Maintenance Technician - HVAC

• Job title:Maintenance Technician - HVAC
• Job Type:Permanent, Full Time, 8am-5pm, 40 hours per week
• Salary:£30,000-£37,000 per annum depending on qualifications, skills and experience (£34,173-£42,146 if full pension flex benefit is used)
• Department:Estates
• Reporting to:Estates Manager
• Location:Highgate, North London
• Start:ASAP
• Closing Date:31 March 2026 at 9:00 am

Highgate School Estates team are looking for someone to join us as a Maintenance Technician (HVAC bias). We’re looking for someone enthusiastic, personable, and hardworking, with strong technical ability and a proactive approach to problem‑solving. In this busy and rewarding role, you’ll help keep our historic North London campus running smoothly, working alongside a supportive team to deliver high‑quality maintenance across a wide range of buildings and facilities. If you take pride in your craft, enjoy variety in your day, and thrive in a collaborative environment, we’d love to hear from you.

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

THE ROLE

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

To support the Site maintenance team in ensuring that the School’s facilities remain statutorily compliant and in good working order, minimising disruption to teaching and in line with industry standards. A key part of the role is preventative maintenance and the carrying out of rapid diagnosis and repair when building faults occur or requests are mad. Th role will also require a clos working relationship with the Maintenance Supervisor, other Maintenance Technicians, Estates Manager and othr teams within the Estates Department and wider school in identifying and prioritising work as part of ongoing refurbishment and upgrade programmes.

The postholder will:

Assist the Maintenance Supervisor and other Maintenance Technicians in maintaining all elements of academic and associated buildings as well as the residential estate.

Work as part of a wider maintenance team responsible for the maintenance, repair and upkeep of School premises, carrying out tasks beyond their core trade as required.

The post-holder will be allocated a building to be visited daily as part of a practice regime of maintenance and care, carrying out the following non-exhaustive list of duties:

• • Carry out routine inspections and preventative maintenance on school buildings, facilities, and equipment.
  • Respond promptly to maintenance requests from staff, ensuring minimal disruption to teaching and learning or residential tenants.
  • Perform minor repairs including plumbing, electrical, carpentry, and painting tasks.
  • Monitor and maintain heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to ensure a safe and comfortable environment.
  • Ensure compliance with health and safety regulations, including fire safety checks and emergency lighting tests.
  • Assist with setting up classrooms and school events, including moving furniture and equipment.
  • Maintain accurate records of maintenance work, inspections, and repairs.
  • Report major faults or hazards to the Estates Manager and arrange for specialist contractors when necessary.
  • Manage stock of maintenance supplies and tools, ordering replacements as needed.
  • Support site security by checking locks, gates, and alarm systems.
  • Flagging wider concerns to the Maintenance Supervisor or Estates Manager that may require additional investigation or attendance.
  • Test fire alarms and protection equipment in line with statutory guidelines.
  • Take energy consumption readings when required.
  • Oversee the closing down and starting up of heating, hot water and lighting systems at the beginning and end of each term.
  • Ensure BMS systems are running in line with set times and programmes and make minor adjustments as required to ensure a comfortable teaching environment.
  • Respond to emergency situations such as leaks, power outages, or security breaches.
  • Carry out other duties as may be reasonably requested by the Maintenance Supervisor or Estates Manager.

 

These duties and responsibilities are intended as a guide. They are not exhaustive: the employee will be expected to undertake any reasonable task or responsibility as required by their line manager.

Person Specification

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

• Essential

  • Be prepared to undertake further training in order to gain additional qualifications to enable duties to be carried out.

  Desirable

  • Experience of working in the education sector.
  • Experience of working with mechanical ventilation systems.
• Skills

• Essential

  • Excellent organisational skills with an ability to plan, prioritise and meet deadlines.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to foster effective relationships with colleagues and the wider School community.
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills.
  • Intermediate level skills in Microsoft office (Word, Excel and Outlook), to enable the preparation of reports, spread sheets and databases.
  • The ability to identify, diagnose and rectify simple building defects outside of core trade.
• Knowledge

• Essential

  • Awareness of relevant Health and Safety legislation/regulations.

  Desirable

  • Knowledge of child protection and safeguarding policies.
• Personal Attributes

• Essential

  • Competent and personable.
  • High degree of personal drive and motivation.
  • Ability to work calmly under pressure and multi-task.
  • Willing to be flexible and adaptable.
  • Ability to work well as a member of a team.
  • Ability to adapt approach to deal with all members of the team.
  • An exemplary attendance record in past/present employment.
  • Ability to understand and adapt to the culture of an independent day school.

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:31st March 2026
• First Interview:9th April 2026
• Second Interview:16th April 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.