Facilities Manager | Primary School & Early Years Foundation Stage | Oxfordshire

CORE PURPOSE We require an exceptionally organized, safety-conscious, and proactive Facilities Manager to oversee the comprehensive estate management, regulatory compliance, and health and safety operations of our vibrant primary school. Operating across a welcoming campus that caters to early years and primary-aged children, the successful candidate will hold operational responsibility for planned preventative maintenance (PPM), contract management, asset optimization, and daily site operations, ensuring a warm, secure, and inspiring learning environment where young children can safely thrive. THE SCHOOL Our primary school is dedicated to cultivating an ambitious, nurturing, and high-achieving learning environment where every child's educational journey begins with confidence and joy. As a forward-thinking school with an excellent local reputation, we hold our physical estate to the highest standards, recognizing that a safe, stimulating, and beautifully maintained campus directly impacts a child's well-being and love for learning. The facilities department is characterized by a culture of professional efficiency, collaborative teamwork, and a supportive, service-driven approach. We operate with a clear, well-structured capital upkeep framework, allowing our facilities manager to manage resources effectively and maintain an exemplary school environment for our pupils, staff, and families. KEY TASKS & DAILY OPERATIONS Primary Estate Maintenance & PPM: Manage and deliver a comprehensive Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) framework across all school buildings, plant systems, playground equipment, and outdoor fields, executing a rapid-response system for reactive repairs. Rigorous Health & Safety Compliance: Ensure absolute statutory compliance with all relevant health and safety regulations (including COSHH, fire doors and drills, legionella testing, asbestos management, and fixed wire testing), keeping the school's central compliance matrix meticulously updated. Contractor & Supplier Management: Source, negotiate with, and supervise external contractors for mechanical, electrical, and specialized primary playground equipment repairs, ensuring strict adherence to strict safeguarding (DBS) protocols, safety standards, and school budgets. Child-Centric Risk Management: Regularly inspect, evaluate, and risk-assess the entire physical environment—including specialized Early Years outdoor learning zones and active play spaces—to guarantee that all structures, perimeter fences, and safety surfaces are impeccably secure. Team Leadership & Resource Management: Direct, schedule, and mentor the internal caretaking and cleaning teams, managing shift allocations, identifying training opportunities, and implementing a sustainable procurement strategy for site supplies and utilities. PROFILE REQUIREMENTS Qualifications: A proven track record in facilities or premises management, ideally within a primary school, nursery, or equivalent public sector/high-footfall environment. Professional certifications in health and safety (such as IOSH Managing Safely or NEBOSH) are highly advantageous. Technical & Compliance Capability: Strong expertise in statutory compliance management, building utility systems, contractor supervision, and managing localized maintenance or minor construction budgets. Empathetic & Detail-Oriented Ethos: Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to lead a team under pressure, communicate warmly and effectively with school leaders, teachers, young children, and parents, and prioritize tasks seamlessly. REGIONAL CONTEXT A Historic County of Scholarship, Green Infrastructure, and Tech Innovation: Based in the beautiful county of Oxfordshire, the school capitalizes on a unique regional identity that gracefully balances ancient scholarly tradition with pioneering modern enterprise. Famous globally for its historic university heritage, Oxfordshire is also a vibrant global centre for science, green technology, biotechnology, and agricultural research. This inspiring backdrop of academic excellence, rolling rural landscapes, and world-class innovation connects the management of our school site directly to high standards of environmental sustainability and professional infrastructure management across the South East. Connectivity & Infrastructure: The campus benefits from excellent regional transport infrastructure, offering straightforward road commuting via the strategic M40 motorway corridor, the A34, and the A40 trunk roads linking the county's major towns. Public transit networks operate smoothly via comprehensive regional bus routes, while Oxfordshire's major rail hubs—including Oxford, Didcot Parkway, and Bicester North—provide frequent Great Western Railway and Chiltern Railways services that connect the school effortlessly to Banbury, Reading, Swindon, and London Paddington or Marylebone. APPLICATION INTAKE Please submit your current CV to begin the application process.