Caretaker
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
JOB TITLE: Caretaker
LOCATION: Croydon
PAY RATE: £17.04 PAYE / £21.89 umbrella per hour
START DATE: ASAP
DURATION/Hours: 3-month initial contract/ 36 hours a week
IR35 STATUS: Inside
Role Purpose: We are seeking a dedicated Neighbourhood Caretaker to ensure the cleanliness and maintenance of council housing properties. The successful candidate will be responsible for cleaning internal areas, monitoring estate services, and ensuring health and safety standards are met.
Key Responsibilities:
- Perform cleaning duties in council-owned flats and maisonettes, including bin chambers.
- Use appropriate equipment and cleaning products to meet enhanced cleaning standards.
- Clear blockages in chutes and report any issues to the repairs contractor.
- Maintain bin chambers and rotate bins as required.
- Wash food-waste and communal household rubbish bins.
- Participate in deep cleaning of blocks and remove graffiti.
- Cut away/remove shrubs and foliage from sites.
- Keep communal areas free of bulk rubbish.
- Inspect and replace lights/lamps weekly.
- Ensure the safety and maintenance of cleaning equipment.
- Report abandoned vehicles, vandalism, dog fouling, and fly-tipping.
- Conduct secondary monitoring of estate services such as Streetscene, grounds maintenance, and communal repairs.
- Visit new tenants to explain domestic refuse disposal arrangements.
Key Contacts:
- Residents
- Veolia (Streetscene)
- Grounds maintenance
- Repairs service
- Utility companies
- Tenancy team
- Contract Inspectors
- Neighbourhood Safety Officers
- Veolia operators
- Handyperson service
Essential Skills and Experience:
- Understanding of Health & Safety requirements related to COSHH and Risk Assessment.
- Experience in customer care and basic cleaning tasks.
- Ability to communicate effectively and work as part of a team.
- Physical ability to perform tasks such as lifting heavy weights and using industrial cleaning materials.
- Experience working with the public in a service delivery environment.
Adecco acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and an employment business for the supply of temporary workers. The Adecco Group UK & Ireland is an Equal Opportunities Employer.
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Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Highlight your COSHH knowledge prominently in your CV profile, as the advert lists it as an essential requirement under 'Essential Skills and Experience'.
📊 Quantify your cleaning or maintenance experience: e.g. 'Maintained communal areas across 8 residential blocks covering 120 units, achieving zero health and safety violations over 18 months'.
🎯 Mention any direct experience with council or social housing estates, as the role specifically targets council-owned flats and maisonettes in Croydon.
🤝 Include examples of working with external contractors or service providers (e.g. grounds maintenance, waste contractors), mirroring the Key Contacts listed in the advert such as Veolia and Streetscene.
🌐 Note your IR35 awareness and willingness to work inside IR35 on either PAYE or umbrella arrangements, as this is explicitly stated and relevant to contract workers reviewing the role.
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Maintained communal areas across 6 residential blocks housing 90 units, completing weekly lamp inspections and bin chamber rotations with zero missed cycles over a 12-month period.
- •Applied COSHH-compliant procedures when using industrial cleaning chemicals during deep-clean operations, reducing resident complaints about communal hygiene by 40% within 3 months.
- •Coordinated fly-tipping and abandoned vehicle reports with the local authority and Streetscene contractor, resolving 25+ estate incidents in a single quarter and improving estate inspection scores.
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Letter preview — tailored to Adecco
Dear Hiring Manager,
Adecco's Neighbourhood Caretaker vacancy in Croydon is a strong match for my background in communal property maintenance and COSHH-compliant cleaning operations. Having worked in service delivery environments where health and safety standards and estate cleanliness are non-negotiable, I understand precisely what council housing residents and contract inspectors expect from this role.
My background in estate and facilities maintenance includes conducting weekly light inspections, managing bin chambers, removing bulk rubbish, and coordinating with external contractors such as grounds maintenance and waste service providers. I hold a solid working knowledge of COSHH regulations and risk assessment procedures, and I am comfortable using industrial cleaning materials and equipment safely across multi-block residential sites.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›What does COSHH stand for and how have you applied it in a previous cleaning or maintenance role?
- ›How would you conduct a risk assessment before using industrial cleaning chemicals in a communal stairwell?
- ›Describe the process you would follow to safely clear a blockage in a refuse chute.
- ›What steps would you take when reporting abandoned vehicles or fly-tipping on an estate?
- ›How do you ensure cleaning equipment is maintained safely and remains fit for purpose?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult resident while carrying out maintenance or cleaning duties.
- ›Describe a situation where you identified a health and safety hazard and explain the action you took.
- ›Give an example of when you had to manage multiple tasks across a large site — how did you prioritise?
- ›Tell me about a time you worked alongside external contractors or service teams to resolve an estate issue.
- ›Describe a situation where you went beyond your standard duties to improve the condition or safety of a communal area.
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Describe a situation where you identified a health and safety hazard and explain the action you took.
Tell me about a time you had to manage multiple tasks across a large site — how did you prioritise?