What are the responsibilities and job description for the Custodian - Residential Day Shift (8:00am - 4:30pm) position at The University of Kansas?
Position Overview
The Custodian- Residential Day shift position will be trained in a variety of duties including general cleaning and sanitation of residential bath areas; general floor care and cleaning, both carpeted and hard surface floors; operating and maintaining mechanical and electrical equipment used in floor maintenance; collecting and removing all trash from public and service areas; moving furniture, appliances, and supplies in and out of residence halls as directed; and setting-up equipment and furniture for special programs.
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00AM– 4:30PM with the potential for rotating weekends.
Facilities Services within KU Operations plays a vital role in maintaining an inviting and safe campus environment that supports teaching, learning and research. KU Operations supports KU’s mission of learning, scholarship, and creative endeavor by providing the visible and behind-the-scenes services that make possible the university’s academic and research missions.
KU offers great benefits to employees with up to 176 hours of paid vacation per year, 96 hours of sick leave earned per year, nine paid holidays plus one discretionary day, a retirement program, medical & dental insurance, life and disability insurance, other benefit plan options, and State of Kansas discounts offered by various vendors. KU also offers employees educational and professional development opportunities.
Tuition assistance offers up to 12 credit hours per year for employees and Employee Dependent Tuition Assistance Scholarship (EDTAS) award opportunities! Details available at: https://humanresources.ku.edu/tuition-assistance
KU’s excellence is a result of the rich tapestry of experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds of our faculty, staff, students, and colleagues from across our nation and the globe. At KU, we invest in continuous learning and growth by creating a climate where people engage in respectful dialogue and debate and support each other’s success. We foster a culture of care where each person is seen, heard, and valued. When people feel a true sense of belonging, we believe they are better able to reach their full potential and achieve remarkable things.
KU is not able to provide immigration sponsorship for this position.
The successful candidate must be eligible to work in the U.S. by the effective date of the appointment.
Job Description
30% - Bath Facilities: Cleans/sanitizes bath fixtures including toilets, lavatories, floors, mirrors, counter tops, tile walls, partitions, showers, and hardware up to several times daily. Also empties waste cans, sanitary napkin receptacles, and replenishes consumable supplies before supplies are exhausted in the bath areas, up to several times daily. A number of ad-hoc cleaning assignments require special training in avoiding bio-hazards and are followed with specialized chemical treatment of surfaces. All work is performed following standard procedures and safety precautions.
30% - Common Living Areas: Vacuums, bonnets, and extracts carpeted floors using semi-automatic equipment. Equipment varies in complexity and danger of operation and mixing chemicals as well as adjustments to manual and auto settings for proper and/or safe operation. Uses specialized tools and equipment to clean hard surface floors in common areas, student rooms, etc., each requiring a range of knowledge of proper care on a variety of hard surfaces, using pail/chemical method and semi-automatic scrubbers that require skills and experience for proper and safe operation. Incumbent cleans public areas by dusting, polishing, and rearranging furniture to standard arrangements; cleaning, inspecting, and adjusting blinds as needed; washing walls, windows, and doors as assigned; cleaning water fountains and emptying non-toxic waste receptacles; and miscellaneous furniture moving and set-up; all following standard procedures and safety precautions.
15% - Entrances, exteriors, elevators, etc.: On a variety of resilient surfaces, dusts, mops, scrubs, and burnishes with a variety of specialized equipment. Wet mops spots and stains on tile areas and floor mats. Spot cleans walls, doors, carpets, jams and kickplates. Washes windows and rails. Dusts and polishes surfaces. Cleans fire extinguisher cases. Cleans display cases, telephones, drinking fountains, etc. Cleans exterior entranceways up to several times daily. Cleans snow and ice. Checks and maintains exterior dock areas, handicap access ramps and equipment elevator cabs and doors, etc.
15% - Private Living Areas: Prepares empty student rooms for occupants by cleaning and polishing furniture; washing walls, windows, and blinds; cleaning closets, drawers, cabinets, and light fixtures; cleaning and maintaining floor surfaces. Prepares beds by stripping, cleaning, and replacing mattresses as directed. Moves and/or arranges furniture to standard floor plan.
