Estates Bursar
4 weeks ago
**Estates Bursar**
**April 2024**
Sutton Valence
one school, many journeys
**Introduction**
Sutton Valence School (SVS) is an independent, HMC co-educational day and
boarding school situated in the heart of Kent. The School is part of, and
overlooks, the picturesque village of Sutton Valence whilst being just five miles
from Maidstone and within convenient travelling time from central London.
The School enjoys an excellent reputation for providing a truly holistic education
for its pupils. An important part of its success is the partnership between staff,
parents and pupils who work together as a purposeful and supportive
community, allowing pupils to excel and realise their full potential.
The Senior School’s roll is currently 575 of which 120 are boarders. Class sizes
are small and the overall pupil-staff ratio of 9:1 enables Sutton Valence pupils to
benefit from the close guidance and individual attention of teachers. The
on excellent academic achievement, all pupils are encouraged to take full
advantage of the School’s broader co-curricular offering to expand and develop
their interests in both the creative arts and sport, as well as their leadership
skills and sense of service.
Contained within the 100 acre site, there are dedicated games pitches, an
all-weather playing surface, a sports centre, which contains a fitness suite, an
all-weather athletics track and field sports arena and an indoor six-lane
swimming pool.
Sutton Valence Preparatory School (SVPS) occupies its own site in the
neighbouring village of Chart Sutton and currently has 285 pupils between the
ages of 2 and 11. SVPS offers outstanding learning opportunities for a
wide-ranging cohort in each of the four pillars considered core to an SVS
education: Academic, Enrichment, Community and Leadership and Service. SVPS
has a long history of preparing children for the next stage of their education,
including the Kent Test and entry to Sutton Valence.
**The Post
Sutton Valence School is seeking an experienced Estates Bursar who has previous
experience within facilities and operations, as well as managing teams. The ideal
post holder will be responsible to the Bursar for the management of the Estates
Department which includes buildings, grounds, gardens and cleaning, and be
responsible for all aspects of the Schools Health and Safety and Fire Safety
management.
**Key Responsibilities
- To manage and oversee the Estate ensuring that all elements of the Estates
meets the School’s requirements;
- To line manage the Maintenance, Cleaning, Grounds and Gardens staff, and carry
out staff performance reviews with members of the Estates Teams in accordance
with School policy and procedures; provide development plans where
appropriate and fill vacancies as required;
- To manage the maintenance programme; produce and maintain a long term
maintenance schedule for all School properties, assess and prioritise
maintenance tasks, determine the need for large and small scale projects, and
recommend proposals as appropriate; review maintenance plans and
specifications to ensure departmental requirements are met; inspect work in
progress and evaluate completed projects to control costs and ensure work is
performed as specified; liaise with contractors to obtain the best level of service
for the School;
- To be responsible for all aspects of the School’s Health and Safety and Fire Safety
management:
a) Maintain records of statutory compliance for inspections;
b) Be responsible for the updating of relevant policies as appropriate;
c) Monitor the implementation of appropriate departmental and whole
- School procedures, Codes of Practice and Risk Assessments;
d) Arrange staff training;
e) Produce recommendations for the School’s response to changes in
legislation;
f) Be responsible for ensuring that the School meets all Health and
Safety related regulatory compliance requirements.
g) Liaise with the School’s external advisors as necessary;
h) Resolve emerging Health and Safety issues.
- To be responsible for sourcing and managing external premises contractors
and suppliers, ensuring the Health and Safety and Safeguarding requirements
are met and are appropriately vetted;
- To assist the Bursar with Estate-related disaster and business continuity
planning (for example: services, buildings, site security);
- To tender utility and water contracts on a frequent basis to ensure best value;
- To process Estates departments orders and ensuring good value for money
and act as the initial authorisation for invoices, reconciling paperwork as
required;
- To ensure annual events are well planned and successfully delivered, with
excellent attention to detail;
- To manage the furnishings programme; refurbish academic and pastoral areas
and staff accommodation as required while adhering to budget requirements;
advise on the most effective use of space; advise on décor; recommend
furniture replacement and purcha