Maintenance Supervisor

Location:

Colfe’s School, London, SE12 8AW

Salary:

Hours:

£36,500 - £40,000 dependent on experience

40  hours  per  week  (Mon-Fri)  throughout  the  year.  Core  working  hours  are  between
0600-1700 with a 1-hour unpaid lunch break.  Overtime is required on occasions for early
mornings, evenings and weekends

Start:

TBC

Reporting to:

Facilities Manager (Hard FM)

Responsible for:

Maintenance Assistants

Key Relationships:

 Senior  Premises  Manager,  Head  Groundsman,  Operations  Manager,  Leisure  Centre
Operations Manager, Administration Support Assistant, Director of Operations & Estates

About the role:
This is a hands-on supervisory role responsible for leading, motivating and developing the Maintenance Team to ensure the
School’s buildings, facilities and infrastructure are maintained to a high standard. The Maintenance Supervisor will plan, allocate
and  oversee  both  reactive  and  planned  maintenance  tasks,  ensuring  that  work  is  completed  safely,  efficiently  and  to  a
professional standard. While the post holder will undertake a range of practical maintenance activities themselves, a key focus
of the role is coordinating the workload of the Maintenance Assistants, providing guidance, training and quality assurance.
The  role  also  involves  liaising  with  contractors,  managing  priorities,  and  maintaining  compliance  with  health  and  safety
requirements. The successful candidate will combine strong leadership skills with practical, hands-on expertise and a proactive
approach to problem-solving.

Colfe’s School
Colfe’s  is  one  of  London’s  oldest  schools.  It  takes  its  name  from  Reverend  Abraham  Colfe,  Vicar  of  Lewisham,  who  re-
founded the school in 1652. In his will, he entrusted the care of the School to the Leathersellers’ Livery Company, which
governs the school to this day. A former grammar school, Colfe’s is a fully co-educational day school with over 1300 pupils
in all from ages 3 to 18. Colfe’s is welcoming environment with a deep feeling of community pride among its students, parents,
staff and alumni. Academic standards are high: students perform well with many going on to top universities. Excellent pastoral
care gives pupils the tools they need to learn and to live, supporting them at school and preparing them for life beyond.

Colfe’s is more inclusive than many independent schools, more than 10% of pupils in a typical Sixth Form year group come
from socially disadvantaged backgrounds and the School is committed to widening access still further.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership
•
• Development  of  the  Maintenance  Assistants  through  coaching  and  demonstration  of  plumbing,  carpentry,

Line management and supervision of the Maintenance Assistants

decorating and general handyman skills

Reactive Maintenance

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•

• When work requests are assigned to the Maintenance Team, distribute these to the Maintenance Assistants
and yourself, ensuring that all maintenance requests are promptly responded to, with repairs and maintenance
of the buildings, facilities, assets and infrastructure carried out safely and to a high standard.
Supervise the work of the Maintenance Assistants, providing feedback and coaching to improve skills and the
standard of work.
Troubleshoot more complex problems that require the support of an external contractor, ensuring that the
appropriate engineer/expertise is identified and any information that needs to be shared with the contractor
ahead of site attendance is provided to the Facilities Manager (Hard FM) or Facilities Coordinator.
Ensure  that  external  contractors  who  are  requested  to  undertake  reactive  maintenance  tasks  are  met  at
Reception,  escorted  to  the  relevant  area  (and  directly  supervised  when  required)  and  provided  with
assistance. Ensure that the contractor’s work is reviewed prior to the contractor leaving site and that a paper
or digital worksheet is provided.

•

•

Ensure that you and your team check the relevant building asbestos register before undertaking any works
that may disturb an asbestos containing material.

