Grounds Manager
Wiltshire College & University Centre – Cross College/Lackham
We are seeking an inspiring and proactive Grounds Manager to lead the maintenance and development of our exceptional outdoor spaces, ensuring our campuses remain safe, attractive and welcoming environments for students, staff and visitors.
This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced grounds professional to take on a varied leadership role, managing and enhancing one of the most diverse educational estates in the region. You'll work across our four distinctive campuses – based at the stunning 500-acre rural estate at Lackham, with its farmland, gardens and extensive green spaces, and also covering our thriving town and city centre campuses in Chippenham, Salisbury and Trowbridge.
As Grounds Manager, you'll have the opportunity to lead and develop teams of grounds staff, helping to shape environments that support both education and community engagement while leaving a lasting legacy across our college estate.
What We Offer
?? Salary: £32,414 per year
??? Contract Type: Permanent, Full-Time 37 hours per week, 52 weeks per year
**Opportunity to rent residential property at Lackham campus**
Year-Round Employment: No unpaid breaks between contracts
?? Outstanding Benefits
-
Local Government Pension Scheme – a strong, secure foundation for your future
-
Generous Holiday Entitlement – 30 days paid annual leave plus 8 days paid bank holidays
-
College closure and wellbeing days – including a 2-week paid Christmas closure
-
Employee Assistance Programme – 24/7 confidential wellbeing, legal, and financial support
-
Free On-Site Gyms – available across multiple campuses
-
Lifestyle Discounts – savings on retail, technology, travel, and leisure
-
Cycle-to-Work Scheme – save money while staying active
-
Professional Development – ongoing training and career progression opportunities
-
Additional Perks – discounted meals, hair & beauty services, and reduced attraction entry
A rewarding leadership role with excellent benefits and the opportunity to make a visible and lasting impact across our unique College estate.
What You'll Do
-
Lead and coordinate grounds maintenance operations across all Wiltshire College & University Centre campuses
-
Ensure all outdoor spaces are safe, attractive and maintained to exceptionally high standards throughout the year
-
Develop and implement grounds maintenance plans, enhancement projects and environmental initiatives
-
Lead, support and provide day-to-day direction to grounds staff, trainees, apprentices, learners, students and casual or volunteer workers assigned to the service
-
Oversee grounds machinery, equipment and resources, ensuring safe and effective operation
-
Promote sustainability and biodiversity initiatives across the College estate
-
Carry out inspections and identify opportunities for continuous improvement and development
-
Work closely with campus teams and curriculum colleagues to support practical learning opportunities and deliver consistently high standards across the College
-
Travel regularly between campuses to provide operational support and leadership across our diverse estate
What You'll Bring
-
Experience in a grounds maintenance, horticultural, estates or land-based management role
-
Strong knowledge of grounds maintenance practices, environmental management and health and safety requirements
-
Excellent leadership, communication and organisational skills
-
Experience of supervising and developing staff and supporting apprentices or learners
-
The ability to prioritise workloads, manage resources effectively and deliver high standards across varied environments
-
A flexible approach and willingness to work across all College campuses
-
A full UK driving licence
-
NVQ Level 3 Qualification or above in Horticulture, Grounds Management or related subject
Relevant horticultural, land-based or facilities management qualifications and experience within an educational or public sector environment would be an advantage.
? Why Choose This Opportunity?
Take the next step in your career while enjoying:
-
A varied leadership role where no two days are the same
-
The opportunity to work across one of the region's most diverse educational estates, from the beautiful countryside setting of Lackham Estate to thriving town and city centre campuses
-
The chance to lead and inspire staff, apprentices and learners while helping shape exceptional outdoor learning environments
-
A supportive and collaborative working environment
-
Excellent work-life balance and generous annual leave
-
Outstanding pension and employee benefits
-
Ongoing professional development and career progression opportunities
A role where you can develop your leadership skills while leaving a lasting legacy across our College estate and helping create inspiring environments for our entire college community.
? Take the next step in your college career
If you're ready to lead grounds management across Wiltshire College & University Centre and make a lasting contribution to our campuses and student experience, we'd love to hear from you.
Closing Date: 23/08/26
Please note:
Your Application Form will be shortlisted against how your skills, qualifications and experience match the Essential and Desirable points on the Person Specification for this role, located at the bottom of this page as a downloadable document.
Vacancies may close early if sufficient applications have been received; therefore, we would encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.
Wiltshire College & University Centre follows Safer Recruitment Guidance outlined by the Department for Education in ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’. This involves conducting enhanced DBS checks, including checks against the children’s barred list, and other employment verifications, including an online presence review for shortlisted candidates.
We embrace diversity, recognising the valuable perspectives, ideas, knowledge, and cultures individuals from different backgrounds bring. Committed to safeguarding, we expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
As a Disability Confident Employer, we pledge to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for a job vacancy and assess them based on their abilities.
INDLOW
Wiltshire College & University Centre stands as the largest provider of further and higher education in Wiltshire, significantly contributing to the local economy by equipping individuals with essential skills for success. Our diverse curriculum spans from Level 1 to Level 6, and we operate across four main campuses located in Trowbridge, Chippenham, Salisbury, and Lackham, which specialises in land-based education.
We offer a wide array of apprenticeships, along with full-time, part-time, and university-level courses. Notably, our Castle Combe circuit facility is the UK's first trackside motorsport engineering training centre, dedicated to our Motorsport Engineering programs.
