Residences Maintenance Assistant

Newcastle University; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 19,000 - 23,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holiday package

Pension schemes

Health and wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

Newcastle University is seeking a Residences Maintenance Assistant to join the Accommodation Services Team, primarily at Kensington and Park Terrace Student Village. 37 hours per week with rotating days, including occasional weekend work.

You will carry out day‑to‑day maintenance and repairs, routine health & safety checks, fire alarm and PAT testing, and assist with deliveries and moving furniture to maintain high-quality student accommodation.

Qualifications

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

Responsibilities

• Investigate reported defects and carry out a range of general maintenance and repair tasks in accordance with agreed standards.
• 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.

Skills

Customer focussed

Clear communication

Teamwork

Flexible attitude

Prioritisation

Basic maintenance skills

Education

NVQ Building Maintenance or relevant experience

Job description

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]

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

• 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 practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.