Cleaning Services Manager

Application Deadline: 26 June 2026

Department: Estates

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Liverpool

Compensation: £38,955 - £40,106 / year

The City of Liverpool College are seeking a Cleaning Services Manager to lead, mobilise and continuously improve the College's in house cleaning service, ensuring high standards of cleanliness, hygiene, compliance, customer satisfaction and value for money across all College sites.

The postholder will manage the successful transition of cleaning services into the College, providing strong leadership during the TUPE process whilst developing a positive, customer focused culture and robust quality assurance framework.

Responsible to: Head of Estates

Service Mobilisation

1. Lead the mobilisation of the College's new in-house cleaning service.
2. Support the successful integration of TUPE-transferring staff.
3. Establish operational procedures, cleaning specifications and quality standards.
4. Develop staffing structures, rotas and deployment plans.
5. Build positive relationships with staff, trade unions and College stakeholders.

Leadership & People Management

1. Directly manage Cleaning Supervisors.
2. Provide leadership to approximately 50 cleaning staff.
3. Conduct regular one-to-ones and performance reviews.
4. Identify training and development needs.
5. Promote a positive and inclusive working culture.
6. Drive attendance, engagement and accountability.

Quality Assurance & Standards

1. Develop a comprehensive quality assurance programme.
2. Introduce inspection schedules and auditing processes.
3. Produce monthly performance reports.
4. Investigate service failures and implement corrective actions.
5. Ensure all areas consistently meet agreed cleanliness standards.

Customer Experience

1. Develop strong relationships with curriculum and support departments.
2. Respond effectively to customer concerns.
3. Conduct customer satisfaction surveys.
4. Act as the primary point of contact for cleaning service delivery.

Compliance

1. Ensure compliance with Health & Safety legislation.
2. Manage COSHH assessments.
3. Ensure safe systems of work are in place.
4. Support infection control measures.
5. Maintain training records and statutory compliance requirements.

Resource & Asset Management

1. Manage stock levels and consumables.
2. Control cleaning equipment inventories.
3. Develop asset replacement plans.
4. Ensure effective maintenance arrangements are in place.
5. Drive sustainability initiatives.

Essential Experience

Mobilisation & Change Management

1. Experience mobilising a new cleaning contract or bringing services in house.
2. Experience managing TUPE transfers or large workforce transitions.
3. Demonstrable experience leading teams through organisational change.
4. Experience establishing new policies, procedures and service standards.
5. Proven ability to engage and motivate teams through periods of uncertainty.

Operational Management

1. Managing large cleaning operations.
2. Managing multiple sites or large estates.
3. Supervising cleaning supervisors and/or team leaders.
4. Workforce planning and resource allocation.
5. Managing absence, performance and disciplinary processes.

Quality Assurance

1. The successful candidate should have experience developing cleaning audit programmes.
2. Conducting quality inspections.
3. Using KPI and performance data.
4. Managing customer complaints and service improvements.
5. Implementing continuous improvement initiatives.Benchmarking performance against industry standards.

Financial Management

1. Budget management.
2. Stock and consumables control.
3. Procurement of cleaning materials and equipment.
4. Monitoring labour costs.
5. Delivering efficiencies without reducing standards.

Asset Management

1. Managing cleaning equipment.
2. Planned replacement programmes.
3. Equipment maintenance and compliance.
4. COSHH compliance.
5. Chemical management systems.

Criteria

Essential Criteria

1. IOSH Managing Safely (or willingness to obtain).
2. Relevant cleaning management qualification or equivalent experience.
3. Experience managing a large cleaning operation through supervisors/team leaders.
4. Experience leading teams through organisational change, mobilisation or TUPE related transition.
5. Experience managing cleaning quality assurance, audits and performance standards.
6. Experience managing staffing, performance, absence and employee relations matters.
7. Experience managing cleaning budgets, stock, consumables and equipment.
8. Good understanding of Health & Safety, COSHH and compliance requirements.
9. Strong leadership, communication and stakeholder management skills.
10. Ability to plan, organise and deliver services across a large and complex estate.

Desirable Criteria

1. Full UK driving licence.
2. ILM Level 3 or 5 Leadership & Management.
3. Experience delivering service improvement or transformation programmes.
4. Experience within an education environment (FE, HE or schools).

Please Note This role may close earlier than the advertised deadline if we receive sufficient applications. Early submission is strongly encouraged.

Why Join The City of Liverpool College?

As a valued member of our College community, you'll enjoy a comprehensive range of benefits, dedicated wellbeing support, and meaningful opportunities for professional growth and development.

Here are some of the benefits available to you:

Generous Holiday Allowance

Up to 30 days annual holiday allowance, plus 1 wellbeing day. You'll also benefit from 5 to 7 days statutory closure and 2 further days closure at Easter.

Pension Scheme

You'll be part of the Aviva pension scheme, with contributions of up to 10%.

Employee Benefits Platform

As part of your role, you'll have access to the COLC Employee Benefits Platform, a one stop hub for a wide range of perks designed to support your wellbeing, work life balance, and everyday savings. You'll be able to access discounts at major supermarkets, fashion and lifestyle retailers, tech stores, travel providers, and more. You'll also benefit from the Cycle to Work Scheme, cinema and leisure discounts and tech and home appliance discounts, with the option of spreading the cost through salary sacrifice. The platform is part of our commitment to supporting you in every aspect of your working life - and beyond.

Health and Wellbeing

As part of our commitment to supporting your health and wellbeing, all employees have access to the Health Assured Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) - a completely confidential support service available 24/7, 365 days a year. Whether you're facing personal challenges, looking for advice, or simply need someone to talk to, Health Assured is here to help. Through Health Assured, you can access a 24/7 confidential helpline, face to face, online or telephone counselling, as well as structured support for a wide range of issues including stress, anxiety, relationships, bereavement, legal and financial concerns. You'll also have access to the online wellbeing portal, asecure, user friendly platform offering a wide range of self help resources, health assessments, articles, and guidance covering emotional, physical, and financial wellbeing, and to the Wisdom App, which offers mood trackers and wellbeing tools, meditation guides, fitness videos, and self help modules as well as daily wellbeing tips.

Medicash Scheme

Access to Medicash health plans - supporting you and your family with enhanced access to treatment, wellbeing services, and expert care whenever you need it. We also offer free flu vaccinations to help keep you feeling your best all year round.

Life Assurance

We offer life assurance to give you and your family added peace of mind - with a benefit of up to three times your annual salary payable in the event of death in service.

Travel

We offer interest free loans to help you buy annual travel passes from Merseytravel and Merseyrail. That means you can enjoy the savings of up to two months' free travel-without having to cover the full cost upfront. It's all about making your commute more affordable and less stressful.

Flexible Working

We offer flexible working options depending on business need to support our employee's work life balance.

Professional Development

We're passionate about helping you thrive, offering a mix of formal and informal professional development opportunities-designed to sharpen your skills, expand your knowledge, and accelerate your career.

College Benefits

Our excellent sports and fitness facilities can be used free of charge by staff. You can also access a range of discounted hair and beauty treatments at our Academy and Graduate Hair & Beauty Salons, and a staff discount at our Academy Restaurant.