Overall Purpose
The maintenance, development and refurbishment of all buildings, grounds and plant at Canford School and other schools in the Canford Schools Group is the responsibility of the Estates Department. The Assistant Building Surveyor / Architectural Technician supports the busy Estates Department in the drawing, design and management of refurbishment and improvement projects and planned maintenance work with our existing property portfolio. Works include associated condition and compliance survey work of existing buildings.
This is a role which will develop with the post-holder as they gain confidence and experience. The role could form part of their route towards completion of their APC and becoming a fully Chartered Building Surveyor, or other similar architectural pathways. The post holder will work alongside more experienced building surveyors and will enjoy working as the CAD lead for all Estates drawings and in-house design work. The post-holder will run their own projects and liaise with stakeholders and contractors / sub-contractors and the School’s in-house maintenance teams as required.
This is a full time role and is not term time only. Indeed much of the post holder’s work will focus on projects and inspection work taking place in school holiday time.
Duties
Professional
- To carry out the duties of an assistant building surveyor in accordance with recognised professional standards.
Surveying duties
Provide a high-quality surveying service to assist both the Director of Estates and the Building & Surveying Manager in delivering the expected professional estates service to the Canford Schools Group. Duties as follows:
- To know ensure high standards on all tasks and to ensure that all work is completed to an appropriate standard in the available timescale.
- To measure buildings and sites, take briefs, and produce existing plans, elevations, sections, site plans, feasibility schemes and detailed design and construction drawings, taking into account construction cost, longevity, flexibility of use, future expansion, value for money and future maintenance.
- To produce all new drawings on AutoCAD LT, and to update and upgrade existing record drawings to a common agreed standard, notation and presentation. To support all team colleagues with their CAD requirements. On occasion to use simple 3D SketchUp, Planner 5D or similar modelling software to assist in creating scheme presentations.
- To assist the Director of Estates in production of report information and the production of documents such as planning applications, building regulations applications, feasibility reports, photographic records and survey reports.
- To assist the Buildings and Surveying Manager with inspections and schedules for cyclical maintenance work.
- To assist the Director of Estates in the building inspection programme, producing maintenance schedules and updating cyclical maintenance records as required.
- To carry out legal inspections, defect inspections, risk analysis tasks and assist with the Groups’ masterplan strategy and associated planning issues.
- To design, commission and run directly allocated improvement project and planned maintenance tasks, ensuring that works are carried out to agreed standards and to budget. To include liaison with users, budgetary control, obtaining quotations, obtaining statutory approvals, controlling directly employed subcontractors and contract administration.
- To prepare and monitor health and safety risk assessments for directly allocated projects.
- To assist the Building and Surveying Manager with creating the core holiday programmes and in due course to take a lead in preparing and issuing the overall MS Project programmes.
Administrative
- Maintain a tidy office, ensuring all records and files are kept neatly and accurately.
- To be responsible for the Department’s drawing records.
- Update records and files following completion of projects and works, including a significant catch-up exercise for capital projects completed in the past few years.
Health and Safety
- To ensure that Estates Department safe working practices are followed at all times and never compromised. Comply with all safety and safeguarding instructions issued.
- To be aware of the school’s “General Requirements for Contractors” document, Approved List of Contractors, and all issued health and safety details for the direct labour team. To ensure that these instructions are followed by staff and contractors working on the allocated projects, and to bring to the Director of Estates’ attention observed breaches by others.
Knowledge / Experience
- BSc Building Surveying or equivalent and either training towards full professional membership of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Building Surveying Professional Group) or a TechRICS qualification. It is anticipated that the post-holder will be a recent graduate or similar. OR A similar architectural technician (E)
- Strong CAD experience and proficient ability to draw building regulations style details and/or design schemes. (E)
- Ideally some experience of working to rigid health and safety guidelines (D)
- Ideally some experience of working in a multi-functional environment (D)
- Knowledge of building requirements with regards to historical properties (D)
- It will be highly desirable for the selected candidate to have had suitable surveying or surveying technician experience which ideally will include either private practice or non-public sector environments. (D)
- Ability to use initiative and self-motivation. (E)
- IT literate and strong AutoCAD and Microsoft Office skills. A working knowledge of Microsoft Project and Microsoft PowerPoint is desirable but not essential. (E)
- An approachable professional and friendly manner, and the ability to communicate effectively with people at all levels. (E)
- Willingness to undertake training as required, including first aid training. (E)
- Good communication skills both written and oral. (E)
- Self-motivated and able to work efficiently and quickly. A “today” attitude is essential to the everyday pressures of the department. (E)
- Willingness to get hands-on with the team on occasion (E)
- Flexible. (E)
- Physically capable of carrying out all aspects of the job. (E)
Canford School is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion in all areas of our Community and encourages applications from all suitably qualified candidates.
Canford School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.
The successful applicant will be required to undergo child protection screening.
