Job Description

Cleaning & Maintenance Assistant

Hours:

32 hours over 4-5 days. With potential for more. Actual days/hours of work vary by

season.

Rate:

12.25 an hour.

Location

Arundel Castle is a restored medieval castle located in Arundel, West Sussex, England. It was established during the reign of Edward the Confessor and completed by Roger de Montgomery, who was a cousin of William the Conqueror. The castle has been the seat of the Earls of Arundel and the Dukes of Norfolk since the 11th century and is a Grade I-listed building. It was damaged during the English Civil War and then restored in the 18th and 19th centuries. The castle has been visited by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and has undergone several restorative works over the centuries. Now the seat of the 18th Duke of Norfolk/Earl Marshall of England, Edward Fitzalan-Howard, today the castle also features extensive gardens and is open to visitors between April and October.

Role Summary

You will be working in a small team responsible for the cleaning of the Castle and when required supporting the maintenance team. Work will include general cleaning of staff and visitor areas, polishing floors (training will be given). You will also ensure all areas including the visitor route, public areas (including toilets), staff offices, State rooms, and accommodation look their very best. As well as vacuum cleaning, polishing and dusting, you will also clean and care for armour, historic vases, pictures and irreplaceable objects. The ability to work independently as well as working in a team is important as there may be times you will be required to work on your own.

You will on occasion be required to work at height on roofs, on scaffolding or using ladders so must feel confident with this aspect. Training will be provided.

During the open season you will be helping set up for events such as jousting, medieval re-enactments and others. As the castle is open 6/7 days a week, shifts will include some weekends. On a few occasions throughout the year some evening work will be required. You may also be required to assist in the car park from time to time.

The role reports to the Head of Maintenance.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Some of your duties will include:

General cleaning General repairs Routine daily/weekly/monthly tasks Responding to maintenance requests Assisting other team members Floor polishing Dusting Vacuuming Maintaining supplies and cleanliness in visitor toilet areas throughout the day

Health and Safety

Arundel Castle is committed to providing a safe working environment for all staff. You will be given manual handling training, PASMA and COSHH training.

Work Routine

Open Season - The Castle is open 6 days a week (not Mondays) for six months and during August is open 7 days a week. Additionally, the Castle is open on Bank Holiday Mondays. A Maintenance presence is required from 7.30 am (when cleaning commences) to 5.30pm (after the last visitor has left the castle) and the team works on a rota to achieve this.

Closed Season - Monday to Friday 7:30am to 4pm.

All Year - Occasional evening and weekend duties when events are taking place in the castle and very occasional evening/night duties supporting security.

Holidays - 28 days pro rata (including Bank Holidays) to be taken avoiding castle events/busy visitor weeks. Bank Holidays during the open season are often working days for which time adjustments will be made. Typically, 3 days are required to be taken at Christmas in addition to Bank Holidays.

Other Benefits

Free car parking is provided. The Castle provides pension contributions. Details of all the schemes are available from the Finance Manager.

Person Specification

Training, Experience and Qualifications

Essential

- Experience of working as a team

- Maintenance experience

- Cleaning experience

- Driving licence

Desirable

- Carpentry

- IT familiarity/skills

- Health & Safety knowledge

- COSHH trained

Interpersonal Skills

Essential

- Reliability and punctuality

- Ability to work alone or as part of a team

- Excellent problem-solving skills

- A flexible and adaptable approach to a range of duties and tasks

- Excellent communication skills

- Ability to react promptly and efficiently to face unexpected issues as they arise

Particular Circumstances to Consider

- Ability/Availability to work weekends and bank holidays on rota (generally from April to October)

- Flexibility in working patterns

- To wear and maintain uniform as provided by Arundel Castle

Physical/Health Requirements

- If appointed you must be able to access all areas of the site which includes spiral medieval stairwells, confined spaces, heights or places with low lighting

- Work will include some heavy lifting of objects within published health and safety guidelines on manual handling

Job Types: Part-time, Permanent

Pay: 12.25 per hour

Expected hours: 32 per week

Benefits:

Free parking
Application question(s):

Are you able to be flexible with your working pattern to match the business needs? This includes working weekends and bank holidays in the open season. Do you have a full driving licence?
Work Location: In person