School Estate Manager

Wood Green School; Witney; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

Wood Green School is seeking a proactive School Estate Manager to lead a dedicated estates team, shaping a safe and compliant environment. You will oversee contractor management, asset planning and long-term improvements to support a growing secondary school.

You will implement modern estate management practices aligned with Good Estate Management for Schools (GEMS), ensuring resilience and readiness for future needs while maintaining high standards and accountability across the site.

Qualifications

• Experience leading estates or facilities teams in education or similar environments.
• Proven ability to develop and implement estate strategies and maintenance plans.
• Strong knowledge of compliance, health and safety, and safeguarding requirements for schools.

Responsibilities

• Lead the estates team to deliver a compliant, safe and high-performing service.
• Develop and implement long-term estate management strategies aligned with best practices.
• Manage contractors, oversight of maintenance projects and asset planning.
• Ensure effective risk management, governance and reporting to senior leaders.

Skills

People leadership

Strategic planning

Compliance management

Contractor management

Asset planning

Stakeholder communication

Job description

School Estate Manager

Salary: Grade 9

Contract: Full Time, Permanent

Location: Wood Green School, Witney

Wood Green School is seeking an ambitious and forward-thinking School Estate Manager to lead the development of a safe, compliant and high‑performing estates service.

This is an opportunity to shape a new estate management strategy, develop a committed team and introduce the systems, assurance and long‑term planning required to support a growing and increasingly active secondary school. Reporting to the School Operations Manager and working within the wider Business Services Team, you will combine visible leadership across the site with strong compliance, asset planning, contractor management and service improvement.

You will lead through others, empowering the Site Supervisor to coordinate day‑to‑day operations while ensuring standards, risks and priorities are understood and effectively managed.

About the role

We’re looking for someone who enjoys leading people, improving systems and making a visible difference.

You’ll provide leadership to our dedicated estates team, helping to develop capability, maintain high standards and build a culture of accountability, professionalism and continuous improvement.

You’ll also help implement a new estate management approach aligned to the Department for Education’s Good Estate Management for Schools (GEMS) guidance, ensuring our estate remains compliant, resilient and ready to support the future needs of the school.

No two days will be the same. One day you may be reviewing long‑term maintenance priorities, the next supporting the delivery of improvement projects, analysing compliance performance or working alongside the team to ensure our site continues to operate at its very best.

We’re looking for someone who:

• Enjoys leading and developing people
• Is organised and able to balance operational demands with strategic thinking
• Has experience managing buildings, contractors and compliance
• Enjoys improving systems and finding better ways of working
• Communicates confidently with staff, contractors and senior leaders
• Takes pride in creating environments that people enjoy working and learning in

Why join Wood Green School?

At Wood Green School, we’re proud to be launching our new values—Belong, Aspire and Thrive—from September 2026. These values reflect the culture we’re building: one where people feel valued, supported and empowered to make a difference.

We’re an ambitious and forward‑looking school, investing in our people, our estate and the opportunities we provide for our students and wider community. As we continue to grow and develop, we’re looking for people who want to help shape that journey.

Our school is alive well beyond the end of the school day. From sporting fixtures and performances to community events, lettings and enrichment activities, the estate is central to the life of the school. As our School Estate Manager, you’ll play a key role in creating an environment where learning flourishes, the community feels welcome and everyone can thrive.

If you’re looking for a role where you can influence the future of a growing school, lead a committed team and leave a lasting legacy, we’d love to hear from you.

Wood Green School and the Acer Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and preventing extremism; all staff must ensure that the highest priority is given to following the guidance and regulations to safeguard children and young people. The successful candidate will be required to undergo an Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and obtain any other statutorily required clearance. Employment will also be conditional on the receipt of at least two acceptable references (one from current/last employer) and evidence of the formal qualifications required for the role. Wood Green School is an equal opportunities employer.