Facilities and estate manager volunteer jobs

Title: Ground Maintenance Manager
Location: Gilwell Park, Chingford, E4 7QW
Contract Type: Permanent
Working Hours: 35 hours per week (including evenings and weekends)
Salary: £30,888 per annum – Band D, Level 3 (Inclusive of Outer London Weighting)

About the Role

We’re looking for a Ground Maintenance Manager lead the practical care, maintenance and improvement of the estate’s formal grounds, woodland, grassland and natural spaces. The role is central to keeping the park safe, accessible and welcoming, while delivering hands-on work that restores habitats, improves biodiversity and supports the long-term stewardship of this historic site. Guided by our new 10-year woodland management plan and best-practice conservation methods, you’ll take a hands-on approach to estate maintenance and habitat improvement across the site.

Working both independently and alongside staff teams, volunteers, corporate supporters and young people, you’ll help create meaningful change for nature and for visitors. From practical conservation tasks to wider estate projects, you’ll play a key role in shaping and protecting the natural environment at Gilwell Park.

Key Responsibilities as our Ground Maintenance Manager

• Lead practical grounds and woodland work at Gilwell Park, supporting habitat improvements and estate maintenance.
• Use and maintain machinery and tools safely, carrying out inspections, repairs and general site upkeep.
• Lead and support volunteers, corporate groups and young people in practical conservation activities and skills sharing.
• Support conservation partnerships and nature recovery projects, including habitat work, monitoring and reporting.
• Champion nature regeneration, maintain high health and safety standards, and support events, training and wider site activities for Scouts and Scout Adventures.

About You

We’re looking for someone with:

• Experience in practical conservation, habitat management and estate maintenance, with good knowledge of woodland and parkland management.
• Confidence using and maintaining machinery, tools and equipment safely, with experience in health and safety and risk assessments.
• Experience leading volunteers and skills sessions with people of all ages, including young people, and working independently or as part of a team.
• Strong communication and project management skills, with experience supporting conservation projects, partnerships and reporting.
• A proactive, hands-on and enthusiastic approach, with a passion for conservation and helping young people connect with nature outdoors.
• A full UK driving licence and relevant countryside, woodland or estate management qualifications.

Benefits:

• We are an award-winning Charity of the Year (Charity Times Awards 2022) with over 400 employees across multiple locations across the country.
• 28 days holiday and going up to 32 days after 2 years’ service plus additional days at Christmas
• Flexible working hours
• Work in a way that suits you, your role and your department
• Double matching pension up to 10% of gross salary

For a full list of our benefits, click .

Closing date for applications: 23:59 on Friday 25th September 2026. 

Interviews will be held in person at Gilwell Park on Thursday 8th October 2026. 

Strictly no agencies. 

The Scouts is an equal opportunities employer and we are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute. We offer flexible working arrangements to support diverse needs and lifestyles, ensuring that our teams can thrive both professionally and personally. We welcome and encourage applicants from all walks of life, believing that varied perspectives strengthen our innovation and community. Your unique experiences and ideas are essential to our success, and we look forward to hearing from all voices.

We are looking for a skilled and proactive Buildings & Maintenance Site Lead to oversee maintenance and facilities services at one of our key sites while supporting projects across our wider property portfolio. You will lead repairs, refurbishments and planned maintenance programmes, supervise contractors and maintenance colleagues, and ensure high standards of health, safety and compliance are maintained. 

Key Responsibilities

• Lead planned and reactive maintenance projects, repairs and refurbishments.
• Carry out hands-on maintenance work including carpentry, plumbing, decorating and general building repairs.
• Oversee contractors and ensure work is completed safely, on time and to a high standard.
• Manage planned preventative maintenance (PPMs), fire safety activities and compliance checks.
• Support office, housing and facilities improvement projects.
• Act as the main point of contact for maintenance issues and service requests.
• Ensure compliance with health and safety legislation, fire regulations and building standards. 
• Management of the Maintenance Operatives

About You

We are looking for someone who:

• Has practical experience across a range of building maintenance disciplines.
• Holds a relevant trade qualification (e.g. carpentry, plumbing or electrical).
• Has experience supervising contractors or maintenance teams.
• Understands health and safety requirements and safe working practices.
• Has strong problem-solving, organisational and communication skills.
• Is committed to delivering excellent customer service and high-quality facilities management.

At Ambitious about Autism, we're currently looking for a Site Assistant to join our team at TreeHouse School.

You'll support the Estates Manager in maintaining a safe, secure and well-presented school environment. The role includes carrying out caretaking, cleaning and minor maintenance tasks, assisting with site security and supporting the smooth running of school activities and events.

You'll ensure the school grounds are clean, safe and well-maintained including litter-picking and daily visual checks of the playground and their equipment, recording this on SafetyCulture with evidence. You'll undertake minor repairs as needed and carry out day-to-day caretaking and cleaning duties as directed by the Estates Manager.

You will have:

• Practical skills in cleaning, basic maintenance and repair work
• Knowledge of IT and the ability to access databases to record information accurately
• Awareness of health and safety procedures and ability to apply regulations such as Manual Handling, COSHH, Water Hygiene etc
• Ability to organise workload and complete tasks to a high standard

In return, we offer great benefits including a generous holiday allowance and commitment to continued professional development (CPD) and more!

This is a fantastic opportunity for an ambitious individual who would like to work for a forward-thinking, open and honest organisation and make a real impact to the young people we work with. Please find our full recruitment pack on the link below.

If you have any questions about the role or would like to have a confidential chat, please contact James Axford, Recruitment Officer.

Ambitious about Autism is committed to fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion at every level of our organisation. We warmly welcome applications from all qualified candidates, valuing the diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives they bring. We encourage applications from individuals regardless of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or parental status, disability, or age.

Our recruitment process promotes equal opportunities, and we are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for candidates with disabilities or additional needs throughout the recruitment process. Please contact our Recruitment Team for accommodations. We recognise disability as a physical or mental impairment that significantly and long-term affects a person's ability to perform day-to-day activities, as defined by the UK Equality Act 2010. All applications will be considered solely on merit, aligned with our mission to support autistic children and young people.

Ambitious about Autism is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and successful candidates will be subject to an Enhanced DBS check. As part of our Safer Recruitment checks, an online search maybe carried out in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education.

The Safeguarding responsibilities of the post as per the job description and personal specification.
Whether the post is exempt from the rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendment to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2021. This means that when applying for certain jobs and activities certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected', so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. Further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS Filter Guidance.