Advert
Head of Building Maintenance
Cardiff University is seeking a Head of Building Maintenance to lead and develop our Building Maintenance Operations Team across our large and complex campus.
This exciting new role will ensure the University Estate is maintained to the highest standards while providing a value for money service. It will play a key supporting role in delivery of university strategy ‘ Our future, together ’.
The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate their commitment to continuous service improvement and customer service excellence, as well as demonstrating innovation and knowledge in their field. They will be able to support team members at all levels through change and will be supported by an experienced and committed colleagues.
Cardiff University Offers Excellent Working Conditions And Benefits Including
* Generous annual leave of 37 days plus bank holidays.
* High employer pensions contributions through the Universities Superannuation Scheme.
* Use of the University’s leisure and cultural facilities.
* Access of our Employee Assistance Programme.
* 35 hour working week.
Due to the nature of the University operations, some services operate 24 hours, 7 days a week. The successful candidate will be required to be flexible to deal with occasional emergencies and escalations outside of standard operating hours, including Bank holidays and university shutdown periods.
This is primarily an office-based role with frequent on-campus presence for stakeholder engagement and incident response but with the opportunity to work from home where suitable.
This is a full-time, open-ended position, available immediately.
Salary: £60,907 per annum, with 3 annual increments up to £66,537 per annum (Grade 8).
If you’d like and informal chat about the role, please email David Gilsenan, Deputy Director of Estates (Engineering and Buildings): gilsenand@cardiff.ac.uk to arrange a mutually convenient time.
Please note - The Person Specification is split into 2 sections: Essential Criteria and Desirable Skills. Please demonstrate clearly how you meet all of the essential criteria. Where possible you should give examples of how, when and where you have used your experience, knowledge, specific skills and abilities to match those required for this particular job role. This should be included in a document entitled ‘Supporting Statement’.
Please complete the supporting statement before you begin your online application as you will be required to upload it.
Date advert posted: Friday, 18 July 2025
Closing date: Friday, 8 August 2025
Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds who have the ambition to create a University which seeks to fulfil our social, cultural and economic obligation to Cardiff, Wales, and the world. In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements.
Applications may be submitted in Welsh, and an application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English.
Job Description
Head of Building Maintenance
Job Purpose: The Head of Building Maintenance will oversee the efficient and effective management of the university's maintenance operations. This role involves managing five zone managers, each responsible for a team of tradespeople, to ensure the timely completion of reactive, planned and improvement works. The Head of Building Maintenance will also oversee elements of the backlog maintenance budget delivery and improvement works to ensure the university's facilities are maintained to the highest standards.
This person will be the subject matter expert on building fabric maintenance.
Key Responsibilities
Compliance and Safety:
o Working with the safety team, manage maintenance activities and infrastructure to comply with health and safety regulations and university policies. Engage with the workforce to embed a ‘safety first’ attitude to all activities carried out by University staff or contractors employed by the University in order to protect staff, students and contractors. Responsible for the impact of the infrastructure and consequences for Health and Safety for Staff, Students and Contractors.
o Conduct regular audits and inspections to maintain high standards of safety and compliance with relevant regulations such as Working at Height and COSHH..
Leadership and Management:
o Manage and support the Zone Managers, ensuring they effectively lead their respective teams of tradespeople.
o Foster a collaborative and positive working environment, promoting professional development and high performance.
o Work closely with other senior managers in the estates team and across the university to ensure a seamless service is provided for our customers.
o Manage, update and forecast a budget for the team, ensuring the best possible service and value for money is achieved.
o Point of escalation for business continuity and incident handling.
Maintenance Operations:
o Oversee the planning and execution of reactive maintenance tasks to address urgent issues promptly.
o Implement, manage and report SLA’s and KPI’s and ensure target response times are consistently met. Monitor and manage areas of concern if they occur and develop a strategy to improve performance.
o Produce clear and concise reports demonstrating the performance of all areas of the team.
o Coordinate improvement works to enhance the university's facilities and infrastructure.
o Monitor and manage the backlog maintenance budget allocated to you, ensuring cost-effective use of resources.
o Report on workforce performance, identify areas for improvement and implement recovery plans
o Work with other members of the estates teams to manage resources to provide other planned services and PPM’s.
o Provide planned maintenance programmes for building fabric
o Work with the Equality, Disability and Inclusion team to deliver works to improve accessibility and related issues throughout campus
Strategic Planning:
o Develop and implement maintenance strategies that align with the university's goals and objectives. Be a leading authority in the areas which will require making recommendations to UEB in the area of knowledge.
o Identify opportunities for process improvements and implement best practices in maintenance operations.
o Using all available data and team resources, Identify projects which require capital investment. Provide cost plans and programmes in order to inform budget planning.
o A lead role in the university’s technical guidelines for responsible areas.
o Responsible for provision, coordination and maintaining all building fabric condition information.
Communication and Reporting:
o Maintain clear and effective communication with the Deputy Director of Estates, Zone Managers, and other stakeholders.
o Prepare and present regular reports on maintenance activities, budget status, and project progress.
o Develop & maintain stock control process.
Person Specification
Essential Criteria
Experience And Skills
* Proven experience in a maintenance management role. Ideally this would be in a role covering a large and varied estate utilising in-house and subcontract resource.
* HNC, HND or Degree in a relevant discipline
* NEBOSH General Certificate or similar
* The ability to effectively communicate with colleagues of all levels within the estates team and across the University.
* Strong management and leadership skills. The ability to lead, guide and manage a large team.
* Excellent knowledge of maintenance practices, health and safety regulations, and budget management.
* Ability to work under pressure and manage multiple priorities and work streams.
* Committed to continuous improvement and professional development.
* Ability to develop and implement strategic plans and process improvements with the ability to analyse and process data sets and report on the findings
Desirable Skills
* Experience dealing Listed Buildings and buildings in conservation areas
* Experience of managing works in areas where asbestos is present
Salary Range Min.
60,907
Salary Range Max.
66,537
Job Category
Estates
Grade
Grade 8 #J-18808-Ljbffr