Main Purpose of the Job: Handyperson

Responsible for undertaking all maintenance, minor repairs, technical inspections and associated activities required towards ensuring the safe upkeep and that optimum standards are maintained in the use of the Councils Temporary Accommodation ) Hostel portfolio.

Key Areas of Responsibility: Handyperson

• Utilise a variety of methods and equipment to ensure all hostel units communal areas including all furniture, fittings and equipment sited in the communal areas are regularly and frequently maintained following a programme of work in order to ensure that Councils hostels are kept to a high quality standard for the safe use of residents.
• To assist in robust void monitoring and turnaround; identify and report empty units, and liaise with the Hostels Services Surveyor and by agreeing on and ensuring the speedy completion of remedial works and works orders and the preparation of void properties to agreed letting standards and timescales.
• Be alert and responsive to the service needs by assisting with the clearing of and cleaning of any vacant rooms where necessary so that they can be promptly turned around for use in line with services objectives and targets.
• Assist in contacting utility companies and arranging for meters to be read and data collated for monitoring and reporting purposes as necessary.

• Ensure that all properties are furnished to agreed standards liaising with team members in the re-ordering and replacement of damaged or missing furniture and /or fittings.
• To meet with new residents to complete the letting procedure and ensure that they are aware of, and understand their responsibilities in relation to health and safety during their stay.

• To effectively liaise and coordinate works with contractors and ensure appropriate access is made available and that all contracted services such as grounds maintenance and refuse collection are delivered to the required standards. Monitor the standard of repairs and works by contractors, reporting any issues with standards to Hostels Services Surveyor.

• With appropriate training, carry out maintenance to hostels to include but not exclusively:
• Key management/Lock changes
• Repairs to windows/doors/furniture/sanitary ware
• Plumbing
• Electrical repairs, if possible
• Painting
• Grounds maintenance

• To ensure all repairs are accurately and timely input on repairs Northgate system
• To undertake and be responsible for regular Health & Safety checks in accordance with the Councils Health and Safety procedures to ensure equipment such as Fire Alarms and Fire Alarm Panels are regularly tested and maintained and assist with regular fire drills in hostels
• Respond to emergency situations, liaising with emergency services as required and develop good working relations with other stakeholders that have a direct influence on the section promoting a joined up approach in the operational deployment of services.
• To carry out forced entries and assist with evictions.
• To be responsible for the storage and/or transportation and disposal of residents abandoned possessions.
• To respond to emergencies and other incidents as required.
• To be responsible for the safe keeping and security of allocated hostel keys and lock systems.

• To supervise the work of new Handypersons. This will involve monitoring and training new handypersons.

Technical Support Functions

• To visit hostels rooms and facilities to inspect, diagnose and quantify necessary repairs, ensuring that comprehensive records are maintained in relation to the process.
• Apply Safeguarding principles when visiting residents homes, and report any concerns about vulnerable residents to the Hostels Services Surveyor. A substantial amount of the work will be lone working and at times you may have to work with emotionally volatile and aggressive residents. You may also have to enter flats, which may be in an unhygienic and disagreeable condition. If work cannot be carried out due to this, this should be reported to the Hostels Services Surveyor.
• To accurately specify repairs and to determine whether these repairs should be carried out by in-house team or an external contractor. To ensure that once specified, repairs are carried out in a timely fashion, ensuring that residents are kept informed of appointment times and / or the progress of the repair.
• To monitor the performance of external contractors in order to ensure that works are carried out to an appropriate standard prior to advising of completion, to re-inspect and verify any work requiring a variation order in response to requests from contractors, and to exercise vigilance and awareness in monitoring contractors in order to prevent fraudulent activities in line with Council financial regulations.
• Undertake physical pre-inspections and post inspections of work carried out by contractors as specified by the Hostels Services Manager and Hostels Services Surveyor, including quality checks and inspecting materials and standards of work to ensure compliance with the relevant specification and in order to ensure that works are carried out to an appropriate standard
• To assist residents as necessary where an emergency (flood, structural failure etc.) may have made hostel accommodation temporarily unusable.
• To provide technical advice and assistance to non-technical members of Housing Services.
• To work independently to develop creative solutions to ensure hostel accommodation is fit to be occupied.
• To identify and report to line manager any training requirements for non-technical housing staff.