The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.
We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more. Find out more about our benefits (opens in a new window) and join us to become part of something special.
Overview
The successful candidate will provide effective wide-ranging soft landscape activity and occasional small hard landscaping works. Your flexibility and diverse skill set will be an asset as you will be part of a team implementing multi-skilled landscaping services across the central campus and wider locations including AMRC. You will play a key role in the cold weather plan carrying out hand gritting and associated cold weather activities. During periods of peak business activity, you will be required to support the team by delivering additional external services throughout the external estate. The successful applicant will demonstrate a positive attitude to change toward continuous improvement evidencing commitment to adherence to policy and procedure. You will work closely with the EFM landscape strategy, management plans and biodiversity action plan and work flexibly as identified in a weekly rota. The substantive role is operational, active and physical, requiring regular manual handling, use of power tools, vibration-causing equipment and driving TUOS vehicles. You will be a good communicator and be able to form positive working relationships with a wide range of people, both within the university and outside.
Main duties and responsibilities
- Carry out a wide range of landscape and external activities working to procedure and timescales.
- To work throughout all TUOS locations and carry out unsupervised independent work as required.
- Identify and develop solutions to problems identified, seeking advice and guidance from more senior team members as appropriate.
- Monitor and review works carried out by yourself ensuring set standards are met and maintained.
- To safely and competently use all portable and driven landscape equipment including ride-on mowers and vehicles.
- Support full requirements of cold weather plan activity.
- Monitor and replenish levels of landscape equipment and stock following process and procedure.
- Respond to standard and non-standard landscape queries, knowing when to involve others.
- Work flexibly throughout all UOS and satellite locations services to support business needs, including but not limited to Main Campus, ACS and AMRC.
- Travel independently to identified working locations and be able to carry out lone work as required with minimal supervision; drive team to locations across campus.
- To support all current landscape services to include but not limited to external cleaning and cleaning of roof spaces UOS-wide during peak periods of business activity.
- Monitor and review works carried out by yourself and others ensuring set standards are met.
- Carry out minor reactive building works such as paving, pointing to a high standard.
- Promote landscape services by consistently striving to improve standards and levels of service delivery across the green spaces.
- Comply with current health and safety legislation when carrying out tasks across all locations of the University.
- To respond effectively to customer queries using your knowledge and experience and assess when to involve more experienced team members.
- Report any site-related health and safety issues to your operational supervisor as soon as reasonably practicable.
- Monitor quality of works in line with quality and safety standards reporting findings and providing effective solutions.
- Ensure all mandatory training is carried out in line with IMS compliance objectives.
- Support the department with internal team audits to ensure compliance with, HSWAS 1974, ISO9001 and ISO14001 integrated management systems.
- Ensure all the University's policies and procedures are correctly pursued in all tasks.
- Assist other Landscape Service Teams as required and appointed by the Landscape Operations Manager via the weekly rota.
- Provide effective solutions to challenges resolving work-related problems by providing effective, safe and efficient systems of work.
- As a member of our Professional staff, you will be expected to demonstrate a commitment to the professional behaviours set out in the Sheffield Professional Framework.
- Carry out other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post
Person Specification
Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and is respected. Even if your past experience doesn't match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.
Essential criteria
- NVQ 2 or equivalent in a Horticultural subject or evidence of operational landscape experience (Assessed at interview).
- Hold a Full UK driver's licence or willingness to gain (Assessed at interview).
- Evidence of current health and safety knowledge within the landscape industry (Assessed at interview).
- Demonstrated experience in preparation and use of standard and non-standard equipment used in external estate management activity (Assessed at interview).
- Experience in recording and logging all work tasks to support information procedures (Assessed at interview).
- Evidence competency to carry out minor hard landscaping work estate-wide (Assessed at interview).
- To be thorough and pay attention to detail to solve plant health-related problems (Assessed at interview).
- Ability to work unsupervised with a scheduled amount of work to a predetermined standard (Assessed at interview).
- Ability to prioritise your workload to carry out effective operational landscape delivery (Assessed at interview).
- Willingness to work flexibly through TUOS satellite location to include ACS, Main Campus and satellite locations (Assessed at interview).
- Ability to plan to ensure equipment and resources are available to meet specific work objectives (Assessed at interview).
- Able to provide assistance and information to staff using skills drawn from experience and detailed learning (Assessed at interview).
- Willing to undertake continuous professional development and training (Assessed at interview).
Further Information
Grade: 3
Salary: £23,114 - £24,044 per annum (with the potential to progress to £25,148 per annum through sustained exceptional contribution).
Work arrangement: Full-time, 35 hours per week
Line manager: Landscape Operations Manager
Direct reports: N/A
Our website: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/efm/engineering-maintenance
For informal enquiries about this job contact
Steve Walton, Operations Manager: on s.walton@sheffield.ac.uk or on 07956 991166.
Next steps in the recruitment process
It is anticipated that the selection process will take place on the week commencing 31st March 2025. This will consist of an in-person interview. We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage within 1 week of the closing date. If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process you can contact Douglas Brooke on d.brooke@sheffield.ac.uk
Our vision and strategic plan
We are the University of Sheffield. This is our vision: sheffield.ac.uk/vision (opens in new window).
What we offer
- A minimum of 38 days annual leave including bank holiday and closure days (pro rata) with the ability to purchase more.
- Flexible working opportunities, including hybrid working for some roles.
- Generous pension scheme.
- A wide range of discounts and rewards on shopping, eating out and travel.
- A variety of staff networks, providing opportunities for social interaction, peer support and personal development (for example, Race Equality, LGBT+, Women's and Parent's networks).
- Recognition Awards to reward staff who go above and beyond in their role.
- A commitment to your development access to learning and mentoring schemes; integrated with our Professional Services Shared Skills Framework.
- A range of generous family-friendly policies
- paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies
- support for those going through the menopause
- paid time off and support for fertility treatment
- and more
More details can be found on our benefits page: sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/benefits (opens in a new window).
We are a Disability Confident Employer. If you have a disability and meet the essential criteria for this job you will be invited to take part in the next stage of the selection process.
We are a research university with a global reputation for excellence. Our ideas and expertise change the world for the better, making a real difference to society. We know that when people come together with different views, approaches and insights it can lead to richer, more creative and innovative teaching and research and the highest levels of student experience. Our University Vision ( www.sheffield.ac.uk/vision ) outlines our commitment to building a diverse community of staff and students that recognises and values the abilities, backgrounds, beliefs and ways of living for everyone.