Planned Maintenance

•

• Conduct regular inspections of the school to promptly identify any issues with the building fabric, furniture,
fittings and equipment - especially those which are a source of danger to others or affect the security of the
building or the ability of staff and students to work or study – and arrange for repairs and maintenance to be
carried out within the team or by an external contractor.
Ensure that routine inspections and tests on life safety systems are carried out according to the schedule,
assigning  tasks  to  the  Maintenance  Assistants  and  yourself  (e.g.,  fire  extinguishers,  fire  alarms,  emergency
lights).
Ensure that planned preventative maintenance tasks such as checking fire doors, first aid kits, tap temperature
monitoring, flushing infrequently used outlets etc, are carried out according to the schedule, assigning tasks
to the Maintenance Assistants and yourself.
Ensure that all of the Operations Department’s tools, equipment and machinery are correctly maintained and
serviced and that they are kept in good and safe working order.

•

•

• Work  with  the  Facilities  Manager  (Hard  FM)  to  ensure  compliance  with  health  and  safety  legislation  and

guidance as well as School policies and procedures.

General Duties

•

Regularly review the School’s CAFM system to ensure that all tasks allocated to the Maintenance Team are
being progressed within expected timescales.

Ensure that you and the team maintain records of maintenance work and inspections.
Take delivery of stores, materials and other goods and conveying them to their points of storage/distribution.

• Maintain an adequate inventory of supplies for repairs and maintenance.
•
•
• Use stepladders, leaning ladders and fall restraint equipment to safely work at height.
•
•
• When required, assist with setting up and dismantling furniture/equipment for events.
• Work closely with School Keeping and Grounds staff and other colleagues within the Operations department

Ensure that the team segregates and disposes of waste in accordance with School policy.
Support the department in keeping the estate clean, safe, and well-presented.

•
•

on any areas of overlapping responsibility.
Act as a first aider and fire warden, acting as a first point of contact for the emergency services when required.
Any other task within capability as reasonably requested by the Headmaster, Bursar, Director of Operations
& Estates or Facilities Manager (Hard FM).

Person Specification

Essential Qualifications, Experience & Skills

•

At least 3 years’ experience providing  maintenance services including plumbing,  carpentry, decorating  and
general handyman tasks.

• Good  understanding  of  HVAC  systems,  sufficient  to  triage  and  fault-find  any  issues,  ensuring  the  right

specialist is called out where necessary.
Experience in supervising contractors.
Able to assess and triage maintenance issues effectively.
Able to work diligently and without supervision.

•
•
•
• Capable of leading and developing a team.
•
•
•

Proactive with a good eye for detail and proud of the work you undertake.
Strong problem-solving skills and a proactive approach to work.
An ability to work calmly, efficiently and professionally under pressure, and to meet tight deadlines and deal
with minor maintenance emergencies if they should arise.

Sufficient fitness to carry out the manual handling aspects of the role.

• Good communication and customer service skills.
• Understanding of health and safety systems and permits to work.
•
• GCSE English & Maths Grade 4.
• Competent at using computer and Microsoft applications e.g., Outlook, Word, Excel.
•

First aid certificate or willingness to undertake first aid training.

Desirable Qualifications, Experience & Skills

•

•
•
•
•
•

Previous experience working in an environment with asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) where you are
responsible for checking the asbestos register to ensure ACMs are not disturbed.
Experience working with a CAFM system.
IPAF PAL Card for operating MEWPs.
PASMA Towers for Users.
Experience working in a school or similar environment.
Full  driving  licence  valid  for  the  UK,  with  fewer  than  6  penalty  points  and  no  endorsements  for  serious
convictions.

• D1 driving entitlement.

Benefits

• Membership of contributory defined contribution pension scheme.
•
• Complimentary membership of Colfe’s Leisure Services: gym and swimming pool.

School lunches provided.

Application procedure
The recruitment process will require all applicants to complete an application form, accompanied by a letter of application,
current CV and details of two referees, who will be contacted prior to interview, in  accordance with the School’s  Safer
Recruitment  procedures.    The  applications  should  be  submitted  by  email  to  recruitment@colfes.com.  The  deadline  for
applications is 15th December 2025 at 12noon. Colfe’s reserves the right to appoint to this post before the closing date.

Colfe’s School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. All applicants must be
willing  to  undergo  child  protection  screening,  including  checks  with  past  employers  and  the  Disclosure  &
Barring Service.