Site Assistant & Groundsman

Site Assistant & Groundsman- Start Date January 2025

St Francis Xavier’s Catholic Academy, founded in 1842, is a Catholic Academy with a co-educational Sixth Form with a strong academic tradition and 1000 pupils across Key Stage 3 and 4. The Sixth Form has strong collaborative links with partner schools across the city.

As we look to the future and continue our improvement journey, we have recently joined St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust. We are excited about joining St Joseph’s as they become the CMAT for our part of the Archdiocese. Through the Trust, we can offer you a firm commitment to your own professional development, which is at the core of their offer for all staff.  You can find more information here www.sjcmat.co.uk

Role Details:  Site Assistant & Groundsman. Start date: January 2025

NJC Grade 4 SCP 9 – 17 Contract – Full time, permanent 52 weeks.  5 days per week. 37 hours per week (30 mins per day unpaid lunch)  

Working pattern : Monday 10.00am 6.00pm & Tuesday to Friday 10.30am – 6.00pm

We are seeking to appoint an enthusiastic Site Assistant & Groundsman to join our school as soon as possible.  You will work with the Site Manager to ensure that the buildings and grounds are well maintained to the highest possible standards.  This is a full time position and the successful candidate will ideally have substantial experience of premises maintenance, preferably in an educational setting.  However, experience of working in schools is not essential as we recognise that skills, experience and qualifications gained in other sectors can be very relevant and could lead to individuals being successful in the role.

This is a challenging, hands-on role and elements of the role do involve physical exertion. You must have the ability to turn your hand to any task, such as maintenance and repairs, and supervision of contractors, therefore the person appointed will be expected to adhere to good Health and Safety practices. You will need to be resilient, patient and be prepared to be flexible and adapt to the changing needs of the school’s working day. The successful applicant must be able to work under pressure as this is vital for this role, be a good communicator and happy to work as part of a small team but also to work on their own initiative as a flexible approach is very important along with a “can do “ attitude.

If you have excellent interpersonal skills, can manage and prioritise time effectively and are willing to learn new skills; a full clean driving licence, previous experience of Health and Safety, security and managing projects then we want to hear from you.

We’re looking for you if you have:

• Undertake general repairs and maintenance around the school and its grounds, general handyman skills are essential and knowledge in relation to Health and Safety regulations
• Have experience in a similar role, ideally in an educational environment
• Be organised, self-motivated with a professional approach whilst being adaptable and flexible
• Be able to work independently and in a proactive manner, with excellent time management skills
• Have general ICT skills, including email
• Have a flexible approach to working hours as on occasions the individual will be needed for evening working, e.g. Open Evenings.

In addition, we are looking for the following qualities in the successful applicant:

Personal Qualities

• Ability to work under pressure
• Energy, enthusiasm, good sense of humour.
• Emotional maturity and resilience in dealing with challenging behaviours.

What we can offer you

• A commitment to support your professional development.
• Working as part of a committed and talented team of professionals.
• Opportunity for additional paid duties.
• Access to Trust-wide professional development opportunities.
• Employee Assistance Programmes.

If you believe you have the energy, passion, resilience and drive to be part of our positive journey, we would love to have you on our team.  Please see further details in the Job Description.

Early applications are encouraged.

Please visit our website for details and application form at  www.sfx1842.org

For further information and school visits, please contact  vhill@sfx.sjcmat.co.uk

Forward completed applications to: vhill@sfx.sjcmat.co.uk

Applications may not be considered if they are incomplete.  We cannot accept CV’s

Closing date for applications: Friday 13th December 2024 at 12.00pm

Shortlisting: Friday 13th December 2024   

Interviews will be held on: Wednesday 18th December 2024

Please note – Only applicants who are shortlisted will be contacted following the closing date.  For shortlisted applicants an online search will be conducted prior to interview

Safeguarding of our pupils is a priority.  All posts are subject to enhanced DBS disclosures

This post is exempt under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (2013 and 2020) and will be subject to an enhanced DBS certificate with a children’s barred list check. You will also be required to complete a criminal self-disclosure form if you are short-listed for the post.’

Please note that guidance in Keeping Children Safe in Education 2023 requires us to carry out an online search as part of our due diligence on shortlisted candidates.  This enables us to identify any incidents or issues which have happened and are publicly available online which we might want to explore at an interview.  Once shortlisting has taken place, this search will be carried out for all candidates who will attend an interview.