest in the sustainability agenda (D, 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).

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 (E, I).

Clean Driving License (D, I).

PAY AND BENEFITS

Salary: 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 Monday 25 May 2026 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.

Interviews are normally carried out over Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Depending on the job role and place of work, your interview may be at our Reading or London office. 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.