Grounds & Facilities Assistant

State Government of Victoria, Australia; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

South Melbourne Primary School in Melbourne is seeking a Grounds & Facilities Assistant to support the school's grounds and buildings, ensuring safe, well-maintained spaces for students and staff.

The role involves coordinating trades on site, assisting with maintenance tasks, and upholding OHS standards in a busy school setting. You will work as part of a collaborative team and contribute to a safe, welcoming campus.

Qualifications

• Experience in groundskeeping within a school or similar environment.
• Ability to use hand and power tools safely.
• Knowledge of OHS practices and procedures.
• Experience coordinating contractors on site.
• Ability to track maintenance activities in a database.

Responsibilities

• Assist with general grounds and maintenance tasks as required.
• Undertake general maintenance and minor building works.
• Coordinate tradespeople working on site.
• Assist in OHS inductions for contractors.
• Check the school grounds to ensure safety.
• Keep storage facilities clean, tidy and safe.
• Work through a schedule of regular tasks and maintenance audits.
• Demonstrate the ability to work independently and with minimal supervision.
• Other duties as directed.

Skills

Gardening aptitude

Grounds maintenance

Contractor liaison

Job description

Occupation: Education and training

Location: Melbourne - CBD and Inner Metro suburbs

South Melbourne Primary School acknowledges the Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we are located and pay respect to their Elders past and present.

We are a high-performing government school with a clear sense of what we're about and how we work. Our school opened at the beginning of 2018 and we have recently been funded to expand to a second campus next door, with construction commencing in 2029.

Character - Our People

Every person who walks through our doors is significant. Kindness and manners are baseline expectations. We maintain a warm, inclusive culture with high, clear expectations. We promote Relaxed Professionalism as our mantra as we strive to have fun but remain sharp as we conduct our work.

Staff work in Professional Learning Teams. Feedback is frequent, constructive and expected. Practice is routinely observed and discussed. We explicitly teach habits for success through our Big 10 Essential Habits. Our staff actively practise GEMS - Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness and Show More Love - in Staff Huddles, meetings and daily interactions.

This environment suits professionals who value teamwork, feedback and shared standards. It is unlikely to suit those seeking a highly autonomous or individual classroom model.

Community - Our Place

We live in the shelter of each other. Our community is diverse and multilingual, and we actively draw on that as a strength. We approach our community as an active partnership. We connect with families through Celebration of Learning Days, Whole School Assemblies and our Compass online portal. Student progress - both academic and social-emotional - is reported to families termly via Student Dashboards. EAL experience is an advantage as many of our students were born overseas and have English as a Second Language.

We have partnered with the City of Port Phillip to establish an on-site Kindergarten and OSHClub, providing wrap-around services for our families.

Learning - Our Program

Literacy and Numeracy are our core priorities.

Our teaching is grounded in Cognitive Science and Direct Instruction. We prioritise consistency and have a low-variance, high-fidelity curriculum. Staff use data to plan, teach and evaluate impact. Shared planning reduces duplication and ensures every student benefits from the same quality of teaching. We have a highly structured academic and social-emotional curriculum and work from defined lesson plans developed as a school.

Coaching, observation and feedback are embedded, not occasional. Responding positively to feedback with focussed actions is a baseline expectation.

Our Specialist Programs provide rich opportunities for students across Music and Performing Arts, Visual Art, Mandarin and Physical Education.

What to Expect

Kindness and manners are the cornerstone of success

Practice is visible and open to feedback

Teamwork is non-negotiable

A positive, professional disposition is expected at all times

Clear instructional frameworks and structured collaboration are the norm

You will be coached, and you will be expected to grow

We are a school that takes practice seriously. If that aligns with how you want to work, we'd like to hear from you.

Selection Criteria

Each applicant must address the below selection criteria:

• Ability to carry out a physical role, with demonstrated gardening/handypersonaptitude.
• Demonstrated ability to efficiently manage and maintain grounds and gardens and complete grounds works as required within a school environment. Skills in the use of tools/technical equipment as relevant to the position.
• Demonstrated technical knowledge, expertise and proficiency in minor repairs and maintenance to the interior and exterior of buildings within a school environment. Skills in the use of tools/technical equipment as relevant to the position.
• The capacity to engage and liaise with contractors on the school site as required and manage minor projects and developments being mindful of OHS practices and protocols.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain a database system to track cyclic maintenance, repairs and contractors.
• Demonstrated abilityto be flexible and work independently to maintain the school buildings and grounds.

