Position Details

Estates

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £28,397 to £30,210, with potential progression once in post to £33,938

Grade: 5

Full Time, Permanent

Closing date: 3 November 2024

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham

Background

Performing planned and reactive, mechanical, electrical, and building fabric maintenance activities across University buildings, facilities, and wider estate.

Role Summary

The Multi-Skilled (mechanical and electrical) Technician will carry out advanced highly skilled operations in their area of expertise across the University campus sites, directly reporting to a Team Leader or Deputy Team Leader in their absence. It is expected that a multi-skilled Technician will be an authority in their skill set and will hold full relevant qualifications in one of either Electrical or Mechanical discipline, supplemented by additional qualifications, cross-training or demonstrable experience in the other discipline. Occasionally, the post holder may be required to undertake other tasks outside of their area of expertise, following suitable training. To flexibly utilise resource, you will be flexible in your ability to work in different areas of the department, or wider University, and to work various shift patterns to meet the needs of the University.

Where appropriate, the post holder will supervise members of staff for specific tasks e.g. apprentices, trainees, craftsperson’s, external contractors etc. delegating tasks and providing on-the-job training in the use of equipment, materials, and machinery. They will also be required to deputise for senior roles, as and when required.

Main Duties

• Undertake and lead on assigned maintenance activities managing both in-house and external resource as required.
• Diagnose and repair complex mechanical and electrical faults in engineering installations, plant, and equipment across the Estate.
• Communicating issues affecting continuity of service provision and escalating to line management as required.
• Interpret and work from drawings, specifications and technical manuals including use of online systems and portals.
• Taking control and progressing maintenance operations in line with the goals and objectives of the maintenance function to achieve departmental key performance indicator targets and quality of service.
• Applying best technical and Health, Safety and Environmental practice always.
• Select and use appropriate tools and equipment for the task being undertaken, ensuring maintenance of associated equipment including stock levels.
• Coach others to acquire skills and experience, including demonstrating standard work tasks and giving guidance for improvement.
• Work effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary team, understanding the inter-relationship between trades and supporting the work of other trades as and when required, including knowledge-sharing.
• An active member of the 24-hour on-call system to cover emergency breakdowns outside of normal working hours when required to do so.
• Ensure work records are meaningful, accurate and kept always updated to ensure effective monitoring of progress and maintaining Statutory compliance.
• Ensure that Health and Safety regulations, Codes of Practice and safe working procedures are understood and are always adhered to. Ensure that all supervised staff are aware of and adhere to these procedures.
• Maintain a commitment to personal development, including learning new techniques and trade practices in line with evolving technology and legislative H&S requirements. This may involve attendance in training courses.
• All employees within the Estates Office are expected to uphold and promote our five core values and behaviours of being Ambitious, Innovative, Open, Collaborative and Responsible.
• Support equality and value diversity, including: (a) challenging bias prejudice and intolerance if appropriate or bringing it to the attention of a manager; (b) moderating own behaviour to avoid unfair discriminatory impact or bias on others.
• Driving safely whilst obeying all traffic laws and regulations, when driving University vehicles
• Adhere to University and Estates Office Policies & Procedures
• To carry out such other duties as required by the Director of Estates or as instructed on behalf of the same. This includes training support for new starters and apprentices.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

Qualifications

• City and Guilds Certificate, BTEC Level 3, or approved equivalent, in relevant Electrical and Mechanical maintenance subjects.
• Qualification to current Edition IEE Electrical Regulations is desirable.
• Other relevant trade / technical qualifications across multi-disciplines.
• Full clean driving licence is required to ensure that a timely response can be made on call and when on site.
• Demonstrable commitment to Continued Professional Development.

Experience

• Proven experience in the hands-on repair of all plant and equipment across Mechanical and Electrical disciplines.
• Having the ability to fault find using recognised fault diagnosis techniques, read drawings, diagnose and repair using own technical knowledge and experience on equipment supported by technical documentation and supplier consultation including the use of electronic / software-based systems and databases.
• Experience of working in a highly customer focussed environment understanding customer operational requirements and leading by example.

Knowledge

• Authoritative and experienced knowledge of mechanical, electrical, and building systems in general
• Authoritative knowledge and understanding of safe working practices and procedures and risk management to include Risk Assessments, Method Statements, Safe Systems of Work, Safe management of contractors and Statutory requirements for the areas supported by Maintenance Activities.
• Safe driving rules and practices.

Skills

• Excellent organisational and time management skills, with an ability to prioritise workload of self and others effectively.
• Good IT Skills with knowledge and application of MS Office packages and University packages such as Planon and Prime.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal relationships to interact effectively with co-workers, supervisors, and customers.
• Understanding the support function Estates provide to our customers.
• Ability to clarify issues objectively and to address them by priority.
• Ability to identify and report demanding situations quickly, precisely, and clearly.
• The ability to operate and interrogate appropriate University computerised systems after training.
• Safe use of hand, power, and machine tools.
• Ability to understand and provide written and oral instructions in line with departmental and University systems and procedures.
• Excellent literacy and numeracy skills.
• Working independently or in a team including project-based activities.
• Ability to work under pressure, often autonomously using own initiative and to agreed deadlines.

Personal Qualities

• Customer-focussed and personable with a strong attention to detail, ensuring work is completed to the highest standard.
• Understanding of what equality and diversity is and why it is important, with an ability to identify equality and diversity issues and either address these by setting acceptable behaviour or bring unacceptable behaviour to the attention of a manager.
• A proactive attitude towards work.
• Self-motivated with an ability to work under pressure, often autonomously, on own initiative.
• Commitment to achieving departmental goals and objectives.
• Trustworthiness.
• Effective communication supporting customer’s needs and communicating with them in a suitable and professional manner. Keep customers updated on progress where required and ensure customer satisfaction before, during and after works.

Informal enquiries to Scott Archer-Richards, email: s.s.archerrichards@bham.ac.uk

View our staff values and behaviours here

We believe there is no such thing as a ‘typical’ member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.