Job Description
Job title: Grounds Person
Location: Coram’s Fields, 93 Guilford Street, London, WC1N 1DN
Salary: £26,000 per annum
Reporting to: Buildings and Facilities Manager
Hours: 37.5hrs per week, includes regular evenings and weekend work (on rota)
Contract: Permanent
Role Summary
This is a very varied and fully operational role and will involve a good deal of manual work, often outdoors. You will maintain and upkeep Coram’s Fields Grounds, buildings and facilities, which comprise of several historic Grade II listed buildings, from which we deliver a range of community services for local children and families.
You will also provide support to the Grounds Team to deliver our hard and soft landscaping maintenance plan, ensuring that our seven-acre site for children, in the heart of central London, is kept to the highest standards possible and remains an attractive and safe space for our visitors.
Main Responsibilities:
The successful management, maintenance, and day to day running of Coram’s Fields park, playground and facilities relies on a multi skilled and flexible team. The responsibilities below are the key requirements of the role however, from time to time, you may be needed to do other tasks to ensure the successful running of the site.
· As part of the Grounds Team you will help carry out the day to day duties of the running and upkeep of the park, it’s services and facilities, aiding in keeping the grounds and it’s buildings clean, tidy and safe for the users.
· You will carry out a range of grounds and building maintenance tasks including, but not limited to: Gardening, park tidying, cleaning, painting and decorating, small carpentry works, repairs to fixtures and fittings, small plumbing and electrical work, roofing and gutter works, all subject to skills and appropriate qualifications
· You are expected to identify and report maintenance issues and to work with the Senior Grounds person, and the Buildings and Facilities Manager to prioritise repair works and to agree a schedule for the completion of these
· You will work alongside the Grounds Team to carry out a range of tasks as part of Coram’s Fields hard and soft landscape management plan, and ongoing Buildings maintenance schedule, including the upkeep of our playgrounds, sand and water play, and communal areas, ensuring consistently high standards of maintenance across the site
· You are responsible for carrying out a range of opening and closing duties and checks throughout the day, including building checks, playground checks, refuse collection and toilet checks
· You will work alongside community and corporate volunteers to deliver regular and one-off volunteer opportunities that support the enhancement of Coram’s Fields buildings and open spaces and provide engagement opportunities for the local community
· You will liaise with the office team with regards to building hires, to make sure that rooms are set up appropriately and cleaned down at the end of the hire, carrying out spot checks throughout
· You will support a range of events and park hires throughout the year, which means setting up and taking down equipment, stewarding events and working with Grounds Team colleagues to make sure that all health and safety requirements are met
· You will be a visible public presence across the park, ensuring that users respect the park and facilities, which may mean handling difficult situations appropriately and reporting and recording incidents as appropriate. You will aid in the implementation of our Safeguarding policy, and help keep our park one of the safest spaces for Children in London.
· The safety of children and vulnerable adults that use our services is of paramount importance to us. You must report any safeguarding concerns in line with Coram’s Fields safeguarding policy. As you might expect, this role requires a satisfactory DBS check and registration with the DBS tracker service, given the nature of the work and regular interaction with children.
· You will attend regular training to refresh skills and acquire new knowledge as appropriate to the needs of the role.
Other Duties:
1. You may need to undertake any tasks that may be requested from time to time by your line manager, as may be consistent with the nature and scope of this post.
Person Specification
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Essential
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Desirable
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Evidence
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Qualifications
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Qualifications in one of the following areas: electrical, plumbing, carpentry, painting and decorating or any other area relevant to the role
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Qualifications in gardening/horticulture or open space maintenance relevant to the role
Health and safety at work training
Working at heights training
RoSPA Playground inspection certificate
COSHH training
First Aid at Work qualification
Safeguarding training
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Application
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Experience
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Experience of buildings and facilities maintenance, ideally in public spaces
Experience of using systems, processes, and procedures to deliver high quality maintenance including for the use of reporting issues and prioritising work plans and opening and closing procedures.
Experience of using a range of maintenance equipment and tools relevant to working within buildings and facilities: e.g. power tools, general maintenance tools, ladders/scaffold towers
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Some experience of soft and hard landscape maintenance, including: leaf and pollen clearance, sand and water cleanliness, tree maintenance, playgrounds
Experience of maintenance in listed buildings
Experience of carrying out inspections for the purposes of compliance
Experience of being involved in the delivery of small and large-scale events
Experience of working alongside volunteers and providing support and guidance where necessary
Experience of working with or alongside children and young people
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Application and interview
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Skills
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Good practical maintenance skills in one or a number of the following areas: painting/decorating, carpentry, electrical, plumbing (subject to skills/quals)
The ability to work effectively, flexibly and proactively as part of a wider team, whilst also being able to work on one’s own initiative
Good IT and digital skills, including the ability to use e-mail and online systems, such as for monitoring maintenance tasks
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Approachable and friendly, with the ability and confidence to engage with and build strong relationships with the children. young people and volunteers that use our park.
The ability to deal with conflict and diffuse situations to achieve an appropriate resolution
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A range of practical hard and soft landscape maintenance skills in areas such as: gardening/green spaces, sports facilities and courts, playgrounds, carpentry, and tarmacking.
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Application and interview
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Knowledge/attributes
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Good knowledge of what constitutes effective building and facilities maintenance
Knowledge of, and understanding of how to use a range of tools and equipment to deliver high quality maintenance
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Knowledge of building and facility regulations to ensure the application of legal compliance and best practice, e.g. fire safety
Knowledge of or the desire to learn more about building and facility management
Knowledge of safeguarding and the application of good safeguarding practice, ideally within the context of a public space
Knowledge of COSHH and the regulations regarding the storage of chemical substances relevant to the role.
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Application and interview
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