Grounds Staff

Wycombe Abbey seeks to appoint a member of Grounds Staff to undertake the upkeep and maintenance of the School’s grounds and gardens.

Reports to:

Grounds Manager, and ultimately to the Headmistress.

Contract:

This is a full-time, permanent contract. The first six months will be a probationary period.

Hours of Work:

37.5 hours per week, working 7:30am - 3:45pm, Monday to to Friday, plus every fourth Saturday, 7:30am - 12:30pm, 52 weeks per year. Some flexible hours will be required from time to time to meet demand, e.g: Dove Day, start and end of term, severe weather etc. This will include weekend work as well as the above.

Holiday:

30 days per annum, plus bank holidays.

Salary:

£29,998 per annum.

Key Responsibilities

Main Duties:

• Maintenance of all School grounds including sports pitches, parkland, woodland.
• Spraying of appropriate herbicides and pesticides.
• Keep roads and paths clear and safe in severe weather conditions and adhere to the School’s Snow & Ice Plan.
• Assist colleagues within the Grounds and Gardens Team.
• Assist with car parking or other duties to help parents at the beginning and end of terms or on such other occasions as requested.
• Assist with the servicing/maintenance of grounds machinery.
• Any other duties required to help with the smooth running and efficiency of the School.

Person Specification

Specialist Knowledge and Experience

• An interest and enthusiasm for grounds maintenance.
• Strong knowledge of grounds maintenance.
• Able to present work well, to put the finishing touches to work and ensure all jobs are finished to a high standard.
• NVQ level 2 of equivalent in Horticulture/Grounds Maintenance.
• Spraying Certificates PA1 and PA6.

Communication

• Able to communicate effectively with colleagues.

Problem Solving

• Able to identify and discuss potential solutions for problem areas within the grounds.

Reliability

• Able to follow directions from managers and respect policies and procedures. Shows commitment to the organisation and task completion.

Flexibility, Resilience and the Ability to Work Unsupervised

• Able to adapt to changing demands and work in all weather conditions.
• Whilst the role has the support and back up of the Grounds Team, when there are peaks in workload the post-holder will be working on their own for substantial periods and should be comfortable understanding this type of working.

Desirable

• CS30/CS31 Chainsaw Qualifications.
• Spraying Certificate PA2.

Safeguarding

Wycombe Abbey is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful applicant will be subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring check.

How to Apply: Please see the job profile document for full information about this role.  To apply, please complete an application form and submit this, together with a covering letter, to the Headmistress, Mrs J Duncan.

Should you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact the HR Team on 01494 895575 or hr@wycombeabbey.com

Closing date for applications: Sunday, 19 October 2025

Interviews: Week commencing Monday 20 October 2025

We reserve the right to appoint to this position before the closing date, should we receive a high volume of suitable early applications.

Wycombe Abbey is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

The successful applicant will be subject to an enhanced DBS check. It is an offence to apply for this role if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity with children.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore all applicants are required to declare: All unspent convictions and conditional cautions.

All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020).

Further information regarding filtered convictions, please refer to Filtering Guidance by the Ministry of Justice and Nacro Guidance. We are an equal opportunities employer.

Registered Charity No. 310638.