Estates Maintenance Manager in Hook

Lord Wandsworth College is investing in its estate, its team and the way its maintenance function operates. This is an opportunity to take ownership of the day-to-day maintenance operation and help develop what comes next.

If you’re someone who spots what needs doing, takes ownership and sees things through, you’ll enjoy this role. You’ll lead an in-house maintenance team looking after the College’s extensive built estate, including teaching and boarding facilities and 75 residential properties, all set within Lord Wandsworth’s 1,200-acre campus. You’ll oversee planned and reactive maintenance, manage contractors and support smaller refurbishment projects.

A big part of the role will be helping the department become more proactive, with stronger systems, better forward planning and a clear focus on plant and servicing. Just as importantly, you’ll make sure problems are followed through and resolved. You’ll also have the opportunity to build the team around you. The department has been deliberately reshaped over the last three years. Stronger compliance, contractor management and helpdesk processes are now in place, with approval to grow the team further. You’ll have a say in who joins and how the team develops.

This is, first and foremost, a maintenance leadership role. You’ll need to enjoy the detail: understanding plant, staying on top of servicing, spotting issues before they become problems and seeing them through to completion. One of the College’s Waymarkers is Stewardship & Legacy, thinking carefully about what we create, what we look after and what we leave behind. You’ll be looking after an estate developed over generations while helping prepare it for those that follow.

Alongside £45,000 to £50,000, you’ll enjoy complimentary restaurant-quality meals, 28 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays, a generous pension, family-friendly benefits and access to outstanding sports and leisure facilities. There may also be the opportunity for on-site accommodation in the future, subject to availability. There’s investment in your development too, including support with IOSH, Responsible Person training, professional membership and potentially a broader FM qualification.

You’ll already have experience leading maintenance or estates teams in a large or complex environment, with a practical understanding of hard FM, plant, servicing and health & safety. You’ll also communicate well, prioritise effectively and enjoy developing people. This is a boarding school, so occasional weekend working is part of the role. We’re open about that because expectations should be clear from the outset.

Interested? To apply, please send your CV to our retained recruitment consultant, Tom Morrison at Sielo Search. If you’d like to find out more before applying, Tom would be happy to arrange a confidential, informal conversation. Give him a call on 07537 162323 or send him an email to discuss the role, ask any questions and find out whether it could be the right next step for you.

Closing date: Friday 28th August, 5:00pm.