At a Glance
- Tasks: Manage school security, maintenance, and ensure a clean, safe environment for students and staff.
- Company: Join a forward-thinking academy in Birmingham with a collaborative culture.
- Benefits: Enjoy a supportive team, structured shifts, and vibrant lifestyle perks in Birmingham.
- Other info: Opportunities for continuous training and career growth in a thriving educational environment.
- Why this job: Make a real difference in a dynamic school setting while developing your practical skills.
- Qualifications: Experience in maintenance or caretaking, with a strong focus on health and safety.
The predicted salary is between 20000 - 25000 £ per year.
The Opportunity Birmingham is a major cultural and creative powerhouse, globally celebrated for its historic engineering heritage, thriving commercial sectors, and multi-billion-pound infrastructure transformations. We are seeking a proactive, highly practical, and security-minded School Caretaker to join a dynamic academy. In this critical operational role, you will manage the physical security, maintenance, and safe operation of our school site—ensuring our facilities provide an exceptionally clean, safe, and high-quality environment for our students, staff, and visitors.
The School Operating as an independent academy within a forward-thinking multi-academy trust, our school combines innovative educational practice with robust operational support. We benefit from centralized administrative and estates networks, freeing our frontline staff to focus entirely on maintaining an exceptional site environment. We implement explicit, highly consistent, school-wide behaviour routines that keep our campus quiet, respectful, and orderly. This structured environment ensures that our facilities and grounds are respected by the student body, creating a positive and professional workplace for our estates team.
The Estates Team & Operational Culture You will join a highly focused, collaborative, and hard-working Estates and Facilities team where practical problem-solving, physical safety, and meticulous standards are celebrated. The department operates with dedicated maintenance facilities, industry-standard tools, and advanced digital compliance tracking software to manage daily workflows efficiently. Our estate framework explicitly prioritises preventative maintenance, ensuring that potential facility issues, heating variances, or structural repairs are identified and resolved early. Staff benefit from clear, structured shift patterns and shared operating protocols, allowing you to manage the daily operation of the physical plant while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
Core Responsibilities
- Site Security & Access Control: Managing the daily unlocking and locking of the school premises, ensuring all buildings, gates, and windows are perfectly secure, and acting as a primary emergency keyholder for the site.
- Facilities & Maintenance Operations: Executing minor reactive repairs, including basic carpentry, plumbing, painting, and mechanical adjustments across the campus to keep classrooms and communal spaces fully operational.
- Health & Safety Compliance: Undertaking statutory testing routines, including weekly fire alarm checks, monthly water hygiene (Legionella) flushing, emergency lighting tests, and keeping precise compliance logs.
- Grounds & Environmental Care: Ensuring the school grounds, walkways, and car parks remain clean, free of litter, and completely safe—including proactive gritting and clearing during winter weather conditions.
- Contractor & Porterage Support: Escorting external maintenance contractors safely around the site, assisting with heavy item deliveries, and setting up halls or flexible spaces for school events and examinations.
The Successful Candidate We are looking for a reliable, highly capable, and solution-oriented professional who takes pride in creating a safe, functional environment for young people. Your profile should include:
- Proven Handyperson Skills: Strong previous experience in school caretaking, building maintenance, estates work, or a relevant trade (e.g., carpentry, plumbing, building maintenance) with a highly practical mindset.
- Health & Safety Awareness: A clear understanding of standard health and safety principles, COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) regulations, and safe working practices at height or with machinery.
- Excellent Reliability: A trustworthy, self-motivated individual who can prioritise a busy daily task list independently and adapt quickly when urgent maintenance requests arise.
- Professional Communication: A polite, professional, and calm manner when interacting with school staff, visitors, and students alike.
Why Join Our Operations Team? The distinct satisfaction of working within a progressive academy setting where your dedication directly impacts the safety, smooth running, and atmosphere of the whole school community. Comprehensive internal induction and continuous training covering advanced school facilities management, health and safety compliance, and safeguarding protocols. The exceptional lifestyle benefits of living and working in Birmingham—offering a vibrant, youthful population, highly accessible residential areas, a legendary food and canalside district, and rapid rail links across the entire UK network. A supportive School Business Manager and senior leadership team that respects site staff workloads, provides clear shift patterns, and fully values your vital role in the school's daily operations.
How to Apply Please submit your current CV to begin the application process.
School Caretaker | Academy | Birmingham employer: Marchant Recruitment
Join our dynamic academy in Birmingham as a School Caretaker, where you will play a vital role in maintaining a safe and high-quality environment for students and staff. Our supportive work culture prioritises employee growth through comprehensive training and clear shift patterns, allowing you to balance your professional and personal life while contributing to the vibrant school community. Experience the unique benefits of working in Birmingham, a city rich in culture and opportunity, as you help shape a positive atmosphere for learning.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land School Caretaker | Academy | Birmingham
✨Tip Number 1
Get to know the school and its environment before your interview. Visit the academy if possible, or check out their website and social media. This will help you understand their culture and values, making it easier for you to connect during your chat.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare some practical examples of your previous work experience that relate to the role. Think about times when you solved a problem or improved safety and maintenance in your past jobs. We want to see how you can bring that proactive mindset to our team!
✨Tip Number 3
Show off your communication skills! When you meet with us, be polite and professional. Remember, as a caretaker, you'll be interacting with students, staff, and visitors, so demonstrating your ability to communicate effectively is key.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets noticed. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in joining our dynamic academy and being part of our fantastic Estates Team.
We think you need these skills to ace School Caretaker | Academy | Birmingham
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV:Make sure your CV highlights your relevant experience in caretaking and maintenance. Use keywords from the job description to show that you understand what we're looking for.
Showcase Your Skills:Don’t just list your previous jobs; explain how your handyperson skills have made a difference in past roles. We want to see how you’ve tackled challenges and kept environments safe and functional.
Be Professional:When writing your application, keep it polite and professional. Remember, we’re looking for someone who can communicate well with staff and students alike, so let that shine through in your writing.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets to us quickly and efficiently, so don’t miss out on this opportunity!
How to prepare for a job interview at Marchant Recruitment
✨Know Your Stuff
Familiarise yourself with the specific responsibilities of a School Caretaker. Brush up on your handyperson skills and be ready to discuss your experience in maintenance, security, and health and safety compliance. This will show that you’re not just a good fit but also genuinely interested in the role.
✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills
Prepare examples of how you've tackled maintenance issues or improved safety in previous roles. Think about times when you had to act quickly or creatively to resolve a problem. This will demonstrate your proactive mindset and ability to handle the unexpected.
✨Communicate Professionally
Practice how you’ll communicate with staff, students, and visitors. Being polite and calm is key, especially in a school environment. You might even want to role-play some scenarios with a friend to get comfortable with professional interactions.
✨Understand the School's Culture
Research the academy’s values and operational culture. Knowing about their structured behaviour routines and commitment to a clean, safe environment will help you align your answers with what they value. It shows you’re not just looking for any job, but that you want to be part of their community.
