Residences Maintenance Assistant

Newcastle University; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holiday package

Holiday buy option

Great pension schemes

Health and wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

Newcastle University is seeking a Residences Maintenance Assistant to join Accommodation Services. The role covers maintenance tasks in student villages, health & safety checks, deliveries, and support during visit days, with a 37-hour week and specific shift patterns.

You will work in a customer-facing environment, collaborating with the Estates & Facilities teams, and must be flexible regarding location and hours. The job includes health, safety, and promotional responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Customer focused approach required.
• Ability to communicate clearly with colleagues and external contractors.
• Ability to follow instructions clearly and adhere to procedures.
• Must be a good team worker and able to work alone when needed.
• Flexible and adaptable to varying hours and locations.
• Adheres to established standards and safety practices.
• Ability to prioritise workload and stay calm under pressure.
• Committed to personal development and reliability.
• Demonstrates a positive, flexible “can do” attitude.
• Able to work contracted hours as required.

Responsibilities

• Investigate reported defects and carry out general maintenance and repair tasks to standard.
• Undertake planned maintenance: routine fire alarm testing, door locks checks, PAT testing and meter readings.
• Carry out residence inspections and audits; report damages or tenancy breaches.
• Respond to emergencies and take action to minimise damage and risk.
• Perform general and specialised cleaning and related tasks as directed.
• Participate in training courses to improve skills and knowledge.
• Support promotional activities such as university visit days for accommodation.

Skills

Customer focussed

Clear communication

Instruction following

Team player

Flexible/adaptable

Standards oriented

Prioritise workload

Reliability

Positive can-do attitude

Contracted hours

Education

NVQ Building Maintenance or relevant experience

Job description

Salary: £26,707 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits . We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 25 September 2026

The Role

Accommodation Services require a Residences Maintenance Assistant to work as part of the Accommodation Services Team. Primary area of work will be at Kensington and Park Terrace Student Village.

Estates & Facilities are a very large multidisciplinary team that look after the development, maintenance, safety and security of over 150 buildings across various sites including a wide variety of world class teaching and research facilities and a range of diverse accommodation.

You will be required to carry out day to day duties in student accommodation including investigating and repairing defects, routine repairs and maintenance, planned maintenance and health & safety checks such as routine fire alarm testing and PAT testing. Other general duties include receiving deliveries, moving of white goods and furniture to ensure the delivery of a high standard of accommodation.

The successful candidate will also be required to support the University in promotional activities e.g. visit days showing prospective students and other visitors around University accommodation

You will have experience in a customer focused environment and a flexible approach to working hours and location as required.

Post is for 37 hours per week. Hours of work Monday 8am -4pm and TuesdayFriday 8am -4.30pm. Weekend work will also be required at certain times of the year.

Informal enquires should be directed to Residence Team Leader [e-mail]

For further information regarding Accommodation Services please go to https://www.ncl.ac.uk/accommodation/

To carry out routine, responsive and planned maintenance tasks and checks to provide a repairs service to agreed standards for customers.

Key Accountabilities

• Investigate reported defects and carry out a range of general maintenance and repair tasks in accordance with agreed standards and procedures. Ensure that those defects which fall outside of these guidelines are reported in accordance with Service procedures.
• Undertake planned maintenance and tasks e.g. routine testing of fire alarm systems (weekly), door locks (monthly) portable appliance testing (annually) and testing /inspecting of other fixtures e.g. taking meter readings in accordance with Service guidelines and to agreed standards.
• Carry out residence inspections and audits, liaising with colleagues to provide an efficient service for residents and report any damage/tenancy breaches to line manager so that appropriate action can be taken.
• Respond to any emergencies and take the appropriate action to minimise further damage to buildings or risk to occupants.
• Carry out a range of general and specialised cleaning and general tasks in accordance with agreed standards.
• Support the University’s commitment to training and development by participating fully in training courses designed to improve personal skill levels and knowledge.
• Support the University in promotional activities e.g. visit days showing prospective students and other visitors around University accommodation.

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Customer focussed approach
• Ability to communicate clearly with colleagues and external contractors
• Ability to follow instructions clearly
• Must be a good team worker and equally able to work alone
• Flexible and adaptable approach
• Standards orientated
• Ability to prioritise workload and remain calm under pressure
• Positive approach to personal and skill development
• Basic maintenance skills
• Reliable and dependable
• A positive, flexible “can do” attitude and enthusiastic approach
• Able to work contracted hours

Attributes and Behaviour

Delivering Services

• Pays attention for detail
• Co-operates with others in achieving targets
• Has a positive attitude for doing things better
• Is enthusiastic in getting the job done on time

Finding Solutions

• Recognises urgency and takes decisive action when required
• Uses initiative to sort things out
• Looks at ways of overcoming obstacles rather than coming to a standstill
• Keeps an open mind to alternative ways of doing things

Planning and Organising

• Works in a planned and structured way
• Ensures that all activities are completed on time
• Plans workload and tasks in a systematic way
• Uses own and others’ time effectively

Communicating

• Clear and concise; gets message across to others
• Is factually correct and gives consistent verbal and non-verbal messages
• Uses face to face communication regularly

Qualifications

• NVQ Building Maintenance or relevant experience.
• Knowledge of Health & Safety practices
• Knowledge of manual handling

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment