Grounds Supervisor

School Talent; St Andrews; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 33,000; Full time

Job summary

School Talent is seeking a Grounds Supervisor for St Leonards School in St Andrews. The role focuses on monitoring, maintaining, and improving school grounds, gardens, and sports pitches to high standards in compliance with Health & Safety regulations.

The post holder will manage an outsourced contractor, work with minimal supervision, and respond to changing priorities during seasonal demand. PVG membership is required, cost covered by the employer.

Qualifications

• HNC in Horticulture required.
• PA1/PA6 spraying certificates required.
• PA2 tractor-mounted spraying certificate required.
• Chainsaw certificate preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide professional gardening and estates services across gardens, sports fields and grounds.
• Maintain all-weather sports pitches.
• Carry out cold weather gritting and snow clearing.
• Plan and allocate duties to Grounds contractor, monitor weather & events.
• Oversee Grounds Maintenance contract and SLAs for value for money.
• Ensure safe use, storage and maintenance of equipment.
• Maintain Health & Safety and security procedures compliance.
• Order materials within delegated limits and manage stock levels.

Skills

Grounds maintenance

Sports turf maintenance

Time management

Team leadership

Communication

Physically fit

Education

HNC in Horticulture

PA1 Spraying Certificate

PA6 Spraying Certificate

PA2 Tractor Spraying Certificate

Chainsaw Certificate

Tools

Grounds machinery operation

Power tools

IT basics (Google, Windows, spreadsheets)

Job description

The following content displays a map of the jobs location - The Pends, St Andrews, Fife

Job Reference schooltalent/TP/47399/2878

Number of Positions

1

Contract Type

Full Time Permanent

Permanent

Working Hours

37.5

Location

The Pends, St Andrews, Fife

Closing Date

22/11/2026

Region / Division

St Leonards

Job Role

Operational/Professional Services

The Role

Responsible to:Head of Estates and Facilities

Salary: £30,054 per annum

Contract Type:Permanent, Full Time

Hours of Work: Monday to Friday - 37.5 hours per week - 0730am to 0430pm, flexible to suit seasonal demand (occasional evening and weekend work may be required)

The Opportunity

The Grounds Supervisor is primarily responsible for effectively and efficiently monitoring, maintaining and up-keeping grounds, pathways, gardens and sports pitches at St Leonards School, ensuring that they are of the highest standards of appearance and condition in accordance with Health and Safety Regulations.

They will also manage an outsourced contractor to support their function. They will be required to work with minimum supervision, responding to changing demands and priorities as and when required.

The Grounds Supervisor will be required to hold current PVG Scheme Membership for the duration of their employment, the cost of which is covered by St Leonards.

Key Responsibilities - Role Specific Responsibilities

• Providing professional gardening and estates services within a large School setting including cultivation; spraying; edging; bed preparation; planting and general upkeep of the gardens, sports fields and grounds.
• Maintenance of the all-weather sports pitches.
• Cold weather preventative gritting, salt spreading and snow clearing.
• Advance planning and allocation of duties to the Grounds contractor, including monitoring weather and temperature forecasts, liaising with internal and external stakeholders to ensure preparedness for all events held on School grounds.
• Overseeing the Grounds Maintenance contract, liaising with the contractor, managing SLAs and ensuring best value for money.
• Ensuring the safe use, storage and maintenance of equipment and machinery.
• Maintaining compliance with all relevant Health & Safety and security procedures and guidelines.
• Assessing stock levels and ordering materials to carry out works within delegated limits.
• Lifting and moving of furniture and equipment.
• Annual re-painting of benches and general condition checks.
• General support work outside the grounds team as requested by the Head of Estates and Facilities.

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of responsibilities and duties. It is expected that the post-holder will participate in other reasonable activities, which may be required to meet the needs of the School or for better fulfilment of the role.

Person Specification

The successful candidate will demonstrate the following qualities and experience.

Education, Training & Qualifications

• HNC in Horticulture
• PA1 and PA6 Spraying Certificates
• PA2 Tractor mounted spraying certificate
• Chainsaw certificate

Experience

• Previous experience in maintenance and landscape gardening.
• Supervisory experience including leading and planning horticulture works..
• Sports pitch maintenance, lining, cutting and marking.
• An understanding of sports turf maintenance and horticulture
• Sound knowledge of plant identification.
• Experience of working in a school or sports environment.

Skills

• Mechanical skills, able to clean and make small repairs to machinery and grounds features (fencing etc.)
• Computer literate in standard IT systems e.g. Google, Windows and spreadsheets.
• Experience of operating a variety of ground-care equipment and power tools.
• Excellent time management and planning skills.
• Clear and concise communication skills.
• Physically fit to undertake strenuous duties

Interpersonal & Personal Qualities

• Ability to work independently and as part of a wider departmental team..
• A fair and consistent approach when delegating tasks
• High emotional intelligence, professional warmth and discretion.
• Competent at prioritising workload to meet deadlines.
• A flexible and enthusiastic attitude to work.
• Flexible with occasional overtime or weekend work, when required.

St Leonards is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive culture, where all members of the community - colleagues, pupils and families - are seen and valued. This culture ensures that St Leonards delivers an outstanding global education in a multi-cultural living, learning and working environment.

Please note : St Leonards cannot offer visa sponsorship therefore applicants must have the right to work in the UK

All successful applicants will be required to be accepted for membership of the Disclosure Scotland Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme.

About St Leonards

St Leonards is a friendly and forward-looking independent, coeducational, boarding and day school situated on an historic campus at the heart of the university town of St Andrews. The school enjoys an unrivalled location - there are sandy beaches, world-class Links golf courses, and historic sites on its doorstep.

St Leonards delivers the inspiring, globally-recognised International Baccalaureate curriculum (which has been praised by university admissions officers for its focus on deepening learning learning, offering wider subject options, and enriching minds) for pupils aged five to 18, and was the first school to be accredited as an all-through IB school in Scotland. It is one of just two schools in the UK to actively offer all four IB programmes, ensuring a seamless learner journey. The youngest pupils follow the Primary Years Programme, which goes hand-in-hand with the vibrant Outdoor Learning programme at St Leonards. This is followed by the Middle Years Programme and (I)GCSEs. In the Sixth Form, pupils choose between the Career-related Programme and the Diploma Programme.

St Leonards enjoys a rich sporting heritage, and continues to boast a strong record of achievement with pupils representing the school nationally in golf, rugby, lacrosse, hockey, horse riding, and small-bore rifle shooting. The leading five-tier Golf Programme continues to go from strength to strength, the Duke of Edinburgh Award is the fastest growing of all Scottish independent schools, and an exciting calendar of trips and activities ensures pupils leave St Leonards equipped with the skills required to succeed in today’s ever-changing world. Truly an education ‘Ad Vitam’ (for life).