What does a buildings and grounds supervisor do?
Buildings and grounds supervisor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real buildings and grounds supervisor resumes:
- Administer yearly budget, purchase orders and inventory control for the building and grounds department to manage the district assets.
- Communicate with tenants regularly to satisfy their apartment needs of plumbing, bathroom and floors.
- Repair and maintenance of building fixtures to include repair of plumbing fixtures, electrical fixtures and some kitchen equipment repairs.
- Standardize HVAC specifications for new installation.
- Demonstrate ability to maintain HVAC equipment.
- Supervise all chemical and fertilizer applications, irrigation system repairs and turf grass cultural practices.
- Apply IPM which includes monitoring, diagnosing and treating trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants.
Buildings and grounds supervisor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Buildings And Grounds Supervisors are proficient in Building Maintenance, Grounds Maintenance, and Plumbing. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Customer-service skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Buildings And Grounds Supervisors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Building Maintenance, 16%
Managed a crew which maintained the grounds and routine building maintenance for 15 Roanoke City public schools.
- Grounds Maintenance, 15%
Oversee grounds maintenance, Interview and hire contractors for summer and winter maintenance of grounds.
- Plumbing, 13%
Maintained and inspected 11 district-wide buildings or proper functioning of electrical, plumbing, equipment.
- Grounds, 9%
Administered yearly budget, purchase orders and inventory control for the building and grounds department to manage the district assets.
- OSHA, 9%
Maintained security and safety procedures in compliance with OSHA.
- Maintenance Operations, 8%
Oversee all maintenance operations for five office buildings within the company.
"building maintenance," "grounds maintenance," and "plumbing" are among the most common skills that buildings and grounds supervisors use at work. You can find even more buildings and grounds supervisor responsibilities below, including:
Listening skills. One of the key soft skills for a buildings and grounds supervisor to have is listening skills. You can see how this relates to what buildings and grounds supervisors do because "property, real estate, and community association managers pay attention to residents and proprietors in order to understand and meet their needs." Additionally, a buildings and grounds supervisor resume shows how buildings and grounds supervisors use listening skills: "hired and developed a grounds team in safety and technical issues communicated with contractors on multimillion dollar projects"
Customer-service skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling buildings and grounds supervisor duties is customer-service skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "property, real estate, and community association managers must provide excellent support to keep existing clients and expand their business with new ones." According to a buildings and grounds supervisor resume, here's how buildings and grounds supervisors can utilize customer-service skills in their job responsibilities: "reduced energy use, created exceptional standards of customer service for maintenance and grounds. "
Communication skills. This is an important skill for buildings and grounds supervisors to perform their duties. For an example of how buildings and grounds supervisor responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "property, real estate, and community association managers must understand contracts and must be able to clearly explain the materials and answer questions raised by residents, board members, or service providers." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a buildings and grounds supervisor: "conducted monthly meetings to implement operational changes, safety procedures and staff communications. ".
Problem-solving skills. buildings and grounds supervisor responsibilities often require "problem-solving skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "property, real estate, and community association managers must be able to mediate disputes or legal issues between different groups of people, such as residents and board members." This resume example shows what buildings and grounds supervisors do with problem-solving skills on a typical day: "resolved maintenance issues on a daily basis with the building service team, fsoc and hq partners. "
See the full list of buildings and grounds supervisor skills
The three companies that hire the most buildings and grounds supervisors are:
- Harris Teeter4 buildings and grounds supervisors jobs
- Caesars Entertainment2 buildings and grounds supervisors jobs
- United Heritage Credit Union2 buildings and grounds supervisors jobs
Compare different buildings and grounds supervisors
Buildings and grounds supervisor vs. Stock room manager
A Lead Custodian supervises the custodian division to maintain cleanliness in the office, building, and property at a given time, typically in the morning and evening. They are the ones in charge of performing minor maintenance, furniture, and other office equipment. They also ensure that all assigned tasks to members are completed within the scheduled time and conducts an inventory of all the equipment and supplies. Also, they keep the security surveillance to protect the employees and staff.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a buildings and grounds supervisor are more likely to require skills like "building maintenance," "grounds maintenance," "plumbing," and "grounds." On the other hand, a job as a stock room manager requires skills like "customer service," "wine," "product knowledge," and "room operations." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that stock room managers earn slightly differ from buildings and grounds supervisors. In particular, stock room managers are 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a buildings and grounds supervisor. Additionally, they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Buildings and grounds supervisor vs. Lead custodian
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, buildings and grounds supervisor responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "grounds maintenance," "grounds," "maintenance operations," and "safety issues." Meanwhile, a lead custodian has duties that require skills in areas such as "cleanliness," "floor care," "ladders," and "minor maintenance." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Lead custodians may earn a lower salary than buildings and grounds supervisors, but lead custodians earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $32,661. On the other hand, buildings and grounds supervisors receive higher pay in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $49,821.In general, lead custodians achieve similar levels of education than buildings and grounds supervisors. They're 1.7% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Buildings and grounds supervisor vs. Housekeeping coordinator
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from buildings and grounds supervisor resumes include skills like "building maintenance," "grounds maintenance," "plumbing," and "grounds," whereas a housekeeping coordinator is more likely to list skills in "front desk," "guest rooms," "cleanliness," and "housekeeping management. "
Most housekeeping coordinators achieve a similar degree level compared to buildings and grounds supervisors. For example, they're 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Buildings and grounds supervisor vs. Room inspector
Types of buildings and grounds supervisor
Updated January 8, 2025