Additional Notes:

• There is limited paid parking nearby and the School is more readily accessible via public transport.
• Any Visa conditions must be declared in the original written application.

Role

[Attendance requirement for this position]

An education support class position at this range will perform tasks that are carried out in accordance with guidelines, accepted practice, and school policy under supervision and direction. This may include coordination of other education support class staff within the work area or educational program.

An education support class position supports the educational services being provided to students but must not include duties of a teacher as defined in clause 2.6.1 of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic) or its successor. Supervision of students can be required individually or in groups up to 4 in controlled circumstances and where the responsibility for students remains clearly with a teacher.

Certification and/or qualifications of up to three years can be required at this level (noting that Registered Nurse is not included at this level, the first level for which is Level 1 range 3).

A role at this range may include:

• Specific support tasks to achieve outcomes. Typically, this will involve accountability for a single function, (e.g. ensuring data is properly maintained) or the co-ordination of a work area under the direction of the principal or a manager.
• Assisting teachers, within an educational program, by undertaking specific support tasks or the coordination of the support function.
• Supervised health and wellbeing support tasks, medical intervention support tasks, or other specialised student/teacher support roles (e.g. enrolled nurses performing the role as described in schedule 3). These roles require specific qualifications and/or training, including roles where further training must be undertaken from time to time. The role is for a specific purpose, for which there will be direct accountability as opposed to support roles that are carried out by a range of staff performing routine tasks under direction.
• Technical tasks that require a sound knowledge of basic technical and/or scientific principles that are used to develop and adapt work methods and make judgements where there are clear guidelines and limited options. Routine technical support in libraries, science, and information technology would be typical examples.

An education support class position at this range commencing at the base will initially be limited to undertaking routine tasks that are carried out under close supervision and direction. Work that carries some degree of independence will generally involve a limited number of tasks performed on a regular basis where priorities are clear, procedures are well established, and direction is readily available. Subject to any specific qualification and/or training requirement, an education support class employee employed in this range may be progressively required to undertake coordination, specialisedstudent/teacher support tasks, or technical tasks as experience in the role is gained.

Responsibilities

The core role of the Grounds & Facilities Assistant may include but is not limited to:

Assist with general grounds and maintenance tasks as required

Undertake general maintenance and minor building works

Coordinate tradesperson working on site

Assist in OHS including inductions for contractors

Checking the school grounds to ensure the grounds are safe

Keep storage facilities clean, tidy and safe, including signage for OHS risks

Working through a schedule of regular tasks and maintenance audits

General setting up and packing away after major events

Demonstrate the ability to work independently and also with minimum supervision within a team environment.

Other duties as directed.

Who May Apply

Individuals with the aptitude, experience and/or qualifications to fulfill the specific requirements of the position.

Diversity and Inclusion

The department is committed to diversity and inclusion and developing a workforce that is representative of the community we service. We value diversity and inclusion in all forms - culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, LGBTIQA+, disability and neurodiversity. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for roles within the Department.The Department recognises that the provision of safe, respectful and inclusive workplaces is essential to high performance and promotes flexible work and diversity across all schools and Department workplaces.It is our policy to provide reasonable adjustments for staff with disability (see Workplace adjustment guidelines ).

Additional support and advice on the recruitment process is available to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander candidates from the Koorie Outcomes Division (KOD) via [e-mail]

Applicants seeking part-time employment are encouraged to apply for any teaching service position and, if they are the successful candidate, request a reduced time fraction. Such requests will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis and will be subject to the operational requirements of the school.

Child Safe Standards

Victorian government schools are child safe environments. Our schools actively promote the safety and wellbeing of all students, and all school staff are committed to protecting students from abuse or harm in the school environment, in accordance with their legal obligations including child safe standards. All schools have a Child Safety Code of Conduct consistent with the department's exemplar available at:

The department's employees commit to upholding the department's Values: Responsiveness, Integrity, Impartiality, Accountability, Respect, Leadership and Human Rights. The department's Values complement each school's own values and underpin the behaviours the community expects of Victorian public sector employees,including those who work in Victorian Government Schools. Information on the department values is available at:

• All staff employed by the Department and schools have access to a broad range of employment conditions and working arrangements.
• Appointment of successful applicants will be made subject to a satisfactory pre-employment conditions check.
• A probationary period may apply during the first year of employment and induction and support programs provided.
• Detailed information on all terms and conditions of employment is available on the Department's Human Resources website at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/hrweb/Pages/default.aspx

Applications close Sunday 11 October 2026 at 11.59pm