General Builder / Maintenance Engineer (University Campus)
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
General Maintenance Technician - Building Fabric / Plumbing
£28,000 - £31,000 + Paid Overtime + Standby & Call-Out Payments + £600 Skill Enhancements
36-hour week * Monday-Friday * Permanent University Campus Base
Reading
Are you a Maintenance Technician or similar looking for a stable, days-based role in a University setting with paid overtime, structured call-out payments and salary uplifts for trade skills?
This is a permanent in-house position within a large University estate, offering predictable hours, a professional working environment and the chance to significantly increase earnings through overtime and skill-based uplifts.
The Role
Working as part of an established Estates team, you'll carry out a wide range of planned and reactive maintenance across occupied campus buildings, including:
* General building and fabric maintenance
* Plumbing repairs to sanitary ware and pipework
* Carpentry (doors, ironmongery, shelving, fittings)
* Minor roofing and guttering repairs
* Brickwork, paving and small concrete works
* Planned and reactive maintenance
* Logging works and risk assessments via CAFM systems
Hours, Overtime & Call-Out
* 36 hours per week, Monday-Friday
* Paid overtime available
* Call-out rota approx. 1 weekend in every 4-5
Standby payments:
* £38.20 per weekday
* £70.20 per weekend / public holiday
Attendance:
* Approx. £15 per hour
* Minimum 2 hours paid per call-out
Call-outs are generally infrequent and short.
Salary Enhancements
£600 per annum uplifts available for additional skills such as:
* Lead roofing / flashing
* Sarnafil roofing systems
* Plaster patching / making good
Why This Role
* Permanent, in-house position
* Stable Monday-Friday hours
* Paid overtime & standby
* Skill-based salary increases
* Long-term job security
About You
* NVQ Level 3 / City & Guilds (or time-served equivalent)
* Strong building maintenance background
* Comfortable working independently
* Professional, customer-focused
* Full UK driving licence
Apply
If you're a Maintenance Technician or multi-skilled operative looking for a secure role with real earning potential, apply today through Roundhouse Recruitment.
Keywords
Maintenance Technician, Handyman, Building Fabric, Plumbing Maintenance, Carpentry, Estates Maintenance, Facilities Maintenance, Planned Maintenance, Reactive Maintenance, CAFM, Overtime, Call Out, Reading Jobs
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Highlight your NVQ Level 3 or City & Guilds qualification prominently as this is explicitly required
🔧 Emphasise multi-trade experience combining building fabric, plumbing and carpentry as the role spans all three
📊 Quantify your maintenance experience: 'Completed 150+ reactive repairs monthly across 12 campus buildings'
🏢 Mention any university, education sector or large estate experience to match the campus environment
💰 Include any call-out or standby experience as this role offers significant overtime earning potential
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:
- •Completed 180+ reactive maintenance tasks monthly across 8 university buildings, maintaining 98% first-time fix rate for plumbing and carpentry repairs
- •Managed planned maintenance programme covering building fabric, roofing and brickwork for 15,000m² campus estate using CAFM logging systems
- •Delivered emergency call-out responses within 2-hour SLA, achieving £2,400 additional earnings through standby and overtime payments
Free to copy — tailoring requires a 30-sec CV upload.
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We've drafted a cover letter for Roundhouse Recruitment Ltd. Preview the opening, then unlock the full personalised version.
Letter preview — tailored to Roundhouse Recruitment Ltd
Dear Hiring Manager,
Roundhouse Recruitment's General Builder position at Reading University perfectly matches my multi-trade maintenance background and desire for a stable, Monday-Friday role. With my NVQ Level 3 qualification and extensive experience in building fabric maintenance, plumbing repairs and carpentry work, I'm well-positioned to contribute to your established estates team.
My background in planned and reactive maintenance across large facilities has given me the independence and customer-focused approach essential for working in occupied university buildings. I'm particularly drawn to the structured overtime and call-out system, having successfully managed similar responsibilities in previous roles.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›Describe your experience with CAFM systems for logging maintenance works
- ›How would you approach a plumbing leak in an occupied university building during term time?
- ›What safety considerations are important when working on roofing repairs?
- ›Explain your process for conducting risk assessments before maintenance work
- ›What experience do you have with Sarnafil roofing systems or lead work?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you had to work independently on a complex maintenance issue
- ›Describe a situation where you dealt with a difficult customer or building occupant
- ›How do you prioritise multiple urgent maintenance requests?
- ›Give an example of when you went above and beyond in a maintenance role
- ›Tell me about a time you had to learn a new skill or technique quickly
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you had to work independently on a complex maintenance issue
How do you prioritise multiple urgent maintenance requests?
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