Job Description

Position Details

Campus Services


Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK


Full time starting salary is normally in the range 23,764 to 24,855


Grade: 2


Part Time (15 hours per week)


Permanent


Closing date: 3rd July 2025

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.


The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.


We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.


We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.


Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.


The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.


Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham

Background

Student Accommodation is part of the Campus Services directorate at the University of Birmingham. The majority of student accommodation has been developed or refurbished over the last 10 years at an investment in excess of 100m. The University of Birmingham currently provides accommodation for c6000 students who are predominantly 1st year undergraduate and postgraduate students, the vast majority of 2nd and 3rd year students live in the neighbouring community in private sector housing.


Further information on Student Accommodation can be found on our website at https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/study/accommodation

Role Summary

The post holder will be a key member in maintaining the highest levels of cleanliness and service delivery in all areas of the Village, ensuring our accommodation is ready for students to move in and maintaining this high standard throughout the duration of their stay.


The post holder will be required to attend emergencies on site e.g. fire alarm activations and welfare concerns.


The post holder will be required to have excellent customer service skills and be able to communicate positively in a diverse community to support and improve student awareness about the Village environment and sustainability goals, supported by the Village Receptions and wider management team.


Campus Services (CS) employs over 1000 staff with a turnover of circa 80m in the last financial year. CS plays a key role in the delivery of the University's 2030 strategic framework and enhancing the quality of the student, staff, and visitor experience, providing services across diverse areas such as the University's sporting facilities, food and beverage, cleaning, community safety and security, conferencing, hotel operations, day nurseries, portering, post, branded and own-brand retail outlets, visitor services and attractions (e.g., Winterbourne House & Gardens), student housing, transport, waste disposal and recycling. CS is a commercial Division operating within the University context and has an ambitious strategic agenda, in terms of growing our service profile across our campuses.


Our team is fully committed to delivering excellent customer service. We believe that it is not just about what you do, but the way in which you do it that is vital to our success. At the heart of our team are these behaviours:


Communication Going above and beyond Delivering results Personal effectiveness Empowerment Teamwork
Joining our team means you'll be making a real difference to the student and staff experience at the University. For this role in particular, the successful candidate will need to demonstrate the following key behaviours:


Communication Personal effectiveness Teamwork Empowerment

Main Duties

Delivering Service Excellence

To ensure a high standard of cleanliness and order is maintained throughout the communal and external areas of the accommodation blocks as per Cleaning Specification and updating records accordingly. To undertake room checks and void room cleans as required to include shower room/toilets and en suite areas & bedrooms. Ensuring room preps and checks are carried out to deadlines set to enable the rooms to be occupied. To undertake weekly water quality checks in accordance with Legionella legislation and directed by the Customer Service Team, completing appropriate records. To undertake weekly water quality checks in accordance with Legionella legislation and directed by the Customer Service Team, completing appropriate records. To complete jobs, which are issued daily to a mobile device allocated to the individual on a daily basis, within the expected timeframes to ensure KPIs are being met monthly (void cleans, communal area cleaning, moving/replacing white goods, restocking inventory items, etc). To complete these jobs autonomously, with little management oversight and to the customers satisfaction. To ensure the job status is updated on the allocated mobile device promptly upon completion of the task, this may include adding photos or notes to StarRez using the mobile device. To complete minor maintenance tasks such as changing lightbulbs, paint touch ups, dismantling furniture. To complete proactive and reactive door access battery changes. To provide an emergency response and incident support when necessary and report any incidents/health or welfare concerns within the accommodation to the Customer Service Team and ensure details are given of the incident immediately. To escalate within the Customer Service Team any concerns relating to residents' wellbeing as a result of visits into their flats/rooms. To escalate to the Customer Service Manager, including evidence where possible e.g. photos, any observed breach of the law and/or accommodation contract terms and conditions such as a covered smoke detector, smell of smoking in a room. To carry out welfare checks on residents when necessary and confirm back as requested/escalate any concerns. To report any security concerns to the reception team or directly to the security team for investigation. To log any maintenance issues using the mobile device or via the reception team as per agreed procedure when observed completing their daily duties, ensuring that the Code of Practice is being adhered to at all times. To work collaboratively with the CSA team, Reception team and Management team to ensure that the stores are kept in good order and that stock levels remain at the correct level, including completing routine stock counts. To attend to lockouts and trip switches within the residences and update records accordingly. To undertake Fire Warden training and attend to fire alarm activations, ensuring the residents evacuate to the assembly point, escalating if a real fire is found and in the event of a false alarm resetting the alarm and awaiting Security attendance to handover details. To support in directing the work of student teams ensuring that tasks are carried out correctly, safely and to the expected standard. Escalating any concerns relating to this to the relevant Customer Service Manager. Waste Management & Cleaning


