Depot Assistant

West Suffolk Council; Bury St Edmunds; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holidays: 25 days escalating to 29

Generous pension scheme

Life assurance

Employee benefits package

Cycle to Work scheme

Rail and bus staff discounts

Health and Wellbeing initiatives

Abbeycroft Leisure discounts

Culture of learning

Job summary

West Suffolk Council in Bury St Edmunds is recruiting a full-time Depot Assistant to support the Depot team.

Ideally you will have experience operating a forklift and telehandler, and you will have worked in a waste industry environment, with experience of working in a busy vehicle / transport environment. Duties include repair and cleansing of returned wheeled bins, depot housekeeping and baling of loose cardboard for onward sale.

Qualifications

• Experience operating a forklift and telehandler.
• Experience working in a busy vehicle/transport environment.
• Background in a waste industry is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Repair and cleansing of returned wheeled bins.
• General housekeeping of the depot.
• Baling loose cardboard into mill-sized bales for onward sale.

Skills

Forklift operation

Telehandler

Waste industry experience

Depot operations

Tools

Forklift truck

Telehandler

Job description

• West Suffolk Council

• Address: Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk IP33 3YU

• Salary:Starting from £28,153 - £29,542 per annum, plus excellent employee benefits package

• Hours:37 hours per week

• Contract:Permanent

• Reference:0013

About the role

West Suffolk Council continues on a journey of ambitious change and are committed to being more commercial. We have a vacancy for a full time Depot Assistant to supplement the Depot team.

Ideally, you will have experience in operating a forklift truck and telehandler. You will have worked in a waste industry environment, with experience of working in a busy vehicle / transport environment.

Duties for this post include repair and cleansing of returned wheeled bins, general housekeeping of the depot and baling of loose cardboard to provide mill sized bales for onward sale.

What you will need

The drive and desire to improve the service we deliver, along with the ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines, be highly organised, with an attention to detail and accuracy are all vital for this role.

Please refer to the job description and person specification for full details of this exciting opportunity.

Why work for us? Our benefits include

• holiday entitlement of 25 days, increasing to 29 days after 5 years (pro rata if part time) plus bank holidays (with an option to buy up to 10 extra days each year subject to approval)

• generous pension scheme – contribute between 5.5% and 6.8% (depending on your salary) and the council will contribute 16.4%

• life assurance – a payment of three times your annual salary

• access to a unique employee benefits package which includes discounts and cashback on supermarkets, high street shops, holidays, mobile phones, electrical goods, savings and loan schemes and many other products and services

• salary sacrifice benefits including Cycle to Work scheme, Tusker Leased Car Scheme and SmartTech (buy the latest tech products interest free and repay through your monthly salary)

• rail and bus staff discounts

• a range of Health and Wellbeing initiatives including an employee assistance programme

• discounted membership at Abbeycroft Leisure centres

• a culture of learning inspiring staff to focus on continuous learning.

For more information

For an informal discussion and further information please contact Andrew Hobbs, Senior Business Development Advisor, on 07939 808222.

Alternatively, please download the Job Description (pdf), Person Specification (pdf)and Core Values (pdf).

Closing date:11.55pm, 15 November 2026

West Suffolk Council has been rated in the top 10 district councils for climate action (Climate Scorecards 2023) and as a member of UK100 has demonstrated its commitment to a rapid transition to Net Zero with Clean Air in our communities. The council has declared a climate and biodiversity emergency and is committed to working towards net zero emissions by 2039.