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Lead Hand Parks and Grounds

Employer
SwisCo
Location
Torbay, Devon
Salary
£24,496 to £26,845
Closing date
1 Feb 2023

Job Details

Job Summary
You will be an important part of the Parks team as you will take a lead role in ensuring that parks, gardens, and grass areas of Torbay look attractive and well maintained, are safe and  clean, and the people who use them enjoy them as much as possible.

As the Lead Hand, you will not only carry out tasks but also be an important link between the Team Manager and the operatives. You will be responsible for organising and supervising your crew by deciding the best way to carry out the tasks given to you by the Team Manager and making sure they are done safely and effectively.

You will be expected to work with the Team Managers to plan schedules of work and input into these, your local and professional knowledge. You will be leading a team of up to 5, carrying out a range of tasks to ensure the parks, gardens
and grass areas of Torbay look attractive and well maintained, are safe and clean, and the people who use them enjoy them as much as possible.

Most of the tasks your team will undertake are regular duties and these include:

  • Strimming, Mowing and Leaf Blowing with handheld power tools
  • Cutting Hedges and Shrubs with handheld tools
  • Ripping out, planting and weeding flower beds

From time to time you will be expected to work elsewhere within Torbay or carry out different tasks to what you normally do. You will be expected to work outside in all weathers and will be on your feet carrying or lifting.

The sites where you will work have some uneven ground and a number of hazards such as moving vehicles, drug paraphernalia, dogs and insects.
You will be provided with Personal Protective Clothing that you will have to wear at all times and a range of training in methods of safe work that you must carry out. It is important that you are friendly and helpful to the people you meet who are generally polite and will be appreciative of the work you are doing.
You will be driving company vehicles safely and make sure they are looked after and kept clean and tidy.

Version April 2021
You will be responsible for tasks which require a greater level of knowledge and experience which must be done carefully and safely. These may include

  • Sports pitch management/maintenance
  • Pre season and in season sports pitch line marking and fine turf management
  • Use of Tractors for verti-draining and side arm flail
  • Use of robotic mowers
  • Planting out and input into plant selection with design support of bedding plant
  • implementation
  • Woodland and after planting care including small tree works

You should be proud of the work you do in this role as it will help make Torbay a great place to live work and play.

1. Key Purpose of Job
1.1. To be responsible for the day-to-day supervision of a crew ensuring effective delivery. 
1.2. To supervise and oversee the operation of the designated service site, crews and locations to maintain compliance with all legislation and regulations related to the service.
1.3. To support in the delivery of transformation, whilst supporting the sustainable delivery of an effective, efficient, and compliant service.
1.4. To work with the Service Managers, Key Partners and stakeholders to achieve planned outcomes on both a long and short-term basis internally and community wide.
1.5. To promote a Health and Safety culture.
1.6. To lead by example and secure employee engagement.

2. Anticipated Outcomes of Post
2.1. An efficient, effective and professional service that, as a minimum, meets the national and local performance targets and delivers high quality outcomes for Torbay and its residents.
2.2. That Torbay’s residents receive an efficient and timely service in line with the performance standards set out in the Service Level Agreement with Torbay Council.
2.3. To support team managers to reach agreed targets for the provision and quality of the service.
2.4. Day-to-day supervision of staff members and task allocation to ensure work is undertaken consistently, with equal opportunity and in line with SWISCo HR policies and procedures.
2.5. That SWISCo, the service and Torbay Council are recognised for efficient service delivery in the community.
2.6. The service remains legally compliant.
2.7. One team one goal

3. List Key Duties and accountabilities of the post
3.1. Work closely on a day-to-day basis with team managers and other team members to promote and ensure efficient communications at all levels within the team and service as well as between departments. 
3.2. To provide day-today supervision of a crew of staff in order to maximise and utilise them efficiently.
3.3. Ensuring all staff in the crew are briefed on the roles and responsibilities required of them,
3.4. Ensure the crew operations meet with SWISCo’s safety, performance and operational targets. To include maintaining effective understanding of health and safety with regard to safe working practices to ensure that teams are given adequate training/advice and that this is recorded. 
3.5. To maintain effective working standards, time recording and resources, to ensure effective delivery of service provision in line with the established time frames. 
3.6. Support the implementation of new or changed policies and process to support the alignment of working practices with legislation and business needs.
3.7. Work with the team manager to develop innovative service ensuing adequate practices are in place for Company procedures, codes of practice and statutory provisions.
3.8. Providing regular communication to the senior management to maintain effective service delivery and highlight issues that may adversely affect service delivery for prolonged periods. 
3.9. Making, facilitating, and fostering effective relationships that support a team ethos.
3.10. Support with effective complaint management by ensuring that all facts, context and data is made available to managers to ensure an adequate response to any complaints can be made in accordance with policy and published procedures.
3.11. To ensure that SWISCo operates and maintains employee resourcing effectively and to establish safe and effective working practices. 
3.12. Motivate and lead teams effectively as well as recognise any training needs, along with providing active encouragement to support achievement. To do this by providing clear goals and standards that need to be achieved. 
3.13. Actively engage with other team members within the business to ensure a collaborative and seamless integration of service provision to both internal and external customers.
3.14. An effective Health and Safety culture is fostered and maintained
3.15. To effectively utilise and direct the use of materials in accordance with legal requirements, examples include New Roads and Street works Act 1991, Safe use of Pesticides and COSHH.
3.16. Undertake pre-use/PUWER checks of plant and equipment and record the results as necessary.
3.17. To dynamically risk assess each step of the process and report any incidents, hazards and/or near misses to team supervisor/manager, recording the results as necessary.
3.18. To compile records to support applications for payment either digitally or manually.
3.19. Provide essential customer liaison with members of the public who might be affected by the ongoing works in their location.
3.20. Effectively programme work to align with target dates as set by the Team Manager.
3.21. To provide a high level of customer service when responding to queries from members of the public providing necessary advice and perhaps having to use some tact and diplomacy as well as a level or persuasion in some situation. Where required, sign posting the member of the public to other departments where required for any other types of advice or formal complaints

