Facilities Assistant - Academic Services - 82021 - Band 300

Position Details

Academic Services

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £18,602 to £19,200, with potential progression once in post to £22,152

Band 300

Full time

Permanent

Closing date: 10th November 2021

Job Summary

Based within the newly opened Teaching & Learning Building, post holders will be part of a team of Facilities Assistants carrying out a range of manual and clerical duties that support teaching facilities operations across Edgbaston and Selly Oak campus’s, and other study spaces and buildings managed within the department. The post holder will be part of a team of 5 people, and be required to provide cover between 08:00 and 22:00, Monday to Friday, on a rotation basis.

The Teaching and Learning building is a new £35 million specialized teaching building in the heart of campus, with 12 teaching rooms from 30 capacity seater seminar rooms, to a 500 capacity lecture theatre. This role will be primarily to support staff and students within this busy building, with basic AV support, general trouble shooting and customer service. The post holder will also support the New Main Library Facilities Team, and the Murray Learning Centre team.

Additionally, support will be given to our 300 other teaching spaces around campus in 35 buildings – ensuring that the AV is working correctly, the furniture is in good working order and presented well, and general fault finding and reporting within each space. Our team is also responsible for 6 buildings in total on campus, with fault finding / reporting, H&S and fire checks.

Basic repairs will be undertaken by the team, though contractors and other departments will be responsible for major repairs. Post holders will have basic building maintenance skills to undertake general repairs. Post holders will provide daily vigilance in relation to health and safety problems, offering and delivering solutions and taking actions as necessary. Post holders will be required to maintain current knowledge of relevant health and safety guidance and legislation e.g. COSHH, PAT Testing schedules as well being proactive in identifying and sharing best practice to improve service delivery. 

The Facilities Assistant will have excellent interpersonal skills and be able to communicate clearly with individuals based across a range of departments as well as external contractors and suppliers. Post holders may also have experience of working in a maintenance environment as well as a strong understanding and awareness of health and safety in the workplace. 

In addition, the post holder will have the ability to use their own initiative in prioritising workload. Flexibility is an essential part of the role with post holders expected to work across a variety of teaching and study space locations, plus buildings managed within the department.

We are looking for a varied team with different skills, a can do attitude, and a keen eye for finer details in order to compliment the many areas that we need to cover across campus.

Main Duties

•    To assist with the daily running of the busy Teaching & Learning Building, ensure it is a safe and friendly environment for students and staff to be in.
•    To undertake regular detailed checks of the teaching spaces and study spaces on campus.
•    To undertake regular building checks, checking and reporting any health and safety matters, and fire equipment checks. 
•    Assist with reporting repair requests, checking the urgency of each request, and reporting to the relevant department for action. This may involve attending buildings to check the issue, and providing additional information and support to colleagues (e.g. contractors) once a repair has been authorised.
•    Assist colleagues in the planning and setting up of rooms and equipment for special events and meetings.
•    As directed, assist with arranging office space and equipment to be ready for new starters and movers and retrieving allocated equipment from staff as they leave the University or transfer elsewhere in the University, ensuring records and inventories are accurately updated.  Undertake health and safety inductions.
•    As directed, take on health and safety roles to assist the team, such as acting as a first aider, or undertaking legionella flushing, and keeping health and safety records (e.g. generic emergency evacuation plans).
•    If required, carry out Housekeeping tasks such as topping up sanitiser units, emptying bins, laying out meeting rooms, providing and clearing away catering items, low level cleaning, carrying out sustainability tasks such as reviewing lights left on, turning off items which use electricity, clearing away waste into the correct recycling bins.
•    You may be required to ensure water coolers and cups are replenished as appropriate. 
•    Assist the manager with project requirements.
•    Support and cover for other colleagues in Library Services by performing tasks commensurate with the grade of the post including other activities and clerical routines.
•    Use experience and training to resolve typical problems in Library Service facilities and ensure the provision of an effective, reliable, timely efficient service. This includes identifying and suggesting improvements to the operations of the library service by engaging in team meetings
•    Post holders are expected to work self-sufficiently and proactively, and identify priorities within their own work to ensure services are delivered accurately, reliably, efficiently to required standards, procedures, workflow and deadlines. 
•    Treats everyone with dignity and respect, supporting equality and valuing diversity. 
•    Any other duties that may be reasonably expected by your manager.

Maintenance, Health and Safety:

•    Proactively and independently identify, action, resolve or propose solutions to building maintenance issues that may arise within teaching spaces, study spaces, and departmental managed buildings, in adherence to University policy and HSA best practice.  This could include taking a decision to close an area to resolve furniture/ equipment fault, clear an area and take action in accordance with best practice guidelines in event of hazardous substances e.g. bodily fluids, or undertake repairs relating to water egress utilising post holder’s knowledge of building repairs and maintenance.

•    Where issues cannot be resolved locally, post holders will ensure that relevant university departments are informed, submitting relevant incident reports. Post holders will act as a point of contact to coordinate onward repairs and communications to management. Post holders will ensure jobs are scheduled to cause the minimum disruption to users while ensuring safe working practice is maintained for the safety of users. 

•    Ensure the student and public space is maintained to a high standard with particular attention given to aesthetics and cleanliness. This will involve undertaking regular site inspections, ensuring that lighting and heating is working, that flooring is secure, trip hazards are removed, fire doors are clear of obstruction and in good condition. Regular checks on the environment will also identify areas requiring further intervention and referral to other parties e.g. at height window cleaning, vent cleaning etc. Post holders will be expected to resolve issues upon identification and refer more complex issues following established protocols to the relevant University department. 
 
•    Undertake small-scale repairs and maintenance, assessing materials, tools and time required, and scheduling jobs to minimise disruption to services e.g.
-    Basic repairs to seating and furniture.
-    Removal of notice boards.
-    Small scale painting works.
-    Carpet cleaning.

Other

•    The responsibilities of the post may change as the needs of the service develop.
•    Post holders are expected to present in a smart, professional image and to wear University ID at all times

Person Specification

Qualifications:

•    Educated to GCSE standard level (at grades A-C) or equivalent.

Skills:

•    Good interpersonal and verbal communication skills.
•    Ability to work to strict deadlines, plan and manage own activities and tasks and support colleagues in planning their work and activity.
•    Ability to prioritise work and identify emergency or critical incident situations accurately and calmly.
•    Ability to work quickly and accurately, paying close attention to detail.
•    Ability to work independently resolving the majority of issues, and also as part of team. 
•    A methodical and organised approach to work. 
•    To hold a full clean driving license.
•    A range of basic maintenance skills.

Knowledge and experience:

•    Good levels of IT Literacy and a willingness to learn/adapt to new technologies. 
•    Good understanding of operational Health and Safety.
•    Providing a friendly, customer orientated service.
•    Experience of working within a busy service environment.
•    Knowledge of relevant health and safety guidance and legislation e.g. COSHH, PAT Testing

Informal enquiries can be made to Stephen Hill - [email protected]

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment 

We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.