Royal Agricultural University
Grounds and Pitch Care Operative
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Qualifications, Skills, and Experience
Location: Cirencester
Salary: Grade 5: starting salary £26,707 per annum
Term: Full-time, permanent, 35 hours a week - some weekend work required.
About The Role
The Royal Agricultural University (RAU) is committed to providing an outstanding environment for learning, sport, and wellbeing. As part of the University's long-term investment in its campus and sporting facilities, we are seeking a Grounds and Pitch Care Operative to help maintain and develop our sports grounds to the highest possible standards.
This is an exciting opportunity for a motivated and practical individual to play a key role in the care and development of the University's natural and artificial playing surfaces. Working throughout the seasons, the successful candidate will help ensure that our sports pitches provide a safe, high-quality experience for students, staff, visiting teams, and commercial users. The role is largely outdoors, involves physically demanding work, and requires confidence in working independently, while also collaborating closely with colleagues across the University.
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Responsibilities
- Undertake a wide range of grounds maintenance activities, including mowing, marking, aeration, fertilising, scarifying, seeding, and top dressing, alongside the maintenance and cleaning of artificial playing surfaces.
- Maintain sports equipment and grounds machinery, carrying out routine safety and condition checks, and ensuring all playing surfaces remain safe, fit for purpose, and match-ready.
- Work with colleagues from RAU Sport, the Students' Union, and external users to help coordinate pitch usage and maintenance programs to maximize the quality and availability of facilities throughout the year.
- Maintain accurate maintenance records, contribute to effective campus-wide grounds maintenance, and ensure all work is carried out in accordance with the University's Health and Safety procedures.
Qualifications, Skills, and Experience
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We welcome applications from individuals with experience in sports turf or grounds maintenance who have a good understanding of pitch renovation and maintenance practices. Applicants should have experience of maintaining sports grounds to a high standard, be physically able to undertake the demands of the role, and demonstrate excellent organization, initiative, and a flexible approach to work. A qualification in sports turf management, spraying certificates (or progress towards obtaining them), and experience of working collaboratively with sports teams or facility users would be advantageous.
Applying
For a full job description and details on how to apply, please click apply.
Application Deadlines
- Closing date: 30 August 2026
- Interviews: 11 September 2026
Equal Opportunities
The RAU is an equal opportunities employer and we particularly welcome applications from black and minority ethnic candidates as they are underrepresented within the RAU at this level.
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