Handy Person/ Caretaker

Job introduction

Brighton & Hove is a great place to live, learn, work and visit. Our diverse and vibrant community is passionate about the city and there’s a shared commitment to celebrating and promoting all that makes Brighton & Hove so unique.

We are committed to delivering an outstanding service and to making Health and Disability Services within our Families, Children and Learning Directorate the right choice for you to work.

If you are looking to work in a supportive and forward-thinking organisation and have a background in maintenance and caretaking, then we would be delighted to hear from you.

About us

Drove Road and Tudor House are children’s homes located in Portslade and Withdean that look after young people with learning disabilities aged 8-18, who may have associated challenging behaviour or additional physical disabilities. We provide outstanding support to our young people and enable them to live positive lives in a nurturing and happy environment.

Interview date: 12th April 2023

For an informal discussion, please contact Karen Rusbridge - Practice Manager on 01273 295320

About the role

As our Caretaker, you will work proactively under the direction of the Practice Managers to provide safe and effective site management to the residential services. Maintaining a safe, and homely environment is an important aspect of the role and is vital to helping keep our young people safe and assisting them to feel at home whilst in our care.

Your high standards, resilience, and positive can-do attitude, alongside your skills in building and outdoor maintenance, will make sure the homes and grounds are pleasant and safe for our young people, staff and visitors. Experience in caretaking and maintenance is essential, and we will continue to support you in keeping your skills and knowledge up to date and offer you  regular supervision meetings and appraisals.

About you

You will need to:

• Be flexible and proactive in prioritising your own workload
• Be solution focused and have the ability to work with Practise Managers in devising practical solutions to maintenance and safety issues
• Have a good working knowledge of building maintenance in the following areas: plumbing, carpentry, decorating, basic electrics e.g. plugs, fuses and lamp replacement.
• Liaise with contractors and monitor the progress of planned and reactive works as specified
• Be in good physical health
• Be able to keep clear and accurate written records pertaining to maintenance and health and safety (ICT skills will be required)
• Have a willingness to learn and keep up-to-date with Health & Safety procedures relevant to the role.
• Hold a full driving licence (you will be working across two sites)
• Have a clear enhanced DBS

You will need to be able to work 37 hours per week over 5 days. You will generally spend 3.5 days at Drove Road and 1.5 days at Tudor House though there will be some flexibility to this depending on the workload/projects.  

For more information about the organisation and the specific tasks required, please download the job description / person specification.

Working for us

We can offer you a competitive salary, training, opportunities for career progression, a generous annual leave allowance with the opportunity to buy extra days, staff discounts, and admittance into the Local Government Pension Scheme.

We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities that we serve, so we welcome and encourage applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background.  If you are successful in your application, we have the following employee networks here to support you throughout your employment with us: BME Workers, Disabled Workers and Carers, LGBTQ Workers, and Women’s Network.

If you would like to discuss this role, please see above contact details to arrange a conversation.

Please read our Apply for a job at the council (brighton-hove.gov.uk) pages carefully. They give you all the guidance you need to complete your application as well as information on what will happen after you’ve submitted your application and at interview.

As part of your application, you will need to upload your CV and a supporting statement. Your supporting statement is the most important part of your application as it will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role that are set out in the person specification and to decide whether you should be offered an interview. Before you start your application, please read our guidance here (CV guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) and Supporting statement guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.

Additional information

Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term-time only.

Work Permits: This role does not meet the requirement for UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) Points-based Immigration System. Successful candidates will need to evidence that they have the Right to Work in the UK.

For more information about our values and the benefits of working at the council, visit Why work for us (brighton-hove.gov.uk)

Company information

Encouraging a diverse workforce

Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, male or trans.

Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti-racism strategy and the work we are doing to encourage a diverse workforce (brighton-hove.gov.uk).

Please note that this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and is subject to a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) Check.