Facilities Helpdesk Lead

Partou UK; Tameside; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading childcare provider in Tameside is looking for a Facilities Manager to lead their helpdesk team, ensuring efficient and compliant service delivery. This role involves overseeing maintenance, managing contracts and vendor performance, and supporting budget management. The ideal candidate will have strong analytical skills, prior facilities management experience, and the ability to navigate challenging customer interactions. Join a rapidly growing organization committed to high-quality childcare and continuous professional development.

Benefits

Professional development opportunities

Supportive team environment

Qualifications

• Demonstrable ability to cope under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
• Excellent analytical, conceptual thinking, problem solving, planning and execution skills.
• Ability to identify and act on own development needs.

Responsibilities

• Manage helpdesk team performance and wellbeing.
• Oversee cleaning contracts and compliance testing.
• Ensure effective facilities service and compliance with SLAs.

Skills

Good analytical skills

Organisational Skills

Word and Excel Experience

Good communication and personal interaction skills

Ability to demonstrate customer needs understanding

Education

Previous experience in a similar role

Valid driving license

Job description

In this role, you will be part of, and lead a high functioning helpdesk team in the strategic delivery of all onsite planned and reactive maintenance functions, including compliance testing, and reporting.

You will be responsible for supporting in ensuring the day-to-day facilities service is both effective and smooth ensuring compliance with all Service Level Agreements and Key Performance Measures providing clear reporting with agreed actions to the Head of Facilities. As well as engaging with, and ensuring compliance to all Health & Safety requirements and processes.

Your responsibilities will also include supporting the Head of Facilities and Procurement Manager with the ongoing review of Contractor and Supplier performance. Recording and Reporting on Cost, Quality, Documentation and onsite feedback as part of the ongoing benchmarking and tendering process.

You will also have the responsibility for the day-to-day Facilities Service at our Nursery Support centre including overseeing cleaning contracts, compliance testing and sundry ordering.

What You`ll Be Doing

Facilities Operational Management

• Covering reactive, planned, and quoted maintenance for the designated estate including laundry and kitchen equipment.
• Instruction and Arranging of Subcontractor visits.
• Managing Helpdesk Team including performance, and wellbeing reviews/holidays.
• Managing fleet of vehicles throughout the estate. Ensuring MOTs and vehicle road tax are kept up to date.
• Looking after facilities at NSC. Fire alarm, Maintenance, cleaning. (Denton office )
• Validation and authorising of subcontractor and supplier invoices ensuring costs and recorded and assigned to correct GL discipline and Cost Centre.
• Administration for all insurance /claims supporting the Property Director.

Subject Matter Expert

• Triage incoming calls from all sites to attempt diagnosis and telefix.
• Assigning facilities issues as appropriate to contractor ensuring all appropriate detail to allow for timely repair minimising costs.
• To provide support for Nursery Managers, Teams and Helpdesk in quickly resolving all facilities issues and queries.
• To update line management efficiently and appropriately on a regular basis to assist with Estate overview and strategic planning.

Regulations & Compliance

• Ensuring daily management of Planned Preventative and Compliance Testing to ensure all sites remain compliant minimising business risk.
• Highlighting compliance issues on estate to Head of Facilities Management.

Financial Management

• Raising and Management of Purchase Orders ensuring Invoicing is approved within necessary timescales
• Track and report on ongoing spend to assist with budget management and allow line management to accurately plan future facilities budget.
• Ensuring costs are tracked and any variances flagged to Head of Facilities during reviews.

Ability to demonstrate a wide understanding of customer needs and being able to manage their expectations.

• Commitment to equality and diversity, accepting differences and treating everyone fairly.
• Understands the process of team working and the part they play in ensuring objectives are met.
• Demonstrable experience of ability to organise own workload to meet tight deadlines, coping well under pressure and difficult situations and ability to identify and act on own development needs.
• Demonstrable ability to cope with difficult communication with clients who are distressed or angry.
• Willingness to undertake further training to meet evolving needs of the role as legislation changes.
• Is structured, organised, flexible and adaptable in the approach.
• Instils confidence and resilience in others and is enthusiastic, pragmatic and motivating.
• Confident and approachable / assertive as required and displays good self-awareness.
• Excellent analytical, conceptual thinking, problem solving, planning and execution skills.
• A hand's on 'can do' and 'will do' approach to all activities undertaken.

Professional Knowledge And Experience

• Good analytical skills
• Word and Excel Experience
• Organisational Skills
• Good communication and personal interactionskills
• Ability to be self-motivated and work as part of a team.
• Numerate
• Ideally previous experience of working in a similar role and knowledge of compliance.
• Valid driving licence required

At Partou, childcare is more than just a job; it's a journey led by every child's unique path. As the largest childcare group in the Netherlands, we provide access to top-tier research, resources, and expertise. Our mission is to develop your skills and positively impact the next generation.

Partou UK has grown rapidly, acquiring Just Childcare in June 2021 and All About Children in September 2022. With over 1,000 nursery branches worldwide and a team of 11,000+ professionals, we cater to more than 75,000 children. We're committed to continuous improvement and growth, supported by significant investments in quality care and early years learning., Partou is proud be a part of the National Partnership in Early Learning and Childcare (NPELC) - a group of 10 of the largest childcare providers across England. Together, we operate over 1,300 childcare settings, employ more than 38,000 people, and take care of over 160,000 children.