Head of Grounds

Job Description

Verus Resourcing is extremely proud to be representing this opportunity for Westerleigh Group - a business that cares for over 40,000 funerals every year and creates respectful and caring experiences for each and every bereaved family.This role plays a key part in delivering the exceptional service they are known for by ensuring the grounds across their 34 sites in the UK are designed and maintained to the very highest standards, enabling families and friends to remember, mourn and celebrate the lives of their loved ones.Continued growth, investment into sites and further development of the Westerleigh teams make this the ideal time to join this ambitious business.The Position Working across 34 crematoria (including 20 cemeteries), you’ll direct and oversee the work of a team of grounds people to ensure an outstanding grounds maintenance service. Some members of that team will report directly into you whilst others will be line managed on site but your role will be to ensure all of them are kept motivated to deliver the very highest standards.What will those standards be Well, that’s largely down to you as you will write the manual on what good grounds management looks like - then lead your team to ensure delivery to these standards. There’ll be some change management to initiate, and it will also be your focus to review the operating model - team structures, roles, processes and rebuild to your new standards. In the meantime, you’ll work closely with the new Health & Safety Manager to ensure teams are working safely and according to your design.Westerleigh’s grounds are not just beautiful, tranquil environments for their existing clients to lay their loved ones to rest in, they are also a window representing Westerleigh to prospective customers. You’ll ensure grounds design establishes their sites as places of special significance for all those who visit, now or in the future. You’ll also put in place contracts for the purchase and maintenance of machinery, finding sensible ways to maximise economies of scale as well as, of course, overseeing the day-to-day running of the grounds function, from resourcing to rota management. In short, it’s really about bridging the gap between the operations and grounds teams.The PersonA highly experienced multi-site grounds manager with outstanding leadership qualities and real strength of character, you’ll have the highest standards and the communication skills to impart them effectively. Youll be the kind of manager who challenges the status quo, and can balance competing priorities effectively in an environment of constant change, making you a leader who doesn’t just talk the talk of Health & Safety, but really walks the walk.You’ll need solid MS Office skills, great attention to detail and, perhaps above all, a genuine sensitivity in terms of the nature of this business. In fact, there’s no doubt about it: the desire to deliver an excellent grounds service to the bereaved and a real commitment to the value of caring is the single most important part of this transformative and highly valued role.