Estates Engineering Shift Leader x 2

Royal Opera House; Greater London; On-site; GBP 51,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, is recruiting two Shift Leaders to join the in-house Engineering team. You will lead your own shift and coordinate third‑party contractors to plan, deliver and respond to maintenance across Royal Opera House properties.

This permanent role operates on a 4 days on/4 days off continental shift pattern (42.12 average weekly hours) with a salary of £56,247.62 per annum.

Qualifications

• Shift maintenance experience in commercial properties.
• Mechanical, electrical or building services qualification or proven competence.
• Knowledge of working practices in large, complex public buildings.

Responsibilities

• Lead your own shift team and third-party contractors in delivering and implementing planned preventative maintenance and reactive maintenance.
• Ensure compliance with statutory requirements within a large, diverse estate.
• Demonstrate strong people management to develop and coach colleagues to high standards.

Skills

Shift maintenance experience

Mechanical/Electrical/BuildingServices

Public building knowledge

Statutory compliance knowledge

People management

Education

Mechanical/Electrical/Building Services qualification

Job description

Posted Friday 21 August 2026 at 00:00 | Expires Sunday 6 September 2026 at 23:59

Permanent Contract
4 days on/4 days off ‘continental shift’ pattern (42.12 average weekly hours)
£56,247.62 per annum
Based in: Covent Garden, London

The Royal Ballet and Opera continues to lead the way in opera, ballet, music and dance both live on stage and through multiple digital platforms, from live streaming to worldwide cinema screenings. Our Covent Garden theatre has been at the heart of London and British cultural life for three centuries. We are home to two world-class Companies: The Royal Ballet andThe Royal Opera .

The Royal Opera House describes the place we work, not who we are. The whole is always more than the sum of its parts – we may be a House, but three quarters of our audiences experience what we do outside this building. While our Covent Garden theatre is the nerve centre, the impact and influence of the organisation can be felt in every corner of the country, and around the world.

We are now seeking to recruit two Shift Leaders to work as part of the in-house Engineering team, leading your own shift team and third-party specialist contractors in the delivery and implementation of the planned preventative maintenance and emergency reactive maintenance across Royal Opera House properties.

You will be able to demonstrate:

• Extensive relevant experience with shift maintenance experience in commercial properties.
• Mechanical/Electrical/Building Services qualification or proven competence through practical experience.
• A detailed knowledge of the working practices and demands of a large complex public building and/or listed building.
• Good working knowledge of statutory compliance within a medium to large, diverse, and complex estate.
• The ability to react quickly to situations, to be reliable and resilient, to perform consistently under pressure and to respond positively to changing circumstances.
• People management skills to supervise team members to ensure they have the requisite skills and knowledge and are competent and supported through training and coaching to achieve consistently high standards of performance.

The Royal Ballet and Opera is one of the UK’s leading arts organisations and our aim is to inspire imagination, ignite emotion and make the extraordinary for everyone. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion underpin all that we do. We want our people to be representative of the diversity in the UK. We understand the creativity and innovation that diversity can bring and strive to create an inclusive environment in which everyone can thrive.

We encourage applications from people with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and skills to join our teams. We particularly welcome applications from those who are from a global majority background and/or those who are disabled, as they are under-represented within our organisation.

We are a Disability Confident Employer, which means that we are actively working to ensure that candidates with disabilities and long-term health conditions feel supported, engaged and able to fulfil their potential in the workplace. We will endeavour to offer an interview to candidates who tell us they wish to participate in the scheme and who demonstrate in their application that they meet the essential criteria for the role, though sometimes due to the volume of qualified candidates with declarations this is not possible.

The RBO is also committed to safeguarding and protecting all children, young people, and adults and we implement robust safer recruitment practices. Due to our safeguarding promise, certain roles will be subject to a DBS check before commencing employment with us, which will be indicated in the advertising.

Closing date for applications: 11:59pm, Sunday 6th September 2026.

To ensure a fair process, late applications will not be considered under any circumstances.

Applicants must have work authorisation for the UK. No agencies.