Head of Grounds

Caldicott; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

5 weeks’ paid holiday

Employee Assistance Programme

Lunch during term time

Uniform

Job summary

Caldicott is seeking an experienced Head of Grounds to lead the grounds team and oversee daily maintenance of the school's outdoor facilities. The role requires preparing pitches for cricket, rugby, football and athletics while maintaining gardens, trees and hedges.

Strong leadership and planning skills are essential. The successful candidate will manage workloads, ensure safety standards, and contribute to the school’s extensive sporting programme, with early starts and occasional weekend work.

Qualifications

• Proven grounds or sports turf management experience.
• Experience maintaining gardens, trees, hedges and boundaries.
• Strong planning and prioritisation skills.
• Experience leading a team.
• Health & Safety knowledge.
• Budget management experience.
• Full clean driving licence.
• Grounds qualifications or professional certification preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day management, preparation and maintenance of the school grounds and outdoor facilities.
• Organise workloads and ensure work is planned and completed to a high standard.
• Develop and manage the grounds team, providing leadership and motivation.
• Support the school’s sporting programme through pitch preparation for fixtures and events.
• Comply with Health & Safety practices and manage departmental budget.

Skills

Grounds management

Sports turf

Team leadership

Planning & organisation

Health & Safety

Budget management

IT skills

Driving licence

Grounds qualifications

Education

Grounds Management qualifications

Professional Grounds Certification

Job description

Sport is a major part of life at Caldicott, with an extensive programme of cricket, rugby, football, athletics and other activities taking place throughout the year. Our grounds include a wide range of sports pitches, playing fields, gardens, landscaped areas, flower beds, trees, hedging, boundaries and other outdoor facilities, all of which require careful preparation and ongoing maintenance to a high standard.

We are now looking for an experienced, knowledgeable and motivated Head of Grounds to lead our grounds team and take responsibility for the day-to-day management, preparation and maintenance of the school’s grounds and outdoor facilities.

The successful candidate will have proven experience in grounds management, ideally within a school, sports, or similar environment, with experience of preparing and maintaining sports pitches for cricket, rugby, football and athletics. You will also have a good practical understanding of the care and maintenance of gardens, flower beds, trees, hedges, fencing, boundaries and other landscaped areas.

You will be responsible for managing and developing the grounds team, organising workloads and ensuring that work is planned and completed efficiently and to the required standard. Good people-management skills, together with the ability to lead, motivate and support a small team, are essential.

You will have:

• Proven experience in grounds or sports turf management, with strong knowledge of sports pitch preparation and maintenance.
• Experience of maintaining gardens, planted areas, hedges, trees, fencing and site boundaries.
• Good organisational and planning skills, with the ability to prioritise both routine and reactive work.
• Experience of managing and motivating a team.
• A strong understanding of Health & Safety requirements and good working practices.
• Experience of managing a departmental budget and controlling expenditure.
• Basic IT skills and the ability to use relevant systems for planning, communication and record keeping.
• Appropriate professional qualifications, ideally including Grounds Management Association or equivalent qualifications.
• A full clean driving licence

This is a full-time, hands-on role and will require early morning working and occasional weekend working, particularly to support the school’s extensive sporting programme and the preparation of grounds and pitches for fixtures and events.

In return, Caldicott offers a friendly and supportive working environment, the opportunity to work across a diverse and attractive 40-acre site, and the chance to play an important role in maintaining and developing the school’s grounds and sporting facilities.

Benefits include 5 weeks’ paid holiday, an Employee Assistance Programme, lunch during term time and uniform.