Facilities & Services Officer-Al Ain British Academy (Immediate start)

About the Role
As a member of the school operations team, the Facilities & Services Officer (FSO) will be fully responsible for effectively managing all Facilities & General Services related activities and ensuring the school(s) complies with all directives within daily school operations. The incumbent will strive to exceed internal and external customer expectations while capitalizing on economic profit and return on capital investment, all while embracing the Core Values. The FSO will embody the values, vision, and ethos of the organization and assist the Principal in implementing processes and policies that ensure high-quality and successful outcomes.

Responsibilities

Main Duties

• Responsible for the delivery of facilities and general services across the School, ensuring efficient and effective staff and resource deployment in a timely manner and delivering a 'service culture'.
• Ensure the school facilities are maintained to the highest standards of cleanliness, maintenance, and safety, with effective and efficient performance from support service teams.
• Oversee school accommodation requirements, ensuring staff are housed in accordance with school expectations, housing policies, and allowances.
• Manage efficient and cost-effective purchasing and contracting according to the school budget and development plans.

Specific Duties - General Operations

• Ensure all repairs and maintenance at the school, including inspection of required repairs and appointment of external service providers in line with HQ guidance and procurement framework. Follow up on any deficiencies in completed works.
• Ensure the security and efficient operation of the school site, buildings, and grounds at all times, in accordance with Health & Safety guidance, including daily checks for vandalism and acceptable cleaning standards.
• Implement issued policies, systems, processes, and student safeguarding measures in conjunction with HQ.
• Plan and resource school-based events and activities effectively and in a timely manner.
• Ensure essential central services such as catering, security, maintenance, cleaning, transport, waste disposal, and recycling are planned and resourced throughout the year, acting as the point of contact for external services management.
• Support the OSM in utilizing space and resources for buildings, or reorganizing current premises.
• Ensure daily monitoring of the Building Management System (BMS) and alert systems (where installed) is conducted by the site services team.
• Support the OSM and Group Housing Manager in procuring and maintaining staff accommodation standards (where required).
• Act as the designated school Incident Commander, contactable outside normal school hours, and available to attend the site when required, in line with Critical Incident Response Protocols.

Leadership & Management

• Ensure external support service teams perform in line with school expectations, are fully resourced, and deliver on their contractual obligations, providing best value and high standards of service for the school community.
• Manage the facilities and general service teams to maintain high standards of service throughout the school and foster an effective service culture.
• Ensure each member of the Facilities & General Services team engages in professional development, appraisal and training, contributing to building a high-performance team.

Finance, Commercial & Procurement

• Oversee relevant budgets and expenditure, manage costs effectively, and ensure the school receives best value and service at all times regarding facilities and building standards.
• Support opportunities for shared resources, cost, and services across partner schools to enhance access to service teams and resources.
• Ensure purchasing policy and Delegation of Authority (DOA) processes are followed consistently.

Relationship & Stakeholder Management

• Ensure schools comply with local government authority regulations to avoid fines due to non-renewal of contracts.
• Ensure all internal and external audit actions are completed promptly and appropriately.

Health, Safety & Environment

• Promote a positive and proactive health and safety culture within teams.
• Ensure the school complies with current Health & Safety legislation and/or guidelines as issued by HQ.
• Review and monitor the health and safety performance of contractors and suppliers within schools.
• Support the OSM with environmental aims and objectives and ensure timely delivery within required timelines.
• Ensure completion of all internal and external health, safety, and environmental audits in a timely and appropriate manner.

Qualifications

Minimum Experience

• At least 3 years’ experience in a mid-level position within an education or facilities service-oriented industry.

Job Specific Knowledge & Skills

• Fluent English communication skills, written and oral.
• Attention to detail with diligent follow-up and ability to execute tasks in a timely manner.
• Skilled in multi-tasking and managing pressure.
• Strong organizational ability, both personally and for others.
• Forward planning capabilities, particularly regarding local government compliance.
• Proficient in influencing and networking with cultural sensitivity.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Strong supervisory skills with consistency.
• Commercial acumen.
• Willingness to initiate effort and energy beyond the typical workday when tasks require additional commitment.