Maintenance Operative
| Posting date: | 28 April 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £36,433 to £41,833 per year |
| Additional salary information: | +15% shift allowance (for shift roles) |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 12 May 2026 |
| Location: | London, London, WC1H 9BT |
| Remote working: | On-site only |
| Company: | University College London |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | B28-00250_1777384748 |
Summary
About us
UCL is a radically different university. Founded in 1826 in the heart of London, we were the first university in England to welcome students of any religion and the first to welcome women to university education. Today UCL has over 50,000 students and more than 18,000 staff and is one of the world's top universities. We are ranked second in the UK for research power and first in London (REF 2021).
UCL Estates plays a vital role in supporting this community, managing a large and complex estate that underpins world-leading research, teaching and public engagement. The Maintenance Operations team ensures that buildings, systems and infrastructure are safe, reliable and operating effectively across the university.
About the role
We are recruiting a number of Maintenance Operatives to join our Estates Maintenance Operations team, based onsite in Bloomsbury.
These are hands-on roles delivering both planned and reactive maintenance across a wide and varied estate. Depending on your background, you may bring a multi-skilled profile or a particular bias in either electrical or mechanical disciplines.
You will carry out maintenance, fault finding and repair work across building services, plant, equipment and infrastructure, ensuring that issues are resolved efficiently and with minimal disruption. This will include responding to breakdowns and service requests, supporting planned maintenance programmes, and working across a range of systems including electrical distribution, HVAC, heating and associated controls.
Working as part of a multi-skilled team, you will collaborate closely with colleagues, supervisors, helpdesk teams and contractors to ensure that work is delivered safely and to a high standard. You will also be involved in testing, inspection and statutory compliance activities, maintaining accurate records and following all relevant procedures and safe systems of work.
Shift pattern and salary
We have Days-only and Shift roles available.
Days Only
Monday - Wednesday 8am - 4.30pm, Thursday and Friday 8am - 4pm
Shift Only
This role operates on a 12-hour shift pattern (11 hours paid with a 1-hour unpaid break), following a rotating cycle of:
4 days on, 4 days off, 4 nights on, 4 days off
This pattern repeats on an ongoing basis and includes weekends and public holidays as part of the normal working schedule.
The base salary for this role is £36,433 - £41,833 plus a 15% shift allowance.
This equates to a total salary range of approximately £41,118 - £47,328 per annum (inclusive of shift allowance).
Recruitment process
Our recruitment process will take place over two stages.
The initial stage will be a short call with a member of the team to discuss your technical experience and suitability for the role. These conversations are planned for the week commencing 11 May.
Candidates who are successful at this stage will be invited to attend an in-person interview, scheduled for the week commencing 18 May.
About you
You will have completed a recognised apprenticeship or equivalent training in a mechanical or electrical discipline, supported by practical experience in a maintenance environment.
You may be multi-skilled or bring a stronger bias in either electrical or mechanical work, but in all cases you will be confident carrying out fault finding, repairs and maintenance across a range of building services systems. Experience working with plant, equipment and controls, and the ability to interpret drawings, manuals or system data, will be important.
You will be comfortable working both independently and as part of a wider team, managing your own workload while responding flexibly to changing priorities. You take a methodical approach, with a strong focus on safety, compliance and quality of work.
Strong communication skills are essential. You will be able to engage effectively with colleagues, contractors and building users, providing clear updates and maintaining a strong customer focus.
Above all, you will bring a proactive and adaptable approach, with the willingness to work across a large and complex estate and contribute positively to a busy operational team.
What we offer
As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:
- For days-only roles we offer 41 Days holiday (including 27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)
- For shift-based roles we offer 19.7 days annual leave (based on 11-hour shifts), equivalent to 28 days per annum pro rata, with additional leave arrangements aligned to the shift pattern
- Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
- Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan
- On-Site nursery
- On-site gym
- Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
- Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service
- Discounted medical insurance
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
As London's Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world's talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.
We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL's workforce.
These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.
You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here : https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/