Custodial Crew Leader

Swarthmore College is a highly selective liberal arts college located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, whose mission combines academic rigor with social responsibility. Swarthmore has a strong institutional commitment to inclusive excellence and nondiscrimination in its educational program and employment practices and encourages candidates who will further advance the goal of fostering a diverse and inclusive community. As one of the nation’s finest institutions of higher learning, Swarthmore College is global in outlook and draws students from around the nation and world. The 425‐acre campus is a designated arboretum, complete with gardens, rolling lawns, a creek, wooded hills, and hiking trails in the Crum Woods.

The opportunity:

The Custodial Crew Lead provides daily leadership, guidance, and functional supervision to a team of custodians with assigned college buildings and facilities. This position is a working lead role, performing custodial duties alongside the crew while ensuring that all work is completed according to established standards and safety protocols. The lead is responsible for coordinating work schedules, managing supplies and equipment, executing specialized restoration projects, and ensuring continuous service during staff absences and emergencies.

Essential Responsibilities

• Housekeeping and Project Work
  • Takes responsibility for cleaning areas as assigned by supervisors, including filling in for coworkers in cases of illness, vacation, etc., to ensure all areas of campus are kept clean.
  • On a daily basis, collects non-hazardous waste, compostables,  recyclables, and e-waste, empties into designated receptacles, and returns containers to initial locations. Removes stains and soil from receptacles; informs supervisor when receptacles should be replaced. Removes litter from building and furniture surfaces in common-use areas and from floors in private or assigned areas (e.g., offices, research areas).
  • Cleans and disinfects drinking fountains, wash basins, toilets, urinals, showers, and adjacent surfaces, as well as surfaces of furniture, fixtures, walls, partitions, doors, etc. Removes scale, scum, mineral deposits, rust stains, etc., from the insides of toilets and urinals. Cleans floor drains, including removing corrosion and tarnish, and fills with germicidal detergent to prevent the escape of sewer gas.
  • Checks and refills toilet paper, hand soap, paper towel, and toilet seat cover dispensers; removed spillage from soap dispensers and adjacent surfaces. Reports equipment problems (e.g., leaky faucets) to the supervisor in order to initiate repairs.
  • Using cloths or vacuum attachments, removes dust, lint, litter, dry soil, etc. from the surfaces of chairs, telephones, lamps, tables, cabinets, shelves, ledges, window sills, fire extinguishers, counter tops, walls, door frames and sills, pictures, partitions, rails, and other surfaces not considered specialty equipment (e.g., computers, test equipment, typewriters). Spot cleans, as necessary, to remove finger prints, marks, streaks, tape, etc.
  • Cleans chalkboards and erasable pen writing boards and removes chalk dust from chalk trays and erasers.
  • Uses a wet/dry vacuum to remove moisture and a carpet vacuum to remove dry soil from carpeted entrance mats. Removes stains and gummy soil. Shakes, hoses with water, and/or vacuums non-carpeted mats.
  • Uses a vacuum to remove soil and debris from carpets (including carpeted traffic lanes) without moving heavy furniture (e.g., office desks). Moves chairs, trash receptacles, and other items to vacuum underneath; uses crevice or other tools to vacuum edges, corners, crevices, and under low furniture. Uses carpet stain remover and/or other cleaning products to remove stains from carpeted floors
  • Uses dust mop, push broom, and other tools to remove soil and litter from non-carpeted floors. Uses a mop and detergent solution to remove spills and obvious soil from floor, including corners and abutments, to ensure they are free of streaks, litter, and spots. Damp mops as necessary, scrubbing those areas where soil cannot be removed by mopping. Sets up caution signs to provide sufficient warning that floors are wet.
  • Maintains work closets in a clean and organized fashion. Maintains cleaning and other supplies (e.g., paper towels, toilet paper); notifies supervisor when replacements are needed; checks supplies as delivered in order to ensure correct types, amounts, etc.
  • Completely strips all non-permanent floor finish and seals to remove heel marks, scuff marks, rust stains, etc., using either floor machine or manually scrubbing. Applies coats of floor sealant and floor finish. Spray buffs or burnishes floors as necessary.
  • Uses a vacuum to remove soil and debris from carpets (including carpeted traffic lanes) without movin