Job summary
- Main area
- Estates & Facilities
- Grade
- Band 4
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 210-2026-34
- Employer
- Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Countess Of Chester Hospital
- Town
- Chester
- Salary
- £27,485 - £30,162 pa + RRP £3277 and on call payments
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 18/03/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Maintenance Craftsperson (Mechanical)
Band 4
Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, staff pride themselves on not only leading through clinical excellence, but also by creating an environment where all staff are valued and appreciated. To achieve this, the Trust has embarked on an exciting new strategy focused on continuous improvement.
Our vision is to improve the lives of our community and provide excellence in healthcare, through partnership and innovation
Our High Performance Culture will support everyone to be the best version of themselves by being true to our Trust vision, values and behaviours.
We welcome applications from colleagues from our local and neighbouring communities of all backgrounds and identities, who are currently under-represented within our region such as Black, Asian, Minority ethnic and those with disabilities.
As a region we are reviewing the way we work, and exploring how new working practices that support flexible working can create a positive work-life balance. As part of our recruitment process we will explore how our inclusive employment policies, flexible working, staff engagement forums, Trust facilities and services can be of mutual benefit.
Job overview
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 plant
operations, utility meter readings, plant run times, lift availability etc. - You will collect, collate and assimilate technical information to support performance monitoring of maintenance activities.
Working for our organisation
The Trust’s services are provided from three locations:
• The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 473 general and acute beds.
• Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 60 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility.
• 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
Detailed job description and main 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 criteria
- C&G Diploma Level 3 in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent
- C&G 1 day Boiler Operator Training Course
Desirable criteria
- BTEC ONC in Mechanical/Electrical Engineering
- HNC in recognised trade or equivalent experience
Knowledge and Experience
Essential criteria
- 4 years formal training
- 2 years responsible mechanical/electrical engineering experience
- Experience in a multidiscipline organisation
- knowledge of Low pressure hot water systems
Desirable criteria
- Experience working in an acute hospital environment
- Previous supervisory experience within a similar environment
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Jonathan Dawson
- Job title
- Estates Officer (Mechanical)
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01244365318
- Additional information
For further information or an informal chat, please contact Jonathan Dawson via Charlotte Rowles on 01244 365318
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