School Estates Manager

Ad Talent; Thatcham; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 73,000; Full time

Job summary

Claires Court School in Maidenhead seeks an experienced School Estates Manager to lead the operational management of its estate across three Maidenhead campuses. You will oversee the Maintenance, Caretaking and Transport teams, ensure safe, compliant and well‑maintained facilities, and manage contracts and budgets.

You will report to the Head/Director of Estates and drive improvements to ensure smooth delivery of teaching, learning and wider school activities across all sites.

Qualifications

• Experience managing a multi-site estate or facilities operation.
• Experience within education, healthcare, hospitality or another regulated environment.
• Strong knowledge of health and safety and statutory building compliance.
• Experience managing planned and reactive maintenance programmes.
• Contractor, supplier and budget-management experience.
• Experience leading operational or maintenance teams and delivering projects.
• Confidence using CAFM systems.
• Excellent communication, organisation and stakeholder-management skills.
• The ability to respond effectively during emergencies.
• A full UK driving license.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Estates, Maintenance, Caretaking and Transport teams.
• Manage the daily operation of school buildings, facilities and infrastructure.
• Develop planned preventative maintenance programmes and oversee reactive repairs.
• Conduct estate inspections and ensure buildings remain safe and inspection-ready.
• Maintain asset registers, compliance records and audit trails.
• Manage CAFM system (iAM), inspections, schedules and work orders.
• Lead approved maintenance, improvement and capital projects.
• Procure, vet and manage contractors and service providers.
• Review risk assessments, method statements and permits to work.
• Monitor contractor performance, service standards and value for money.
• Manage operational budgets, supplier agreements, expenditure and forecasts.
• Oversee vehicle compliance, servicing, MOTs, driver training and licence checks.
• Support emergency planning, business continuity and out-of-hours response arrangements.
• Monitor utility consumption and support sustainability initiatives.

Skills

Leadership

Commercial awareness

Hands-on approach

Multi-site management

Health and safety knowledge

Planned & reactive maintenance

Contractor & budget management

Team leadership

CAFM systems

Communication & stakeholder management

Emergency response

Full UK driving

Tools

iAM CAFM

Job description

School Estates Manager

Claires Court School, Maidenhead, Berkshire
Salary: Competitive
Full-time | 37.5 hours per week | All year round

Locations

This role covers Claires Court School's three Maidenhead campuses:

• Junior School & Nursery -1 College Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 6AW
• Senior Boys - College Avenue, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 6AW
• Senior Girls & Sixth Form - Ray Mill Road East, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 8TE

Regular travel between all three campuses is required.

Claires Court School is seeking an experienced and proactive School Estates Manager to lead the operational management of its estate across all three campuses.

Reporting to the Head or Director of Estates, you will ensure the school's buildings, infrastructure, grounds and transport services remain safe, compliant, well maintained and fit for purpose. You will lead the Maintenance, Caretaking and Transport teams while managing specialist contractors.

The Role

You will provide a responsive estates service that supports teaching, learning and wider school activities.

Your responsibilities will include

• Leading and developing the Estates, Maintenance, Caretaking and Transport teams
• Managing the daily operation of school buildings, facilities and infrastructure
• Developing planned preventative maintenance programmes and overseeing reactive repairs
• Conducting estate inspections and ensuring buildings remain safe and inspection-ready
• Maintaining accurate asset registers, compliance records and audit trails
• Managing the school's CAFM system, ideally iAM, including inspections, schedules and work orders
• Leading approved maintenance, improvement and capital projects
• Procuring, vetting and managing contractors and service providers
• Reviewing risk assessments, method statements and permits to work
• Monitoring contractor performance, service standards and value for money
• Managing operational budgets, supplier agreements, expenditure and forecasts
• Overseeing vehicle compliance, servicing, MOTs, driver training and licence checks
• Supporting emergency planning, business continuity and out-of-hours response arrangements
• Monitoring utility consumption and supporting sustainability initiatives

Health, Safety and Compliance

As the operational lead for Estates Health and Safety, you will ensure compliance across fire safety, asbestos management, legionella control, electrical and gas safety, pressure systems, lifting equipment, working at height, COSHH and manual handling.

You will monitor actions arising from audits, inspections and fire risk assessments and oversee fire alarms, emergency lighting, fire doors, evacuation drills and contractor permits.

About You

You will be an experienced estates or facilities professional with strong leadership skills, commercial awareness and a hands-on approach.

You will need:

• Experience managing a multi-site estate or facilities operation
• Experience within education, healthcare, hospitality or another regulated environment
• Strong knowledge of health and safety and statutory building compliance
• Experience managing planned and reactive maintenance programmes
• Contractor, supplier and budget-management experience
• Experience leading operational or maintenance teams and delivering projects
• Confidence using CAFM systems
• Excellent communication, organisation and stakeholder-management skills
• The ability to respond effectively during emergencies
• A full UK driving