Building Manager

Birmingham City University; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 39,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working (role dependent)

Generous leave

Pension

Wellbeing support

Staff benefits

Job summary

Birmingham City University is seeking a proactive Building Manager to lead day-to-day operation of designated buildings across the university’s estate. You will provide visible leadership to facilities colleagues, coordinate contractors and services, respond to issues, and ensure safety, compliance and a welcoming environment for students, staff and visitors.

This hands-on, customer-focused role requires balancing planned work with changing demands, acting as the principal contact for building

Qualifications

• Experience in facilities or building management within large/ multi-site organisations.
• Experience leading, supervising and developing employees.
• Strong knowledge of health and safety legislation and compliance.
• Experience managing contractors and monitoring quality.

Responsibilities

• Lead facilities teams to deliver services effectively and consistently.
• Act as lead custodian, ensure compliance and safety.
• Coordinate with Helpdesk and Estates to progress repairs and monitor tasks.
• Conduct regular inspections and service-performance checks.
• Build relationships with building users and represent Estates and Facilities at meetings.
• Support moves, refurbishments and accommodation layout changes.
• Identify opportunities to improve services and user experience.

Job description

Department Facilities Management Location Joseph Priestley Building Salary £35,331 to £39,002 per annum Permanent Post Type Full Time Release Date 12 August 2026 Closing Date 23.59 hours BST on Friday 04 September 2026 Reference E726007-R2

Building Manager

At Birmingham City University, we are a diverse and inclusive learning community of over 31,400 students from more than 120 countries. We aim to become an exemplar anchor institution, creating and sharing knowledge for a better and more inclusive society. We are committed to providing a transformational educational experience, supporting world-class research, and fostering a collaborative and supportive working environment for our staff.

Recognised as one of the UK’s Top 250 employers (Financial Times & Statista), we pride ourselves on being a place where colleagues feel valued, supported, and able to grow their careers while contributing to the success of our students and communities.

Our student demographic reflects the rich cultural and ethnic diversity of Birmingham itself, with a significant proportion of students from minoritised ethnic backgrounds and the majority of our home students coming from the West Midlands. This diversity is a strength, and it calls for a workforce that is equipped to challenge deficit narratives and thinking — those assumptions that position students from underrepresented groups as lacking rather than recognising their assets, strengths and potential.

By embracing this perspective, we aim to create an environment where all students and colleagues can thrive, and where our work contributes positively to the social, cultural and economic life of Birmingham and beyond.

Please note that applications from candidates who have applied for this role within the last three months will not be considered and therefore need not reapply at this time.

Role Summary

As Building Manager, you will be responsible for the effective day-to-day operation of designated buildings across Birmingham City University’s estate. You will provide visible leadership to facilities colleagues, coordinate contractors and building services, respond to operational issues and ensure our buildings remain safe, compliant and welcoming for students, staff and visitors. This is a hands‑on, customer-focused position in which you will balance planned activity with changing operational demands. You will act as the principal point of contact for building users and work closely with colleagues across Estates and Facilities to maintain high standards of service. The role will involve working across University campuses and may occasionally require flexibility outside normal working hours to support operational requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, organise and support facilities teams, ensuring services are delivered effectively and consistently.
• Act as a lead custodian of the building, maintaining oversight of building activities and ensure that all compliance requirements are met.
• Work with the Facilities Helpdesk and Estates teams to ensure repairs are progressed and outstanding work is monitored and escalated.
• Working closely with the Helpdesk team fostering effective performance by checking outstanding tasks that are older than 30 days and elevate accordingly.
• Carry out regular building inspections, audits and service-performance checks.
• Build effective relationships with building users and represent Estates and Facilities at relevant stakeholder meetings and forums.
• Support office moves, refurbishment activity and changes to accommodation layouts.
• Identify opportunities to improve services and the experience of students, colleagues and visitors.
• Support other University buildings and campuses when operational cover is required.

Essential Requirements

You will be an experienced facilities professional who is comfortable taking ownership of a busy building environment. You will be able to lead others, make sound operational decisions and provide an excellent service while maintaining high safety and compliance standards.

You Will Have

• Relevant operational facilities or building‑management experience gained within a large, complex or multi‑site organisation.
• Experience of leading, supervising and developing employees.
• A good working knowledge of health and safety legislation, compliance requirements and safe systems of work.
• Experience of managing contractors and monitoring the quality and compliance of their work.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities.
• Excellent customer‑service, communication and stakeholder‑management skills.
• Experience of carrying out inspections, audits or service‑performance monitoring.
• Good IT skills, including experience of Microsoft Office and facilities‑management systems such as CAFM.

Desirable

• Experience gained in higher education, the public sector or another large customer‑facing organisation.
• A professional qualification in facilities management or a related discipline.
• Knowledge of wider Estates and Facilities services.

We welcome applications from candidates with transferable facilities‑management experience gained in sectors such as education, healthcare, local government, commercial property, hospitality or other complex, customer‑focused environments.

Our buildings are central to the experience of our students, colleagues and visitors, and you will have a genuine opportunity to influence how those environments operate.

You will join a collaborative Estates and Facilities team and work alongside experienced colleagues while continuing to develop your facilities‑management career.

Further information

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Suzanne Blunt, Facilities Operations Manager, at [e-mail].

Why not explore our campuses using our interactive map: Interactive Map | Birmingham City University

Why work for us

• Work–life balance – Generous leave and hybrid working (role dependent).
• Career development – Opportunities to grow, develop and progress your career.
• Reward and wellbeing – Competitive pay, pension, wellbeing support and staff benefits.
• Inclusive culture – A supportive, diverse environment where everyone belongs.

Use of AI in applications

At BCU, we welcome applications that clearly demonstrate how your skills and experience meet the requirements of the role. AI tools may be used to support you in preparing your application, but the information you provide must be accurate, authentic and based on your own experience. Applications that rely too heavily on AI, appear generic or do not provide specific evidence against the role criteria are less likely to progress to the next stage of the recruitment process.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and to an environment that supports lawful free speech and academic freedom. We will continuously review and improve our policies, practices, and procedures to ensure that we are promoting these in all aspects of our operations. We believe that by working together, combining our many different backgrounds and life experiences, we will empower each other to reach our full potential.

Disability Confident Employer

Birmingham City University is proud to be a Disability Confident Committed Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role will be guaranteed an interview.