5% - Supplies, chemicals and equipment maintenance: Equipment used ranges from hand tools to more advanced (and potentially dangerous) high-speed and semi-automatic cleaning equipment. Performs daily required maintenance on a variety of tools and equipment. Maintains clean, organized, and stocked supply carts/closets, etc. Reports equipment repair and maintenance needs/concerns to supervisor. Mixes caustic and/or toxic chemicals to MSDS specifications to avoid improper use or exposure to self or others. Includes cleaning storage and operation areas used by residents or staff.
5% - Other assigned tasks: Follows safety policies regarding use of supplies, tools and equipment. Performs other duties related to cleaning or maintenance as assigned including working at similar tasks in another facility to cover for absent staff or extra staffing needs. Works alone or as part of a crew from other units to set up summer conference program areas. Special projects as assigned. Moves appliances and supplies in and out of halls as directed to clean. Reports and turns-in lost items to appropriate persons. Reports any suspicious incident or persons to supervisor and/or KUPD or Complex Director staff. Participates in training sessions and in-service classes or workshops.
Position Requirements
None required
Preferred Qualifications
A complete application will include your current contact information including email and phone number and your previous work experience including dates of employment. Please include the name and contact information to two references with your application.
Application review will begin on Monday, September 21st and continue until all available positions have been filled.
Contact Information to Applicants
Jessica Brown
jjbrown@ku.edu
Advertised Salary Range
$18.00
Application Review Begins
Monday September 21, 2026
Anticipated Start Date
Monday October 5, 2026
The Custodian- Residential Day shift position will be trained in a variety of duties including general cleaning and sanitation of residential bath areas; general floor care and cleaning, both carpeted and hard surface floors; operating and maintaining mechanical and electrical equipment used in floor maintenance; collecting and removing all trash from public and service areas; moving furniture, appliances, and supplies in and out of residence halls as directed; and setting-up equipment and furniture for special programs.
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00AM– 4:30PM with the potential for rotating weekends.
Facilities Services within KU Operations plays a vital role in maintaining an inviting and safe campus environment that supports teaching, learning and research. KU Operations supports KU’s mission of learning, scholarship, and creative endeavor by providing the visible and behind-the-scenes services that make possible the university’s academic and research missions.
KU offers great benefits to employees with up to 176 hours of paid vacation per year, 96 hours of sick leave earned per year, nine paid holidays plus one discretionary day, a retirement program, medical & dental insurance, life and disability insurance, other benefit plan options, and State of Kansas discounts offered by various vendors. KU also offers employees educational and professional development opportunities.
Tuition assistance offers up to 12 credit hours per year for employees and Employee Dependent Tuition Assistance Scholarship (EDTAS) award opportunities! Details available at: https://humanresources.ku.edu/tuition-assistance
KU’s excellence is a result of the rich tapestry of experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds of our faculty, staff, students, and colleagues from across our nation and the globe. At KU, we invest in continuous learning and growth by creating a climate where people engage in respectful dialogue and debate and support each other’s success. We foster a culture of care where each person is seen, heard, and valued. When people feel a true sense of belonging, we believe they are better able to reach their full potential and achieve remarkable things.
KU is not able to provide immigration sponsorship for this position.
The successful candidate must be eligible to work in the U.S. by the effective date of the appointment.
Job Description
30% - Bath Facilities: Cleans/sanitizes bath fixtures including toilets, lavatories, floors, mirrors, counter tops, tile walls, partitions, showers, and hardware up to several times daily. Also empties waste cans, sanitary napkin receptacles, and replenishes consumable supplies before supplies are exhausted in the bath areas, up to several times daily. A number of ad-hoc cleaning assignments require special training in avoiding bio-hazards and are followed with specialized chemical treatment of surfaces. All work is performed following standard procedures and safety precautions.
