Plumber / Maintenance Fitter

Plumber / Maintenance Fitter Advert Reference Number: 921 Job Location: Milton Keynes Department: Mechanical & Electrical Salary: £31,637 to £37,174 Closing Date: 24 August 2025 Weekly Working Hours: 37 Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract Fixed Term Contract: End Date: 2 years from start date

About the Role The Maintenance Fitter Plumber is responsible for the safe and effective operation and maintenance of mechanical building services and plumbing systems at the University. The fitter/plumber is part of a team of 5 and works closely with the 5 electricians and 4 M&E Assistants in the directly employed maintenance team. The maintenance fitter/plumber undertakes planned preventative maintenance work on mechanical building services installations (e.g. heating, cooling, air handling, ventilation systems fans, pumps and pressure systems, hot and cold water systems and associated plant and equipment) The successful candidate will also contribute to achieving legislative compliance and high standards of engineering maintenance, as well as responding to reactive works, fault finding and carrying out emergency repairs. This role is based on site at our Milton Keynes campus. The maintenance fitter/plumber responds to out of hours emergencies on mechanical building services and plumbing systems as part of an on call rota with the electricians and contract support. Flexible Working . We are open to discussions about flexible working. Whether it’s a part time, compressed hours or another working arrangement. Please reach out to us to discuss what works best for you.

Key Responsibilities

• Undertake planned preventative maintenance work on mechanical services (e.g. heating, cooling and air handling systems, hot and cold-water systems) recording and reporting all defects.
• Undertake reactive maintenance work and repairs on all types of building services plant recording and reporting all defects.
• Inclusion on the University out of hours call out rota for maintenance emergencies.
• Develop a personal knowledge and understanding of the installed mechanical building services and undertake regular plant room visits.
• Required to provide guidance on site installations to other trade staff and contractors.
• Undertake minor mechanical and plumbing installations.
• Undertake preparation work for engineering statutory inspections.
• Responsible for working safely at all times, complying with risk assessments, safe systems of work and safety standards to control hazards to self, colleagues, University staff and visitors.
• Carries out inspections of mechanical and plumbing installations, updating schedules of plant as required.
• Undertake from time to time other such appropriate responsibilities and duties as directed by Supervisor/Manager.

Skills and Experience

Essential Requirements Craft apprenticeship with City & Guilds or BTEC National Certificate/Diploma, or an advanced modern apprenticeship (NVQ L2 with key skills) in mechanical or plumbing or equivalent qualification. Proven post apprenticeship experience in the operation and maintenance of mechanical building services including low pressure heating systems, hot and cold-water systems. Working knowledge of mechanical and plumbing installations in buildings. Able to carry out duties in a safe way with working knowledge of health and safety issues and understanding of risk assessments. Ability to work safely on roofs, from ladders, scaffolds and in confined spaces such as inspection chambers and roof voids. Ability to routinely complete maintenance work request sheets within timescale, recording work done, hours taken, and materials used. Ability to cope with a steady volume of work using initiative in an organized manner. Excellent communication skills with the ability to communicate effectively with colleagues, supervisor, managers, and customers at all levels. Ability to be flexible, adaptable, and proactive assisting other trades and contractors and on occasion laboring as required. Full and current UK driving license. To be able participate in the emergency, call out rota and be able to respond to additional out of hours emergencies when called to assist others. Response time for attendance on site is within 45 minutes.

Desirable: Experience in a similar role maintaining plumbing, heating, cooling and ventilation systems with a public or commercial organisation. A construction safety qualification. Trained in working at height, confined spaces, asbestos awareness, risk assessments. Experience of working to permit to work systems and use of safety equipment for access and maintenance. Able to update schedules of plant and equipment. Capable of reading maintenance manuals and drawings.

To apply for this role please submit the following as one document; CV A personal statement of up to 1000 words. You should set out in your statement why you are interested in the role and provide examples of where your skills and experience meet the required competencies for this role as detailed in the job description. Please note that we may close this job advert earlier than the published closing date where a satisfactory number of applications are received. We would therefore encourage early applications. The Open University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion which is reflected in our mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. We aim to foster a diverse and inclusive environment so that all in our OU community can reach their potential. We recognise that different people bring different perspectives, ideas, knowledge, and culture, and that this difference brings great strength. We strive to recruit, retain and develop the careers of a diverse pool of students and staff, and particularly encourage applications from all underrepresented groups. We also aspire to make The Open University a supportive workplace for all through our policies, services and staff networks.