Maintenance Operative – Student Living

Colby River Student Living | Part-Time | Site Based in Exeter | £14.48 per hour

Help us create safe, welcoming homes for our students

Shift Pattern - 22.5 hours a week covering Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required to meet business needs.

At Colby River Student Living, we provide purpose-built student accommodation communities where residents can feel safe, comfortable and at home.

We’re looking for a practical, reliable and customer-focused Maintenance Operative for our Student Accommodation Development, The Barn, in Exeter to join our Operations team and help keep our buildings running at their best.

This is a varied, hands-on role where no two days are quite the same. From completing everyday repairs and planned maintenance to carrying out safety checks and supporting our busy summer turnaround, you’ll play an important part in the experience our residents have with us.

What you’ll be doing

Working closely with our site teams, you’ll take responsibility for a range of maintenance and caretaking activities across one or more of our student living locations.

Your role will include:

• Completing planned and reactive maintenance and repairs

• Helping maintain our buildings, grounds and communal areas to a high standard

• Tackling practical repairs including plumbing, doors, guttering, electrical and general building maintenance where appropriately qualified and competent

• Carrying out and recording PAT testing and other statutory checks where trained and certified

• Identifying potential safety issues and making sure they are dealt with quickly

• Supporting contractors on site and checking work has been completed to the required standard

• Keeping accurate maintenance and compliance records

• Managing materials and stock effectively and helping control maintenance costs

• Providing practical support during our important summer turnaround period

• Keeping residents informed about repairs, access and progress

• Supporting the wider site team during urgent incidents and busy periods

Most importantly, you'll take pride in keeping our student homes safe, presentable and running smoothly.

About you

You’ll be someone who enjoys solving problems and getting things fixed properly. You’ll be comfortable working independently but equally happy being part of a busy accommodation team.

Ideally, you'll bring:

• Previous experience in a maintenance or facilities role, preferably within student accommodation, residential property, hospitality or another large operational building

• Around three years' experience in a similar maintenance position

• Good general building and maintenance knowledge

• An understanding of planned and reactive maintenance

• Strong practical problem-solving skills

• Excellent attention to detail

• A professional, friendly and resident-focused approach

• The ability to organise your workload and meet deadlines

• Confidence working with contractors, colleagues and residents

• Basic IT skills, including Microsoft applications

A plumbing, electrical or building-related qualification would be particularly welcome. Commercial plumbing, Part P electrical and PAT testing qualifications would also be advantageous.

You don't necessarily need every qualification listed. What matters is that you have the practical experience, attitude and understanding to work safely and recognise when a job needs to be escalated to a specialist.

A role where you can make a visible difference

Our Maintenance Operatives are an important part of the resident experience. A quick repair, a well-maintained communal area or simply keeping someone informed when something goes wrong can make a real difference to how students feel about their home.

You'll work alongside colleagues across our accommodation teams, helping us deliver buildings we're proud of and a service our residents can rely on.

A DBS check will be completed following a successful appointment where required.

What We Offer

• £14.48 an hour

• Annual discretionary bonus

• Other benefits to be discussed at the interview.