General Operative
Location: Newcastle, Sunderland & Gateshead
Salary: £29426.25 per annum plus commercial vehicle and fuel card
Contract Type: Permanent, Full-Time, 42.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 8:00am – 5:00pm
About the Role:
We are seeking a reliable and motivated General Operative to join our local team, delivering high-quality repairs, planned maintenance, and refurbishment work to housing properties. This will be a combination of occupied and void properties.
The role requires a focus on excellent customer service, strict adherence to health and safety standards, and the efficient completion of tasks within agreed timelines and budgets. You will be responsible for ensuring the highest standards of workmanship while maintaining a professional appearance, using company equipment responsibly, and supporting a positive experience for all service users.
Key Responsibilities:
Carrying out property inspections
Complete general repairs, maintenance, and refurbishment works to a high standard and on schedule. To include but not limited to: Changing light bulbs, popping blinds, silicone, recuring doors
Check smoke alarms as part of property inspections
Meeting landlords onsite to give access
Take ownership of tasks, aiming for first-time completion within budget and time constraints.
Deliver exceptional customer service, maintaining professionalism in all interactions and ensuring a positive customer experience.
Accurately record all work electronically using a handheld device (PDA), including worksheets, timesheets, photographs, stock management, risk assessments, and method statements.
Maintain company assets, including vehicles and equipment, reporting any damage promptly.
Manage materials and stock in line with standard operating procedures.
Attend required meetings and training sessions.
Participate in emergency call-out cover when necessary to support contract compliance and service user satisfaction.
Key Criteria:
Experience in a similar role
Experience working in social housing and planned works
Ability to complete general repairs and maintenance on properties
Good written and verbal communication skills
Full UK driving license
Benefits:
25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
Annual Mears Fun Day - Our annual Fun Day is organised as a massive thank you from the Executive team for all the hard work!
Volunteering Leave - Mears supports employees to undertake paid volunteering in the community, in support of our social value commitment.
Staff perks with Mears Rewards - discounts of up to 10% weekly groceries, holidays, eye test vouchers, Share save scheme, plus much more
Family friendly policies
Access to EAP Counselling sessions
All our roles require candidates to have the entitlement to work within the UK, Mears does not currently offer visa sponsorship.
To drive a Mears vehicle, you must be aged over 21 have held your licence over 3 months and have less than 9 points.
As part of the recruitment process for this role, we will carry out a Background, Identity, Security clearance & BPSS check. For these checks to be completed, we will require from you the relevant identification, including Proof of Address, References, a valid passport and proof that you have lived in the UK for the last 5 years.
Apply below or to discuss your application further; contact:
Vickie Rudge ([email protected])If you need any help with your application process, we are here to support you. We will be accessible every step of the way.
At Mears Group, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive, we are a Disability Confident employer, valuing individuality and ensuring equal opportunities for all.
We proudly support the Armed Forces Covenant and are honoured to have achieved the Gold Award in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) to coincide with this, we hold an Endorser Award for the Career Transition Partnership, recognising our commitment to veterans transitioning into civilian careers.
In our continued effort to promote social mobility, we invite applicants to voluntarily share their background information during the application stages to help us better understand the diverse experiences of our candidates. This is to ensure we are committed to improving social mobility. We use the Social Mobility Index to assess and enhance opportunities for individuals from diverse backgrounds. These questions are optional and will not impact your ability to apply.
Skills Required
- Experience in a similar role
- Experience working in social housing and planned works
- Ability to complete general repairs and maintenance on properties
- Good written and verbal communication skills
- Full UK driving licence
- Must be over 21, held licence over 3 months, and have less than 9 penalty points to drive company vehicles
- Entitlement to work in the UK; employer does not offer visa sponsorship
- Pass background, identity, security checks and BPSS; provide proof of address, references, valid passport, and 5 years UK residence
Mears Group Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Mears Group and has not been reviewed or approved by Mears Group.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — 25 days’ holiday with the option to buy additional days, plus paid volunteering time, signal a comparatively generous time-off offering. Flexible working available in many roles further supports practical time-off and balance.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Retail discounts, Cycle to Work, an employee assistance line, volunteering days, and company family events add tangible non-cash value. Access to training and UK‑recognised qualifications reinforces the broader wellbeing and development offering.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — A stated commitment to pay at or above the Real Living Wage and the publication of pay-related reports indicate governance and baseline fairness focus. Independent snapshots also suggest many roles meet living‑wage thresholds.
Mears Group Insights
What We Do
Mears Group is a market-leading housing and care company that provides bespoke services to our clients. We provide and manage 11,000 homes for local and central Government and are also responsible for keeping 750,000 of all social housing in the UK in good repair. Mears has 6,500 employees and a footprint across the country