4. Budgetary / Financial Responsibilities of the post
4.1. No financial responsibilities, however, should be able to recognise efficiency savings and report these to senior management in a documented way. 
4.2. To detail and document records of work undertaken including photographs, identifying additional work, and recording dimensions and quantities

5. Supervision / Line Management Responsibilities of the post
5.1. Supervision and work allocation/checking of staff in groups of up to 5, assigned to vehicles or tasks. Providing day to day duties and direction whilst carrying out tasks
5.2. To ensure corporate and consistent process are undertaken and followed.

6. Working Environment & Conditions of the post
6.1. Manual role undertaken outside wherever the tasking requires works to be undertaken.
6.2. Working outside in all potential adverse weather conditions
6.3. Possible site visits to scenes of accidents or events.

7. Physical Demands of the post
7.1. Requirement to spend majority of the day on foot or walking on a variety of surfaces including uneven terrain when appropriate.
7.2. Operational requirement for repetitive movements such as operating plant, excavating and moving materials
7.3. Operational requirement for manual handling such as lifting, bending, carrying, pushing and/or pulling.
7.4. May be an operational requirement to work with hazardous materials which could include pesticides, cementitious products or products which may generate silica dust.

8. Specific Resources used by the post
8.1. IT equipment and mobile IT tablet
8.2. Driving of fleet vehicles
8.3. Operation of specialised plant and machinery up to the value of £50,000

9. Key Contacts and Relationships
9.1. External
Torbay Council departments
Nearby District Councils
Suppliers
Contractors
Community engagement/partners/volunteers
9.2. Internal
Operational teams/Service Managers
Finance team
Senior Management Team
Human Resources
Directors and Board of SWISCo

10. Other Duties
10.1. To undertake additional duties as required, commensurate with the level of the job.

Other Information

  1. All staff must commit to Equal Opportunities and Anti-Discriminatory Practice.
  2. SWISCo operates a Smoke-Free Policy and the post-holder is prohibited from smoking in any of the SWISCo, or associate company buildings (including Council owned and Council leased buildings, but excluding designated areas in residential schemes), enclosed spaces within the curtilage of buildings, and SWISCo or associated company vehicles.
  3. SWISCo does not permit smoking breaks within work time, however, in services where the flexi-scheme is in operation, employees may take reasonable break times outside of core hours, in accordance with flexi-time arrangements. Employees should follow the flexi-scheme procedure for agreeing time away from their duties in the normal manner with their immediate colleagues and line manager, with break start and finish times being recorded, as with any other break-time arrangement.
  4. The post-holder is expected to familiarise themselves with and adhere to all relevant SWISCo Policies and Procedures.
  5. The post-holder must comply with SWISCo Health and Safety requirements as outlined in the H&S policy appropriate to the role.
  6. The post holder may be required to move their base to any other location within the company at a future date.
  7. The post-holder must be committed to the SWISCo Core Values for employees as defined in the employee handbook - Evidence will be sought during the probation and appraisal processes.
  8. If you are required to use your own vehicle on SWISCo business or drive a SWISCo vehicle you will be asked to provide information on any driving endorsements 
     

Version April 2021
g) You will be asked to complete a Criminal Records Self Declaration Form. Criminal convictions will only be taken into account when they are relevant to the post. You will only be asked to disclose ‘unspent’ convictions
h) SWISCo is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo the checks appropriate to the post applied for.

Closing Date: 1st February 2022.

Company

SWISCo (South West Integrated Services Company) Limited is Torbay Council's wholly-owned arms-length company responsible for the delivery of all functions associated with:

  • Waste and recycling
  • Highways, fleet and transport
  • Parks, streetscene and green infrastructure

The company also carries out work for other public and private organisations to provide added value and improve the cost effectiveness of universal services provided to all residents on behalf of the council.

We have the ambitious mission of ‘Proud to make Torbay the best place to live, work and play’. This is why we exist, why we do what we do. Our mission is backed by our values of ‘Safety First, Customer Focused, Empower, Collaborate, Innovation, Social Responsibility, Growth and Process Driven’ and our strong people ethos as an employer of choice, recruiting great people, retaining, rewarding and recognising talent, supporting organisational development, continuous improvement with robust HR systems and processes.

Read our latest article What it is like to be a SWISCo gardener in Torbay?

Company info
Website
Telephone
01803 701310
Location
Parks & Green Infrastructure Aspen Way,
Yalberton Industrial Estate,
Paignton
Devon
TQ4 7QR
United Kingdom

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