Deputy Grounds Manager

• Job title:Deputy Grounds Manager
• Job Type:Permanent, Full Time, Monday to Friday 8am-5pm (7am-4pm in summer months)
• Salary:£30,000-£36,000 per annum (£34,173-£41,007 if full pension flex benefit is utilised)
• Department:Estates
• Reporting to:Grounds Manager
• Location:Highgate, North London
• Start:ASAP
• Closing Date:3 May 2026 at 5:00 pm

The Grounds team manages an extensive range of sports grounds to the highest possible standard. The grounds include two cricket squares as well as two artificial cricket wickets, six football pitches, multiple football training grids, two athletics tracks, and two Astro-turfs for netball, tennis and hockey.

The Deputy Grounds Manager will work collaboratively with other members of the team and under their own initiative to maintain the high quality of Highgate’s grounds.

An important part of the role will be the need to deputise for the Grounds Manager in periods of his absence. Full responsibility for the safe management and delivery of planned and reactive grounds keeping task will pass to the Deputy Grounds Manager during this period.

The Estates Department comprises the Estates Manager, School Marshall, and four Capital Project Managers. The department has a small in-house team of maintenance staff and has responsibility for all aspects of property and premises management and repairs, and the maintenance of the Schools landscaped areas and sports fields.

The School is unique as a client organisation in the breadth of facilities it must provide and maintain. These include academic, residential, sporting (internal & external), office and administration, ecclesiastical, performance space and dining and function facilities. Significant capital investment in the Estate has already occurred with some £64m of expenditure in both the modernisation and replacement of existing building stock. The School is however only part way through the planned pipeline of projects with the more challenging and exciting projects yet to come in the next 5 to 10 years and beyond.

It is a key objective of the department that the functions of maintenance, refurbishment and new build are closely aligned to deliver an efficient and informed joint strategy to ensure the Department continues to provide high quality facilities for the School.

In addition to the capital project element, significant modernisation of the facilities management function has also taken place. This has resulted in improved tracking and diligence around statutory compliance together with and increased focus on customer service and service delivery to academic colleagues. The input of the maintenance team into the proposed design and specification of capital projects is also pivotal to ensure continuity of new assets and ease of maintenance.

Job Description

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

• Work alongside the in-house team and external contractors to ensure that the grounds and gardens across the Highgate campus create the best possible impression and provide a high-quality environment for pupils, staff and visitors
• To contribute towards the annual cyclical programme of works, often operating as a lone worker, using initiative, care and attention
• In delivering the programme of works, to apply knowledge and experience of the local area’s soil type alongside technical knowledge of the requirements for the individual sports
• To identify areas of improvement and to make recommendations to the line manager for additional actions
• Using machinery and tools in accordance with safe working practices and the department’s own risk assessments
• Carrying out any other tasks as requested by the Grounds Manager
• Deputising for the Head Groundsman in his absence, ensuring work is allocated amongst the team in a timely fashion, team members are correctly equipped and trained to carry out tasks safely in accordance with the prescribed risk assessment and that all plant and machinery is operational, correctly maintained and statutorily compliant.
• Share responsibility (with grounds manager) for the production and updating of team risk assessments and lead on the production and maintenance of statutory compliance and policy documentation associated with the Grounds Department
• Share responsibility (with grounds manager) for the repair, maintenance and replacement of plant and equipment used by the Grounds Department (including those vehicles used on public roads are maintained, road worthy, licensed, insured and carrying valid MOT certification where applicable)

These duties and responsibilities are intended as a guide. They are not exhaustive: the Deputy Grounds Manager will be expected to undertake any reasonable task or responsibility as required by the Grounds Manager or Estates Director.

Person Specification

• Criteria
• How will these be tested or verified?
• Qualifications

• Essential

  • GCSE level (or equivalent) in maths and English

  Desirable

  • Relevant qualifications in grounds management
  • NVQ Level 2 in Sports Turf Management
• Experience

• Essential

  • Demonstratable experience in maintaining sports pitches and grounds

  Desirable

  • Previous experience working in an education environment
  • Experience of playing sports to a high standard to be able to fully appreciate the needs of pupils with regards to playing surfaces
  • Experience of managing teams
• Knowledge/Skills

• Essential

  • Knowledge of safe working practices including, for example, working at heights and COSHH
  • A Basic knowledge of Microsoft excel.
  • An aptitude for using machinery safely
  • The ability to work independently as well as part of a team
  • Good communication skills both oral and written with ability to use a range of techniques and style to ensure communication is timely, effective and clear
  • Ability to work in a methodical organised way to achieve goals and ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness

  Desirable

  • Knowledge of child safeguarding policies and practices
• Personal Attributes

• Essential

  • Ability to command respect and manage teams effectively through a confident and persuasive personality
  • Ability to adapt to a complex, ever changing working environment including adopting a flexible approach and reacting positively to changing circumstances and different weather conditions
  • Able to ensure the successful completion of every task or activity with a positive, can-do attitude
  • Ability to take responsibility as a team member and provide support and an active contribution to the team, including ensuring that team members are fully informed of matters that affect them
  • Ability to demonstrate initiative and a pro-active approach to tasks

Location | Highgate Village, adjacent to Hampstead Heath, with quaint shops and easy connections across London.

