Head of Cleaning Operations - Strand, London, WC2R 2LS

Head of Cleaning Operations - Strand, London, WC2R 2LS

About us:

The Kings estate is historically important and iconic, consisting of more than 100 buildings ranging in age from the 1780s to the current day. Managed by the Estates & Facilities (E&F) directorate, there are five campuses spread across London.

E&F is the largest professional services directorate at Kings with the widest variety of roles servicing our campuses and community. We are responsible for the daily, smooth operation of our five campuses and for optimising our buildings and spaces through continuous investment and improvement.

Having insourced the Cleaning function in Aug 2019, the focus is on raising standards, embedding the Fit For Kings culture and ensuring continuous service improvements.

About the role:

The Head of Cleaning Operations will oversee the delivery of the cleaning function for select Campuses, associated Residences and other areas of Kings Estate, and will be responsible for the operational effectiveness and direction of the campus cleaning teams.

The Head of Cleaning Operations will ensure operational effectiveness and stability whilst working closely with the Associate Director of Facilities (Cleaning and Security Services) and report directly to the Head of Cleaning Resource & Compliance to imbed the necessary changes throughout the organisation creating a service that demonstrates the highest levels of service delivery and standards. They will also work very closely with the second Head of Cleaning Operations (Strand and Waterloo) to promote a collaborative approach to service delivery, innovation and best in practise philosophies.

The Head of Cleaning Operations will provide highly visible and authentic leadership to a large, diverse and multi-site team as we further embed our colleagues into the Kings community and enhance the student experience whilst still ensuring a safe environment and value for money.

This role will be key to ensuring that the service fulfils the Estates and Facilities strategic aim which is to deliver trusted, responsive and consistent services enabling our communities to achieve their aspirations making the world a better place.

The role will also involve provision of professional advice, guidance and direction to the wider College community in matters of cleaning. The postholder will also assist senior management in the development of appropriate business continuity plans and ensure they remain fit for purpose.

This is a full-time post (35 Hours per week), and you will be offered an indefinite contract.

About you:

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1. IOSH or Equivalent Health and Safety Qualification
2. Excellent management and leadership skills with n ability to build and motivate an internal team ensuring alignment with delivery goals
3. In depth knowledge of the cleaning industry
4. Strong and effective communicator with experience of building strong and effective networks to influence and operate at all levels through the organisation from Executive to front line service areas
5. Senior cleaning management experience including organisational planning and lead delivery of cleaning function and teams across a multi-site estate
6. Completer/finisher mentality to define departmental objectives and deliver sound operational implementation. Tenacity in achieving objectives to deadlines
7. Competent in MS Office software and Industry Time & Attendance and Quality Monitoring software
8. 3rd party vendor contract management experience including preparation specifications for public tender projects
9. Previous budget management experience >5m
10. Experience in liaising with HR

Desirable criteria

1. Member of an appropriate professional body eg BICSc
2. Experience in a unionised environment
3. NEBOSH/ qualification
4. Proven experience of providing expert technical advice to a range of stakeholders
5. An understanding of the current challenges in the HE sector

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

At Kings, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university.

The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension.

We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination.

When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at Kings guidance.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the person specification section of the job description. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day.

We encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment as once we have closed a vacancy you will be unable to submit your application.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our How we Recruit pages.