30% - Common Living Areas: Vacuums, bonnets, and extracts carpeted floors using semi-automatic equipment. Equipment varies in complexity and danger of operation and mixing chemicals as well as adjustments to manual and auto settings for proper and/or safe operation. Uses specialized tools and equipment to clean hard surface floors in common areas, student rooms, etc., each requiring a range of knowledge of proper care on a variety of hard surfaces, using pail/chemical method and semi-automatic scrubbers that require skills and experience for proper and safe operation. Incumbent cleans public areas by dusting, polishing, and rearranging furniture to standard arrangements; cleaning, inspecting, and adjusting blinds as needed; washing walls, windows, and doors as assigned; cleaning water fountains and emptying non-toxic waste receptacles; and miscellaneous furniture moving and set-up; all following standard procedures and safety precautions.
15% - Entrances, exteriors, elevators, etc.: On a variety of resilient surfaces, dusts, mops, scrubs, and burnishes with a variety of specialized equipment. Wet mops spots and stains on tile areas and floor mats. Spot cleans walls, doors, carpets, jams and kickplates. Washes windows and rails. Dusts and polishes surfaces. Cleans fire extinguisher cases. Cleans display cases, telephones, drinking fountains, etc. Cleans exterior entranceways up to several times daily. Cleans snow and ice. Checks and maintains exterior dock areas, handicap access ramps and equipment elevator cabs and doors, etc.
15% - Private Living Areas: Prepares empty student rooms for occupants by cleaning and polishing furniture; washing walls, windows, and blinds; cleaning closets, drawers, cabinets, and light fixtures; cleaning and maintaining floor surfaces. Prepares beds by stripping, cleaning, and replacing mattresses as directed. Moves and/or arranges furniture to standard floor plan.
5% - Supplies, chemicals and equipment maintenance: Equipment used ranges from hand tools to more advanced (and potentially dangerous) high-speed and semi-automatic cleaning equipment. Performs daily required maintenance on a variety of tools and equipment. Maintains clean, organized, and stocked supply carts/closets, etc. Reports equipment repair and maintenance needs/concerns to supervisor. Mixes caustic and/or toxic chemicals to MSDS specifications to avoid improper use or exposure to self or others. Includes cleaning storage and operation areas used by residents or staff.
5% - Other assigned tasks: Follows safety policies regarding use of supplies, tools and equipment. Performs other duties related to cleaning or maintenance as assigned including working at similar tasks in another facility to cover for absent staff or extra staffing needs. Works alone or as part of a crew from other units to set up summer conference program areas. Special projects as assigned. Moves appliances and supplies in and out of halls as directed to clean. Reports and turns-in lost items to appropriate persons. Reports any suspicious incident or persons to supervisor and/or KUPD or Complex Director staff. Participates in training sessions and in-service classes or workshops.
Position Requirements
- Ability to lift and/or carry up to 30 pounds frequently and the ability to lift and/or carry up to 50 pounds occasionally with or without accommodation.
- Ability to bend, stoop and/or kneel frequently.
- Ability to work on step ladders.
- Physical strength sufficient to stand the strain of working long hours at custodial tasks.
- Willingness and ability to work overtime as needed.
- Willingness and ability to work under a variety of extreme temperature and weather.
None required
Preferred Qualifications
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and practices used in cleaning operations.
- Custodial experience in large residential or commercial buildings.
- Knowledge of and experience with the operation, use, and care of vacuum cleaners, floor scrubbing machines, polishing machines, and other janitorial equipment.
- Advanced training in custodial and high-volume cleaning operations.
- Experience interacting with customers and/or the public.
A complete application will include your current contact information including email and phone number and your previous work experience including dates of employment. Please include the name and contact information to two references with your application.
Application review will begin on Monday, September 21st and continue until all available positions have been filled.
Contact Information to Applicants
Jessica Brown
jjbrown@ku.edu
Advertised Salary Range
$18.00
Application Review Begins
Monday September 21, 2026
Anticipated Start Date
Monday October 5, 2026
Salary : $18