Job summary
Working Full time : 37.5 hours per week
The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Estates Department would like to appoint a Maintenance Craftsperson (Mechanical).
You will work predominantly days, based on site at The Countess of Chester Hospital. There will be the opportunity to work overtime, which will attract enhanced rates of pay. You will also be part of a team providing on call cover (after a probationary period) and again this will attract additional payment of approximately £2,500 per year plus any additional hours worked and mileage reimbursement.
This role receives an additional recruitment and retention payment of £3277 per annum. The Trust offers a generous benefits package including a career average pension scheme and annual leave entitlement commencing at 27 days increasing to a maximum of 33 days per annum plus bank holidays with service.
The Estates Department values the importance of enabling their team to personally grow and develop within the Trust. The team is very flexible and supportive and work together collaboratively internally and externally to achieve its goals, so it is exciting time to join them.
You will become an active member of the team working to promote good working practice, minimise downtime and assist in improving standards. You will be capable of interacting with staff at all levels on a day-to-day basis and will need to possess excellent communication skills.
Main duties of the job
- You will diagnose and repair complex faults in buildings services engineering, electrical, mechanical and plumbing installations, plant and equipment, to deal with new situations as they arise and to pass on complex knowledge to other staff, patients and visitors.
- As a maintenance craftsperson you will perform a wide range of work for other building and engineering service disciplines. You will therefore be required to undertake multi-skilling tasks i.e. carry out minor works of other non-core trades such as mechanical, plumbing, building trades etc.
- You will carry out a range of basic testing/sampling, inspection, plant operation, instrumentation readings and completion of various logbooks i.e. routine testing of water samples, boiler and plantoperations, utility meter readings, plant run times, lift availability etc.
- You will collect, collate and assimilate technical information to support performance monitoring of maintenance activities.
About us
The Trust's services are provided from three locations:
o The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 473 general and acute beds.o Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 60 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility.o Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.
The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust employs 5,964 staff (headcount) to provide care and treatment to a population of over 400,000 people living in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire.
The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System. Due to its location on the border with North Wales, the Trust also works closely with the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.
The Trust treats patients from England and some parts of Wales. During 2024/2025, there were approximately 643,000 patient attendances (inpatient, A&E, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery
Job description
Job responsibilities
See Job Description for further details.
Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page.
If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the essential criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer YES to the question: Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?
Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.
The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.
If a DBS is required for your role, you are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee applies which is payable to the DBS Service. Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs will be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.
New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.
Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.
The Trust will not sponsor where the starting salary does not meet immigration rules
Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.
Good luck with your application.
Job description
Job responsibilities
See Job Description for further details.
Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page.
If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the essential criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer YES to the question: Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?
Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.
The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.
If a DBS is required for your role, you are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee applies which is payable to the DBS Service. Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs will be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.
New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.
Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.
The Trust will not sponsor where the starting salary does not meet immigration rules
Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.
Good luck with your application.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- C&G Diploma Level 3 in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent
- C&G 1 day Boiler Operator Training Course
Desirable
- BTEC ONC in Mechanical/Electrical Engineering
- HNC in recognised trade or equivalent experience
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- 4 years formal training
- 2 years responsible mechanical/electrical engineering experience
- Experience in a multidiscipline organisation
- knowledge of Low pressure hot water systems
Desirable
- Experience working in an acute hospital environment
- Previous supervisory experience within a similar environment
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- C&G Diploma Level 3 in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent
- C&G 1 day Boiler Operator Training Course
Desirable
- BTEC ONC in Mechanical/Electrical Engineering
- HNC in recognised trade or equivalent experience
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- 4 years formal training
- 2 years responsible mechanical/electrical engineering experience
- Experience in a multidiscipline organisation
- knowledge of Low pressure hot water systems
Desirable
- Experience working in an acute hospital environment
- Previous supervisory experience within a similar environment
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
