Building Services Supervisor

ROYAL SOCIETY OF CHEMISTRY; City Of London; On-site; GBP 39,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

London weighting

Lunch allowance

26 days holiday

35-hour week

Private medical

Maternity/paternity leave

Volunteer days

Pension contributions

Job summary

Royal Society of Chemistry in London is seeking a practical Building Services Supervisor to lead a small team of building services staff. You will organise rotas, oversee maintenance, and support events with AV and room-set coordination.

The role combines hands-on delivery with people management and a focus on safety and service quality. The position is full-time, site-based at Burlington House with occasional travel to Cambridge.

Qualifications

• Hands-on supervisory capability with day-to-day team leadership.
• Experience in building services, facilities management or equivalent.
• Knowledge of risk assessments, COSHH, fire safety and compliance.
• Ability to coach and support a small team to work well together.
• Ability to prioritise, balance risk and adapt to changing plans.
• Effective briefing and relationship-building with contractors and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Supervise and direct day-to-day team workloads and standards.
• Plan preventative maintenance, log defects and track actions.
• Coordinate room set-ups, reception cover and AV support for events.
• Maintain out-of-hours coverage and respond to incidents.

Skills

Hands-on supervision

Facilities experience

Health & safety

People management

Organisation & judgement

Clear communication

Job description

We are looking for a practical, people-focused Building Services Supervisor to join us at Burlington House, the Royal Society of Chemistry’s historic home in the heart of London.

This is a varied, hands-on supervisory role. You will organise the day-to-day work of a small Building Services Porter team, set clear standards, manage rotas and support performance, while also working alongside the team when operational demands require it. From checking building issues and coordinating contractors to preparing spaces and providing first-line AV support for events, you will be visible, approachable and ready to help keep services running smoothly.

Your contribution will be central to the experience of colleagues, visitors, contractors, venue clients and event delegates. You will help ensure that Burlington House is safe, well maintained and professionally presented, applying sound health and safety knowledge, practical judgement and calm prioritisation. Just as importantly, you will build positive working relationships across Hospitality, Reception, Technology and Estates so that daily operations and events are coordinated effectively.

This is a full-time, site-based role at our London office, with occasional travel to our Cambridge office. Our building and events programme requires flexible cover: working times will vary within the team’s operating window of 8:00am to 10:30pm, including early starts, late finishes, participation in an out-of-hours keyholder rota and occasional weekend cover.

This opportunity could suit an experienced facilities or building services supervisor, or someone with strong transferable experience from another operational setting, who enjoys combining practical delivery with responsibility for a small team. If you can organise people and priorities, uphold safe working practices and provide a responsive service, we would welcome your application.

The salary for this role is up to £43,800 per annum, with offers made in line with relevant skills and experience

What you will be responsible for:

• Supervise and work alongside the team: organise rotas and workloads, provide clear daily direction, monitor standards, support development and address issues promptly and fairly.
• Coordinate maintenance and resolve problems: plan preventative maintenance, log and prioritise defects, track actions and elevate issues appropriately to maintain a reliable building service.
• Help deliver excellent events: work closely with the Hospitality team to coordinate room set-ups, reception cover and first-line AV support, responding calmly when requirements change.
• Maintain operational cover: participate in the out-of-hours keyholder rota, respond to building incidents and support emergency access or evacuation procedures when required.

What we are looking for:

• Hands-on supervisory capability: experience organising and supervising the day-to-day work of a small operational team, setting clear standards and priorities, and working alongside colleagues when needed.
• Building services or facilities experience: practical experience in building services, facilities management or a comparable operational environment, with an understanding of maintenance, defects, contractors and service delivery.
• Health and safety knowledge: the ability to apply risk assessments, COSHH, fire safety and safe-working requirements in practice, and to maintain accurate compliance records.
• Strong people management skills: the ability to support a small operational team to work effectively together by setting clear expectations, coaching and developing colleagues, fostering positive behaviours and a collaborative culture, and providing timely, constructive support to help colleagues succeed.
• Organisation and sound judgement: the ability to balance competing operational demands, prioritise according to risk and service need, and remain calm and decisive when plans change or unexpected situations occur.
• Clear communication and relationship-building: the ability to brief the team effectively and work positively with colleagues, contractors, suppliers and event stakeholders.

There will be a two stage interview process with the 2nd stage interview conducted at our London office, Burlington House.

Benefits

• At the Royal Society of Chemistry, we promote a healthy work/life balance and flexible working options across the organisation. We offer a comprehensive benefits package to all employees including:
• London weighting allowance and lunch allowance
• 26 days paid holiday per annum
• 35-hour working week with flexible options, to be agreed with your line manager
• Access to a private medical (optional)
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
• Paid volunteering days
• Pension plan with up to 12% employer contributions (depending upon your contribution)

Visit our Work For Us website to learn more about us, our benefits, equal opportunities statement and inclusive culture pledge.

At the RSC, we recognise the benefits of a diverse workforce and welcome applicants from a range of backgrounds to apply. We particularly encourage applications from disabled and ethnic minority candidates.

As a part of the Disability Confident Scheme, we endeavour, where possible, to offer an interview to candidates meeting the essential criteria of the role, who has a substantial physical/mental impairment which impacts their ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.

We are committed to making our recruitment processes accessible to all and as part of this, we are flexible in the ways we give and receive information. If you would like to apply using a different format, please contact the Recruitment Team at [e-mail] or on [phone] and we will do our best to put any reasonable adjustments in place.

If you have any questions, please contact us at [e-mail]