Maintenance Technician

The maintenance of all buildings at Canford School is the responsibility of the Estates Department.  The school employs a direct labour force to implement this responsibility.  The Maintenance Technician is required to provide a traditional “handyperson” service and assist with general response maintenance requests. The post-holder will be a capable, competent, organised and knowledgeable individual with a strong work ethic and good communication skills.

KEY FUNCTIONS:

Professional

• To carry out the duties of a Maintenance Technician in accordance with recognised professional standards.

Multi-Skilled Maintenance

• To receive and satisfactorily complete requests for repairing, replacing, altering and maintaining the general fabric of the school, to include response maintenance during working hours as well as full pre-planned maintenance works. The numerous minor requests may include:

• touching up paintwork, oiling panelling, removing surface stains, painting posts and knee rails, door maintenance, minor improvements, and maintaining other fixtures and fittings
• installing notice boards, signs, hooks, curtain rails, shelving and other fixtures and fittings
• repairing broken furniture, ironmongery, curtain fixings, floor edgings
• moving furniture and items as requested
• minor plaster filling, tiling repairs, paint touching up
• grout and mastic repairs and replacement
• changing basin wastes, clearing blocked toilets, de-scaling shower heads and so forth
• assisting other direct labour trades as required, often as a second pair of hands
• erecting temporary barriers, heras fencing, warning signs
• “builders cleans”

• Provide a high quality set maintenance visits service to all boarding houses, day houses, Health Centre, all sports facilities, all teaching facilities and all core areas of the school to ensure a high level of overall maintenance befitting the high quality of the school.
• Ensure maintenance works are carried out properly with all necessary preparation, and in accordance with established procedures at the school.
• Maintaining stock and store / office / workshop area tidiness.
• To work alongside and assist or escort external contractors and consultants where required.
• Assist in maintaining furniture store tidiness and stock records of furniture held.
• Maintain works tickets, stock records and material records accurately

• Ensure that permits, protection and signs are used to ensure that all pupils, staff and visitors are protected from work areas as far as possible.
• Follow good practice and keep up to date with new products, tools and techniques.
• Being aware of critical days when areas need to look their best.
• Ensuring follow-on trades are kept informed.

Administrative

• Maintain works tickets, stock records and material records accurately
• Cascade given instructions and requirements to the other members of the Multi-Trades Maintenance team, and ensure good two-way communication

Liaison

• Liaise with Estates Department colleagues on all matters concerning programming, materials, access, safety and allocation of duties.

• To balance planned annual leave with the other members of the Multi-Trade Maintenance Team.
• To be willing to work with any other Estates Department trade team as directed on occasion to help the whole department best flex resources to meet peak workloads. All allocated tasks to be within the reasonable capabilities of the post-holder. 

Health and Safety

• To ensure that Estates Department safe working practices are followed at all times and never compromised.
• Comply with all health and safety instructions issued.
• Ensure that procedures for the safe disposal of any hazardous waste are followed.
• Follow prepared risk assessments for the Multi-Trades Maintenance team, and carry out all duties in the safest manner.
• Properly maintain and wear / use personal protective equipment as required for the work.
• Ensure that no work at height is carried out without a work permit.
• All work at height to be carried out using appropriate access equipment.
• Have an involvement and awareness of health and safety issues within the School affecting maintenance staff.

• To responsibly use all issued vehicles, buggies, workplace equipment, mobile equipment, tools and plant ensuring pre-use checks are carried out.
• To be aware of those works which require a permit before they can be carried out.
• To be aware of Child Protection Issues and how these affect your work.

Notwithstanding all these duties, the nature of the dynamic school environment requires the Estates Department staff to offer a far ranging service, and it is not anticipated that this job specification is or can be fully definitive.

Knowledge / Experience

• Relevant CITB or similar training courses  (D)
• Asbestos awareness  (D)
• Full clean driving licence  (E)
• Some experience in building maintenance or specific building “finishing” trades, or second fix carpentry.  (E)
• Experience of working to high health and safety standards, or at least a clear willingness to work in a culture of strong health and safety. (E)
• Competent hand-held power tool operator (E)
• Experience in roles where an eye for detail is critical. (D)
• Ideally experience of working within an educational facility or similar environment  (D)
• Hard working and tidy with attention to quality and detail.  (E)
• Able to use initiative and work without supervision, as well as being part of a team.  (E)
• Able to undertake all the physical requirements of the post.  (E)
• Ability to work to scheduled programmes.  (E)
• Friendly, approachable and presentable manner, with the ability to communicate effectively with people at all levels  (E)
• A flexible and enthusiastic approach to all matters  (E)
• Willingness to undertake health and safety training as required, including first aid and manual handling training.  (E)
• Willingness to undertake machinery and equipment training and refresher / update training as required.  (E)
• Enjoy external work in all weathers, and capable of prioritising to suit predicted weather conditions.  (E)
• This post may include some out of hours on-call /emergency duties, for which additional remuneration is payable, being willing to help when required is desirable.  (D)
• Occasional planned overtime to assist with meeting deadlines or making best use of working slots around the school calendar may be available. A willingness to be flexible and work additional hours when required would be ideal.  (D)

Canford School is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion in all areas of our Community and encourages applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

Canford School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.

The successful applicant will be required to undergo child protection screening.