Facilities Manager

Are you ready to take on a new challenge in your career? Dubai Schools Al Khawaneej is actively seeking an experienced and highly competent Facilities Manager to be part of a growing team.

Primary Purpose of the Job

To maintain the DSC, school facilities to the best possible condition regarding health, safety, security and cleanliness, and to oversee the operational efficiency of contracted support services – security, cleaning staff & any other contracted staff.

Key Accountabilities

Staff Management

• Develop and maintain effective partnerships and engage in positive communication with all staff and senior leaders.
• Provide leadership for the facilities team, cleaners, security team, and any other contracted staff.
• Ensure the professional development and high-quality training of the facilities team.
• Conduct appraisals of the facilities team and advise the school Operations Manager and Central Facilities Manager of performance issues that cannot be managed at the school level that may require staff replacement.
• Advise the school Operations Manager and Central Facilities Manager of any facilities team absences and leaves to ensure adequate coverage at the school at all times.
• Adhere to the school’s policies and procedures and ensure all supervised staff do as well.

Health and Safety

• Be familiar with and adhere to the Taaleem Health and Safety Policy as well as the school policies.
• Take reasonable care of the health and safety of self and others affected by work and cooperate with the School Operations Manager and Taaleem Central Office in ensuring that health and safety responsibilities are carried out.
• Ensure the school’s contracted cleaning company immediately and properly addresses any ‘emergency cleaning duties’ which may occur during the school day: e.g. clearing up ‘hazardous substances’ such as spilt chemicals, broken glass, vomit, blood, etc.
• Ensure the school’s contracted cleaning company regularly disinfects ‘hazardous areas’ to protect Children.
• Conduct monthly operational checks of school alarm systems and fire safety appliances and report any problems to the Operations Manager and Central Facilities Manager to be acted upon immediately.
• Assist in timely fire drills. Confirm all fire escapes are kept free from obstructions to maintain a safe exit from the buildings. Be fully aware of the school’s fire drill policy and support its compliance.
• Ensure the school’s pool (if applicable) is kept clean and safe for the use of students and checking twice a day the level of chemical levels, which must immediately be reported in the Municipality Log.
• Ensure the school’s pool areas (if applicable) are secured when a guard or teaching staff are not present and all other pool safety procedures are adhered to at all times. Report any breaches or improvement needed to the Principal and Head of Procurement and Operational Support immediately.
• Support the Operations Manager, Principal and/or their delegate with the administration of the Crisis Management and Reporting protocol if/when required.
• Ensure the safe storage of chemicals and hazardous substances.
• Ensure all contractors are inducted, shown the relevant risk assessments, and are made aware of any deficiencies or other hazards in the areas where they will be working.
• Monitor daily security personnel ensuring all procedures are adhered to and accurate timekeeping of their schedules.

Transportation

• In conjunction with the school security team, oversee the safe drop off and collection of students. Report any incidents and improvements to the Principal and the Central Office Transportation Controller immediately.
• Complete a bus inspection once per term and sign off per the Central Office Transportation issued checklist. Notify the Principal and the Central Office Transportation Controller of any abnormalities and take corrective action immediately.
• Communicate and address any issues with the bus company as necessary to ensure smooth service.

Building and Grounds Maintenance

• The Facility Manager is the school’s key authority in ensuring the school campus is kept to a standard that is required by local and international school inspection boards at all times in terms of cleanliness, health and safety, and functionality. A comprehensive checklist is provided by the Central Facilities Manager to guide the school Facilities Manager in this regard. The Facilities Manager must adhere to this checklist and address any shortcomings immediately and provide feedback to the Central Facilities Manager on any improvements to the checklist as needed.

• Work in conjunction with the School Operations Manager, Principal or delegated person, and Central Office Operations on short (immediate), medium (up to and including summer works) and long-term (3-year cycle) maintenance and improvement requirements. This includes creating a rolling program of maintenance comprising of decoration, renovation/upgrades and repairs. In addition, judicious use of the school’s maintenance budget for minor repairs as well as regular improvements requires proactively seeking the views and vision of the Principal and Central Office Operations.
• Conduct a daily inspection of all school equipment/machinery and buildings and report any abnormalities with costed solutions to the school Operations Manager and Central Facilities Manager for corrective action should the nature of the problem be beyond the school FM team’s capability.
• Supervise repairs conducted by the school FM team as necessary and act as the responsible lead for signing off on tasks to attest to their proper completion.
• Monitor the work of contractors; liaising and reporting on progress to the school Operations Manager or delegated person; informing them when jobs have been satisfactorily completed and invoices can be passed for payment.
• Monitor the quality of cleaning undertaken by the school’s contracted company including a regular review of the work schedule and report to the school Operations Manager whenever cleaning issues cannot be addressed at the school level detailing the issues and recommending resolutions that can be escalate to the Head of Procurement and Operational Support.
• Contact approved contractors for emergency repair work, following policies as specified by Taaleem and issue orders as required.
• Ensure that all grassed, paved, artificial surfaces and tarmacked areas of the school are kept clean by the school contracted and FM staff, particularly after sandstorms and major rains.
• Organize the set up and take down of equipment required by the school for activities.

Energy Conservation

• Undertake strategies to reduce the consumption of water, cooling and electricity whilst ensuring the standards of the school are maintained and/or improved.

Staff Accommodation

• Liaise with the school’s HR Advisor and Central Office Procurement and Operational Support section to ensure the preparation, maintenance (if applicable) and departure of staff in Taaleem Provided Accommodation (TPA) meets all requirements. The primary focus is on TPAs outside of Taaleem Residences in Dubai Studio City and responsibilities can include:
• support of preparing units, inspecting units and gettingteacher’s signature on the inspection
• checklist
• cleaning of units at end of tenancies, the changeover of keys
• submit the final inspection report to Operations Assistant at Central Office with all the payment receipts against utilities which impacts Full and Final Settlements
• ensuring repairs are adequately performed.

• Familiarize and adhere to the Housing Procedures Document issued by Procurement and Operational Support on all aspects of TPA and the specific roles and timings pertaining to schools.

What do we look for?

Education: High School graduate and recognized industry regulated qualifications.

Experience: A minimum of two years’ experience in a similar role (e.g. Facilities, Projects, Contracts Management). Minimum of two years’ experience managing teams in a complex organization.

Taaleem is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. At Taaleem, we hold ourselves to a high standard of effective practices in relation to child protection and we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. We expect all staff to share this commitment. Successful applicants will be subject to various background checks including, receipt of high-quality references, proof of relevant qualifications, identification and police checks, including overseas checks.