Foundation Cleaning Manager

Reporting to: Estates Manager

The purpose of the job is to manage and supervise the Foundation cleaning team across multi-sites to ensure it meets the operational needs of the schools and Foundation sites. Support the Estates Manager to review the allocation of cleaning resources to ensure best value for money. Communicate effectively and demonstrate a pleasant, polite, efficient, caring and friendly service.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Staffing and Work Allocation:
   1. To use the resource allocation model to ensure that staff are deployed correctly.
   2. To organise and allocate duties to individuals in the cleaning staff, ensuring that work is shared fairly and that all essential duties are carried out irrespective of the number of staff attending each shift.
   3. To organise additional cleaning procedures, such as deep cleaning, stripping and re-polishing floors, cleaning after builders or decorators, and cleaning post school events.
   4. Organise school closure period rotas.
2. Cleaning Standards:
   1. To monitor the quality of cleaning carried out by all team members, demonstrating correct methods where necessary and providing motivation and encouragement.
3. Management Duties:
   1. To have responsibility for all aspects of line management of the cleaning team, ensuring high standards of service are maintained for the schools and Foundation properties.
   2. To constantly review cleaning needs and plans for continuous improvement within the team.
   3. Manage sickness, absence, and payroll updates within the team using the internal HR system - SAM People.
   4. Responsible for monitoring cleaning products on-site, managing stock levels, and submitting orders as required in line with agreed budgets.
   5. To ensure cleaning staff take their annual leave in line with the operational needs of the schools/departments.
   6. Liaise with HR for guidance and advice regarding absence, disciplinary, or grievance management.
   7. To attend weekly Estates Management team meetings and ensure relevant information is communicated with your team.
   8. To highlight and discuss any areas of concern with the Estates Manager.
4. Health & Safety:
   1. Comply with all Foundation policies and statutory regulations relating to Health & Safety, safe working practices, hygiene, cleanliness, fire, and COSHH.
   2. Ensure that Risk Assessments are developed, documented, and reviewed for cleaning activities, including routine and deep cleaning tasks.
   3. Comply with guidelines regarding the identification and reporting of health and safety hazards, e.g., blocked/locked fire doors.
   4. Report immediately any incidents of accident, fire, theft, loss, damage, or other irregularities and take appropriate actions.
5. Recruitment, Induction & Training:
   1. Manage the recruitment process of cleaners in line with safer recruitment guidelines and ensure an appropriate induction for new starters.
   2. Train new members of staff on carrying out their duties, the safe use of chemicals, and using the provided equipment while meeting quality standards.
   3. Retrain existing staff members where quality issues need to be addressed.
   4. Ensure all training records are documented and kept up to date.
6. Training & Development of Self and Others:
   1. Regularly review own practice, set personal development targets, and take responsibility for own continuous professional development.
   2. To review the training needs of the cleaning team in line with good practice and industry standards.
7. General Staff Requirements:
   1. All Foundation staff are expected to support and contribute to the Foundation's responsibility for safeguarding students.
   2. Work within the Foundation's health and safety policy to ensure a safe working environment for staff, students, and visitors.
   3. Maintain high professional standards of attendance, punctuality, appearance, conduct, and positive, courteous relations with students, parents, and colleagues.
   4. Engage actively in the performance review process.
   5. Adhere to school/Foundation policies and attend and participate in meetings as required.
   6. To be aware of and understand the role that all staff have concerning the safeguarding of pupils and comply with policies and procedures relating to Safeguarding and Child Protection, reporting all concerns to the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
   7. To comply with policies and procedures regarding health and safety, security, confidentiality, and data protection/GDPR, reporting all concerns to the appropriate person.
   8. To carry out any other duties as reasonably requested by the Estates Manager or any other Senior Manager commensurate with the grade of the post.

Person Specification:

The following person specification indicates areas of qualification and training, experience, knowledge and understanding, skills, behaviors, and additional requirements. (E) are essential and (D) are desirable. These will all be measured by application form, interview, or certification.

1. Qualifications:
   1. A good standard of literacy and numeracy (E).
   2. Cleaning qualification to NVQ Level 3 (D).
2. Knowledge/Experience:
   1. Successful experience of managing a cleaning team (E).
   2. Experience of working in a School and/or multi-site environment (E).
   3. Good general experience of using ICT packages such as email, Word, and Excel (E).
   4. Practical knowledge of COSHH and health & safety applicable to cleaning (E).
3. Personal Attributes/Skills:
   1. Ability to respond to flexible demands (E).
   2. Ability to work on own initiative (E).
   3. A high level of interpersonal skills (E).
   4. Dependable, trustworthy and able to meet deadlines (E).
   5. To display patience, tact, and diplomacy when dealing with a variety of situations (E).
   6. Able to work constructively as part of a team (E).
   7. An empathy with the ethos and values of WGSF (E).
   8. An understanding of safeguarding and child protection (D).