Pension | AVIVA workplace pension scheme offered – 26% employer contribution, with the ability to flex up to 16% of this as additional non-pensionable salary, employees contribute a minimum of 5%.

Personal development | Comprehensive induction support for new staff. Focus on continued professional development for all employees.

Leisure facilities | Free access, at stipulated times, to our sports facilities, including a fitness suite and swimming pool (recently refurbished).

Holidays | Generous holiday allowance of 33 days (including bank holidays) for full-time staff. Most holidays will be taken during school holiday periods.

Lunch | A complimentary lunch including hot meals, sandwiches, salads, fresh fruit and dessert.

Help with sustainable travel  | Access to the Cycle to Work Scheme and a Season Ticket Loan scheme for public transport.

Family-friendly policies | Highgate appreciates that employees sometimes have family commitments so we try to be as supportive as possible, for example with enhanced maternity pay (8 weeks’ full pay, then 10 weeks’ half pay) and paid dependant leave.

Highgate is a caring, open-minded community, where we promote kindness, empathy and friendship. Everyone who works and studies with us deserves to feel they are part of a welcoming environment that enables them to be themselves and to thrive as individuals.

Our community extends beyond the school, through partnerships, charity work and our commitment to equality, inclusion and sustainability. All members of our school community are encouraged to look outwards and play an active role.

Following a visit from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) in September 2024 to assess Highgate’s regulatory compliance and school standards, we are pleased to share the inspection findings, which reports compliance in all five areas and a ‘significant strength’ in our teaching expertise.

Highgate is committed to staff wellbeing, which we promote by encouraging a strong work-life balance; trying our best to support flexible working requests; providing a nutritious complimentary lunch in the dining hall; and offering access to sporting facilities including our recently renovated swimming pool.

The Staff Wellbeing Committee, with representatives across the School, meets regularly to drive forward initiatives, and a selection of staff have been trained as Mental-Health First Aiders.

We encourage an open culture throughout our school, with regular staff surveys, action committees and opportunities to feedback. We strive for continual learning and improvement, and staff training and development is paramount. There are opportunities to participate in the wider life of our school, such as taking part in trips or societies and getting involved in partnership projects.

More details about working at Highgate can be found here:

As an independent school, we want to use our position as a charity effectively: to make high-quality education accessible to as many children as possible – through our bursary programme at Highgate and through our work with local state schools. We have partnerships with over 60 state schools across 7 London boroughs, and we are the principal educational sponsor for London Academy of Excellence, Tottenham – an academically-selective state sixth form in a community where such opportunities are lacking.

Alongside this, our staff and pupils undertake charitable activities throughout the year. These range from staff giving up their time to neighbourhood schools and charitable organisations, focused fundraising campaigns, to pupils undertaking community work in the local area or further afield.

As a school, we have a central role to play in educating our pupils, staff and parents about the importance of environmental sustainability. We are taking positive action to adapt our operational performance to tackle the negative effects of climate change. We encourage all our staff to reflect upon their personal and professional practices, to support our environmental agenda and to make positive changes wherever possible.

• Closing Date:3rd May 2026
• First Interview:w/c 4th May 2026
• Second Interview:w/c 11th May 2026

Contact: Recruitment Team are happy to answer any questions about this post.

Early Application: Applications will be considered ‘as and when’ received and we may close the vacancy if we appoint before the closing date.

We know that more diverse teams are stronger teams, and that the more inclusive we are, the more our staff and pupils will feel a sense of belonging and will thrive. To enable us to make reasonable adjustments, please let us know of any disabilities (including neuro-divergence) when you submit your application.

As this role will have regular unsupervised contact with children you must, if appointed, comply with Highgate’s Safeguarding Policy and Staff Code of Conduct. If in the course of carrying out the duties of the post the post holder becomes aware of any actual or potential risks to the safety and welfare of our pupils, these concerns must be reported immediately in accordance with the Safeguarding Policy.  If whilst in the post, Highgate becomes aware of any safeguarding concerns to staff, pupils or the community; these will need to be followed up in line with the safeguarding policy and code of conduct which is underpinned by KCSIE and other legislation. These concerns may need to be shared with other agencies.  A copy of these policies will accompany all offers of employment. Training will also be provided to all staff to support Safeguarding practice.

Highgate is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to this post, including checks with past employers, the Disclosure and Barring Service and overseas police check if necessary. Candidates from overseas must provide information about their past conduct, for example, by providing documents issued by overseas teaching authorities. DBS Privacy Policy

Please note that this role is ‘exempt’ from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore, you are required to declare any convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings that are not ‘protected’ (i.e. filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide details of all unspent convictions and those that would not be filtered, prior to the date of the interview. DBS Code of Practice

In accordance with the latest guidance from KCSIE, we shall be conducting online searches on any candidates who are shortlisted.