Job introduction

Have you a wide range of construction trade skills, including experience of hard and soft landscape construction?

• Have you a conscientious approach to health and safety in the workplace?
• Are you able to prioritise your workload based upon severity of risk?
• Have you experience of using mobile technology to submit and generate reports?
• Are you approachable, customer-facing and do you have good communication skills.

If so, then this could be the job for you. Brighton & Hove City Council is looking for two technicians to take on the specialist role of maintaining and repairing playground equipment and installing hard and soft landscape features citywide.

The post of Construction & Maintenance Technician is a responsible and challenging one that requires the post holder to have a diverse trade skills set: a thorough knowledge of Health & Safety practices in the workplace; the ability to progress a programme of routine maintenance whilst undertaking reactive emergency repairs to existing apparatus; a wide range of construction trade skills, particularly experience in landscape construction.

Contract: permanent, full-time.

Interview date: week commencing Monday, 3 April 2023

For an informal discussion, please email cityparks@brighton-hove.gov.uk and request a service manager contacts you.

About the role

The city of Brighton & Hove has approximately 147 parks and gardens (covering 1,200 hectares), including seven award-winning Green Flag parks, 53 playgrounds, containing approximately 800 individual pieces of play apparatus, 24 multi-use games areas and seven skate parks.  The city’s parks and public open spaces are immensely popular with residents and tourists alike.

Ensuring that park infrastructure, furniture and playground apparatus are maintained to a standard that safeguards users is of paramount importance.

We are seeking to appoint two technicians to take responsibility for planning and implementing a programme of installation, maintenance and repair works based upon the findings of regular inspections.  A RPII outdoor operational playground inspection qualification will be essential (training will be provided).  The successful candidates must be able to accurately assess levels of safety risk, resulting from damage to equipment, and to prioritize prompt reactive repairs whilst progressing a program of routine maintenance.

Playground inspection and maintenance will be the one responsibility of the role.  Post holders will also be required to undertake hard and soft landscaping works – from site clearance to the construction of surfacing, boundaries and structures - on a variety of projects.  For this aspect of the role, a wide-ranging experience of landscape construction methods, including fencing, push fit plumbing, and PA1 & PA6A spraying are required.  The ability to operate a mechanical excavator will be an advantage.

The successful candidates will be hard working and enthusiastic, skilled in prioritizing workload, willing to learn and be good team players.  The post holders must be prepared to undertake heavy lifting, of landscaping materials and equipment, and work outdoors in all weathers and in challenging conditions.

Candidates are required to hold a full UK driving licence.

Contracted working hours are 37 per week, Monday to Friday.

We are seeking dedicated, responsible and hard-working maintenance technicians who can demonstrate the following qualities:

• Experience of working independently and prioritising own workload based upon severity of risk
• A conscientious approach to personal health and safety and that of colleagues and the public in the workplace, ensuring that all Health and Safety legislation is followed
• The ability to use a smartphone / tablet-based system to record playground inspections, repairs and generate reports on app software
• Experience of maintaining and repairing equipment (play apparatus would be advantageous) in good working order in line with Health and Safety legislation and manufacturer’s recommendations
• An ability to undertake diverse construction trade skills - carpentry, plumbing, painting, metal work, operating power tools – and knowledge of landscape construction methods: surfacing, boundaries and structures
• The ability to undertake manual work in all weathers in a public environment.
• To be approachable, customer-facing and have good communication skills.

As part of your application, you will need to complete your education and work history and provide answers to some shortlisting questions. Your answers to the shortlisting questions are the most important part of your application as they will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role that are set out in the person specification and to decide whether you should be offered an interview. Before you start your application, please read our guidance here (Shortlisting questions guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk)) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.

Additional information

Company information

Encouraging a diverse workforce

Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, male or trans.

Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti-racism strategy and the work we are doing to encourage a diverse workforce (brighton-hove.gov.uk).

We welcome applications from all sections of the community but particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, LGB, female or trans as these groups are currently under-represented in our Directorate workforce.