General Operative

Mears Group; Tees Valley; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Pension/Staff discounts

Access to EAP counselling

Vehicle & fuel card

Job summary

Mears Group is seeking a reliable General Operative to join the North East team on a permanent, full-time basis. The role involves repairs, maintenance and refurbishment across both occupied and void properties, ensuring safe, functional homes and a high standard of customer service.

You will travel regionally and work 42.5 hours weekly, Mon-Fri, 8:00am–5:00pm. The position offers a competitive salary and benefits package, including accommodation support for asylum seekers where applicable and

Qualifications

• Basic DIY skills including re-plumbing a washing machine, putting up blinds, refixing door handles and siliconing a bath.
• Basic painting experience is required.
• Customer service experience is essential.
• Excellent communication skills are required.
• IT literate with ability to use standard software.
• Full UK driving licence is mandatory.
• Reliable with strong time-keeping and a can-do attitude.
• Willingness to travel across the region.

Responsibilities

• Carry out property inspections and general maintenance tasks.
• Complete repairs and refurbishment work across occupied and void properties.
• Perform tasks like changing light bulbs, fitting blinds, applying silicone and adjusting doors.
• Check smoke alarms during inspections and ensure safety readiness.
• Work from set checklists to ensure quality and compliance.
• Meet landlords on-site to provide property access and coordinate works.
• Support works on void properties, including painting and larger tasks.
• Deliver high standards of customer service in occupied properties.

Skills

DIY Skills

Basic Painting

Customer Service

Communication Skills

IT Literate

UK Driving Licence

Reliability

Timekeeping

Can-do Attitude

Regional Travel

Tools

Spirit Level

Screwdrivers

Hammers

Job description

Annual salary: up to £29,427.00

General Operative

Location: Northeast

Salary: £29,427 per annum plus commercial vehicle and fuel card

Contract Type: Permanent, Full-Time

42.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 8:00am – 5:00pm

Mears provides temporary accommodation to asylum seekers whilst their claim is being assessed in three regions: Northeast, Yorkshire and Humber, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Mears work in partnership with central and local Government, registered providers, tenants, landlords and investors to find solutions to homelessness, provide more social and affordable housing and create specialist housing for people with care needs.

About the Role

We are looking for a reliable and motivated General Operative to join our team in the North East. This is an excellent opportunity for someone with strong practical skills and a can-do attitude to contribute to maintaining and improving housing properties while delivering a high standard of customer service. Working as part of a local team, you will undertake a variety of repair, maintenance and refurbishment tasks across both occupied and void properties. You will play a key role in ensuring homes are safe, functional and maintained to a high standard, whilst providing a positive experience for customers and stakeholders. As a General Operative, you will be responsible for carrying out a range of general repairs and maintenance activities, ensuring work is completed efficiently, safely and to a high standard.

• Carrying out property inspections
• Completing general maintenance and repairs
• Undertaking basic tasks such as changing light bulbs, fitting blinds, applying silicone and adjusting doors
• Checking smoke alarms during inspections
• Working through set checklists to ensure compliance and quality
• Meeting landlords on site to provide property access
• Supporting works on void properties, including painting and assisting with larger tasks
• Delivering high standards of customer service in occupied properties

Role Criteria

• Basic DIY skills including ability to re plumb a washing machine, putting up blinds, refixing door handles and siliconing a bath
• Basic Painting experience
• Customer service experience
• Excellent communication skills
• IT literate
• Ability to provide own hand tools including spirit level, screw drivers and hammers
• Full UK driving license
• Reliable
• Excellent time keeping
• Can do attitude
• Happy to travel across the region

Benefits we can offer you

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Annual Mears Fun Day - Our annual Fun Day is organised as a massive thank you from the Executive team for all the hard work!
• Volunteering Leave - Mears supports employees to undertake paid volunteering in the community, in support of our social value commitment.
• Staff perks with Mears Rewards - discounts of up to 10% weekly groceries, holidays, eye test vouchers, Share save scheme, plus much more
• Family friendly policies
• Access to EAP Counselling sessions
• OOH rota available 1 in 6 weeks. Monday to Monday covering 24 hours a day

All our roles require candidates to have the entitlement to work within the UK, Mears does not currently offer visa sponsorship.

To drive a Mears vehicle, you must be aged over 21 have held your licence over 3 months and have less than 9 points.

As part of the recruitment process for this role, we will carry out a Background, Identity, Security clearance & BPSS check. For these checks to be completed, we will require from you the relevant identification, including Proof of Address, References, a valid passport and proof that you have lived in the UK for the last 5 years.

At Mears Group, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive, we are a Disability Confident employer, valuing individuality and ensuring equal opportunities for all.

We proudly support the Armed Forces Covenant and are honoured to have achieved the Gold Award in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) to coincide with this, we hold an Endorser Award for the Career Transition Partnership, recognising our commitment to veterans transitioning into civilian careers.

In our continued effort to promote social mobility, we invite applicants to voluntarily share their background information during the application stages to help us better understand the diverse experiences of our candidates. This is to ensure we are committed to improving social mobility. We use the Social Mobility Index to assess and enhance opportunities for individuals from diverse backgrounds. These questions are optional and will not impact your ability to apply.