To remove general rubbish/recycling items to the designated areas making sure that recycling is used correctly. Working with the wider team to ensure that recycling and refuse providers are maintaining the service to a high standard and highlighting any issues to the Customer Service Manager. Working with student residents and providing advice on segregation and disposal of waste to ensure any concerns are addressed effectively. To support energy and sustainability requirements within the residences ie: ensuring that lighting is switched off when necessary, in communal areas, etc To use and keep in clean condition industrial and standard cleaning equipment such as vacuum cleaners, carpet cleaning machines, floor scrubbing/drying machines reporting any issues immediately.
Health & Safety


To ensure that all chemicals are used and stored correctly in accordance with COSHH regulations at all times. To adhere to Health and Safety Regulations and report any accidents/health and safety issues to the Customer Service Manager immediately. To replace or move equipment within the accommodation as directed by the Customer Service Manager or Customer Service Team. This will include white goods and any furniture within the accommodation.
General


To participate in 121's and attend training sessions relevant to your job role in order to support personal development. To actively participate in regular team meetings to support the consistent improvement of team performance and job satisfaction. To work with team members to ensure that duties are covered and standards maintained across all areas during the absence of colleagues. To undertake from time to time, such other duties as may be requested which are consistent with the nature of the position, which may include working in other areas. The post holder is required to wear uniform provided by the University and maintain a smart appearance at all times.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

The post holder must be able to drive and hold a full, clean driving license Ability to complete minor maintenance tasks Ability to plan and organise own work Ability to work on own initiative or as part of a team Ability to undertake required physical activities e.g. manual handling Good interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate effectively Co-operative, helpful, flexible attitude Ability to implement high health and safety standards and to follow COSHH guidelines The post holder will be required to undertake basic wellbeing/mental health training and must be willing to carry out initial welfare checks on residents autonomously and escalate accordingly. The postholder must be willing to undertake basic first aid training in order to form part of the first aid response team for the accommodation villages. Ability to work with customers and colleagues from diverse backgrounds and offer a good service regardless of others' differences. Ability to learn and understand how diversity considerations can affect own area (e.g. different dress code)

Dimensions

This role does not directly manage others but will be required to help the Customer Service Manager allocate jobs and manage the output of the student staff summer team.


The role does not own a budget.

Problem Solving and decision making

Tasks assigned to the post holder will be regular planned tasks or reactive tasks which when assigned to the post holder will usually be given a priority, however you will need to plan your shift, so that the required tasks are completed.


When completing a welfare check or responding to a serious incident, the post holder will need to decide when to escalate concerns to on-call management, security, or to emergency services when management is not on site. These checks are usually completed in pairs.


The post holder will be trained in order to be a first responder to fire alarm activations. They will need to follow a set process and take decisive action when there is a real fire situation.

Internal and External relationships

This role will be a customer facing role and will be expected to be polite, responsive, friendly and courteous at all times, dealing with enquiries in a professional manner that leaves customers feeling well treated. There may be times when the role has to deal with complaints and difficult customers.


You will be required to work collaboratively with Student Living colleagues and other UoB departments regularly. You will be in contact with third parties e.g. emergency services, occasionally.



Informal enquiries to Alicia Burton, email: a.burton.1@bham.ac.uk


View our staff values and behaviours here

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone

on our website

.