Maintenance Operative

Job Overview

As a maintenance operative, you will be responsible for ensuring that the home, the plant, and the equipment within, are maintained to a high standard. Remain fully functional thereby ensuring the comfort, safety and wellbeing of residents, visitors, and staff.

This requires the person to undertake everyday repairs as well as ensuring planned maintenance and checks are completed either in house or specialist contractors.

Responsibilities and Duties of the Job

• Attend statutory training and any other training as directed by the management.

• Report any concerns about health and safety to the General Manager.

• Report irreparable defects which are compromising residents’ comfort or resident/visitor/staff safety to the Home Manager to seek agreement for specialist repair external contractors.

• Ensure the Home Manager is briefed on any matters in the home or grounds that may pose a H&S risk noncompliance with legislation.

• Ensure 3-day staff and 4-night staff fire drills are carried out per year.

• When off duty, be prepared to give advice over the telephone and/or be called out to the Home in emergencies.

• Maintain workshop, stores, ancillary and plant rooms in an orderly and clean condition and ensure that all tools and equipment are well maintained and tidily and safely always secured.

• Conduct and record all checks as prescribed in the Fire Safety Logbook and manage the file.

• Flexibility is an essential requirement of this post and the post holder is expected to be available for home communal duties as and when required, e.g. driving, cleaning, resident activities, supporting other departments, and other duties as may be reasonably required from time to time.

• Develop effective working relationships with other employees within the service.

• Use of external contractors must always be agreed with the homes Manager in advance, save for emergencies when the homes preferred contractors may be used to carry out emergency repairs.

• Ensure Contractors sign in the signing in book and given any permits to work and are aware of the fire procedure.

• Liaise with contractors ensuring, their safe conduct whilst on site, a high-quality workmanship, and a value for money service.

• Assist with the induction of staff with regards to fire safety and evacuation procedures. Keep a record of all instructions given as required by the Home Manager.

• Ensure that any work undertaken within the home either by yourself or outside contractors is in accord with good health and safety practice and that the welfare of staff, residents and visitors is seen as the highest priority.

• Undertake necessary reactive maintenance and repair tasks and where they are not competent to undertake a repair or maintenance task to agree with their manager when to call in a contractor to undertake the work.

• To implement and manage the Maintenance Manual ensuring that all checks are conducted and recorded as prescribed in the manual bringing to the attention of the Home Manager any concerns with plant, equipment or machinery or problems either through planned or reactive maintenance.

• The outside of the building, grounds and gardens must be maintained to a high standard of repair and aesthetic condition and remain safe for pedestrian and vehicle access.

• Ensure all electrical appliances are subjected to a Portable Appliance Test annually and certification retained, and appliances suitably marked with the appropriate stickers. All electrical appliances subsequently brought into the Home by residents, relatives and any other persons must be checked and tagged “safe for use”.

• Ensure that all work undertaken (in-house or external contractors) is carried out with full consideration to the comfort, security, and sensitivity of the residents.

• Adhere to company purchasing procedures and make every effort to minimize waste and control cost, including implementation of the company’s 3 quote rule, i.e., in all circumstances where it has been agreed with the Home Manager that certain services/products/work is to be provided by external contractors, three competitive quotes must be obtained, ensuring these are on a like for like basis. Wherever two or more quotes out of 3 are within 10% of each other, this is usually seen as one indicator of a good competitive tendering process.

• Organise and retain all records and files relating to the maintenance department in accordance with the policies and procedures of We Care Group.

• As required to attend events in the community and at other services and training.

• Seeking opportunities for personal and professional growth

Our Value-Based Personal Qualities

Working Together

• Involve our residents, family, external agencies & colleagues.

• Speak up when things go wrong.

Respect and Dignity

• Understand person-centered care and can demonstrate treating people as individuals and respecting choices.

• Promoting independence and encouraging appropriate risk-taking.

Everybody Counts

• Ensuring no one is discriminated against or excluded.

• Understand human rights and impact on care delivery.

• Facilitating people to ‘speak up’ about concerns and acting upon them.

Commitment to Quality of Care

• Striving for quality in everything we do recognising and understanding what quality in care means for people within our homes.

• Being accepting about criticism and focusing on improvement.

• Being open to new opportunities for learning and identifying the limits of skills and knowledge.

Compassion

• Treating people with kindness.

• Understanding the importance of empathy in all areas of employment.

• Understanding the values of others and always providing a caring service.

Improving Lives

• Focus on how things could be done better and sharing ideas.

• Understanding of wellbeing and what is important to our residents.

• Improving outcomes for people.

• Ensuring appropriate services are provided for our residents.

Please note that the duties and requirements in this job description may change as the needs of our services users and homes change. They may also change to align with future policies.