The Post

The post holder as a member of the Grounds Maintenance Division will maintain and further develop the University’s 330 acre estate which is designated within the Inventory of Gardens of Historic Importance. The landscape makes a significant contribution to University life and is used daily by our students, staff and the community for a wide range of academic, research, sporting and leisure activities. This unique landscape contributes greatly to enriching the University campus experience.

The post holder will report directly to the Assistant Grounds Maintenance Manager and will work with other grounds persons and apprentices efficiently, effectively and safely. The post holder should have an excellent understanding of turf management and maintenance requirements for sports facilities both natural and artificial surfaces including football, rugby and hockey pitches, tennis courts, running track and golf facility. The post holder should also have experience in garden maintenance tasks including weeding, pruning trees & shrubs, hedge cutting, strimming, mulching borders and tree & shrub clearance. The post holder should also have good communication skills and the ability to work with a team and manage oneself.

Additional Information

The post requires a high degree of physical effort and an ability to work outdoors in all weather conditions at all times of the year.

NOTE: Grounds staff are required to respond to emergencies outside normal working hours e.g. tree clearing, flood works, lifting lock gates, snow clearing and gritting. The post holder will be required to carry out these duties and be on a rotation system with their colleagues for early morning and evening winter maintenance duties

Description of Duties

The following list of duties are not an exhaustive list of duties the post holder will undertake but to provide an overview of the type of activities the post holder will undertake on a daily basis:

Maintenance of Golf High Performance Training Centre including grass cutting with pedestrian and ride on mowers, scarifying, aerating, topdressing, seeding, turfing, feeding and irrigating
Football and rugby pitch maintenance including grass cutting with pedestrian and ride on mowers, scarifying, aerating, topdressing, divoting, seeding, turfing, feeding and line marking
Maintaining ornamental and amenity grass areas around the campus including cutting, edging and strimming on a weekly basis and seasonal maintenance including scarifying, aerating, topdressing, seeding, turfing, feeding and irrigating
Garden maintenance of external courtyards, arboretum, garden of time, residential and office block areas, this will include, weeding, planting, mulching, feeding, watering, pruning, hedge cutting, strimming
Assisting with weekly maintenance of artificial sport surfaces including running track, 3G football pitch and sand filled hockey pitch
Assisting with erecting and dismantling football and rugby posts
Assisting with setting up cross country runs for students
Occasional plant nursery work including, raising hardy nursery stock plants from seed and cuttings, pricking out, potting on, division of plants, feeding and watering
Loch and pond maintenance
Spraying herbicides and algaecides and using biological control
Maintain the grounds of the Universities external facilities
Campus autumn & winter maintenance including, leaf clearing, hedge cutting, tree and shrub pruning and removal, re landscaping areas, removing ivy from walls, drainage instillations on sports areas, power washing golf tees and hard landscaped areas
Winter road, path and car park maintenance including snow clearing and gritting manually and by mechanical means i.e. tractor plough and gritting machines. This will include out of hours winter snow clearance and gritting on a rotational basis
Daily and weekly maintenance of vehicles and machinery
Ensure the equipment used is safe and well maintained and report any defects to the Assistant Grounds Maintenance Manager
Assist other members of the Grounds Maintenance team, the wider Estates and Campus Services team and other University Directorates and Faculties when required
Assist in preparing for and staffing of events including graduation ceremonies, family welcome days, sports events, conferences, open days etc.
Other duties will include sweeping, litter picking, emptying bins
Carry out any other reasonable duties required to contribute to the work of the Directorate

The above duties will be carried out in accordance with all departmental and University health and safety policies and risk assessments for all duties performed daily. The post holder will be required to undertake task specific dynamic risk assessments on a daily basis. Health and safety training will be given as and when appropriate.

The Grounds Maintenance Division form part of the Estates and Campus Services Directorate, the post holder during busy periods, events and emergency situations will require to work across the Directorate.

Essential Criteria

Hold a professional qualification to a minimum of level 2 in Groundsmanship, Greenkeeping or Horticulture
Good oral and written communication skills
Able to undertake a wide range of tasks due to demanding physical role of the post
Hold a PA1 & PA6 NPTC spraying certificate
Hold a current driving licence
Ability to use a wide range of garden tools, machinery and vehicles including, strimmers, hedge cutters, blowers, pedestrian mowers, scarifiers, aerators, rotovators, utility vehicles with trailers, tractors with trailers and implements, ride on mowers and works vans
Able to work as part of a team and on your own and be self motivated
Be flexible to work out of hours
Work on a rotation system for out of hours winter maintenance e.g. treating of ice and clearing snow on paths and roads
Have an understanding of Health & Safety legislation including COSHH and Risk Assessments
Computer literate and familiar with standard desk-top computing (MS Office etc.)
Physical Effort/Working Conditions

Desirable Criteria

Hold a chainsaw certificate

Additional Information

*x2 Positions Available*

Full time

Open ended

The closing date for applications is midnight on Wednesday 08 January 2025.

Interviews are expected to take place on Tuesday 21 January 2025.

There is an expectation that work will be undertaken in the UK.

This role will require a Basic Disclosure check . An offer of employment will be subject to a satisfactory outcome of this process.

This role is not eligible for sponsorship. Applicants require to have existing right to work in the UK.

The University of Stirling recognises that a diverse workforce benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers and welcome applications from those who would contribute to further diversification of our staff and ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion is woven into the substance of the role. We strongly encourage applications from people from diverse backgrounds including gender, identity, race, age, class, and ethnicity.

For a full description of duties and essential/desirable criteria please click the apply button, which will take you directly to the University Website.