Head of Reactive Maintenance

Updated: over 1 year ago
Location: Reading, ENGLAND
Deadline: 04 Aug 2022

Occupying three beautiful campuses (Whiteknights, with its early 19th century planned landscape, London Road with its formal gardens and ceremonial Great Hall, and Greenlands, Henley-on-Thames, with its riverside garden landscape) the unique “University within a Park” setting of the University of Reading is an inspiring place to come to work. 

With such a varied portfolio, there is never a dull day in the Estates Team here at Reading. As well as being responsible for the management and maintenance of the University’s academic teaching and research buildings, we also care for a significant collection of Champion Trees, an expansive lake and the university SportsPark. 

We are looking for an exceptional individual to lead our Direct Labour Organisation (DLO). The post holder must demonstrate a clear track record in the delivery of a customer focused maintenance service. With responsibility for delivering efficient and timely reactive maintenance to the University’s Academic buildings, a new responsive maintenance service across our non-academic property portfolios, and a full programme of Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) the post holder will need to work collaboratively with several key partners. Managing the transfer of our records from the in-house “WREN” system to a new Computer Aided Facility Management (CAFM) package will also be a priority. 

If you understand the challenges and opportunities that face a reactive maintenance function, and enjoy the challenge of multiple stakeholder engagement and high-quality service delivery then we would welcome your application. Please apply via the Jobtrain site, and clearly demonstrate how you meet the key recruiting criteria:

  • Experience of leadership and delivery of a customer-focussed maintenance service
  • Understanding of the key challenges and opportunities that face a reactive maintenance function in a large/varied estate
  • Excellent communication skills, at all levels of an organisation, and experience of effective liaison with customers/stakeholders
  • Excellent analytical skills, big-picture thinking, and the ability to interrogate large data sets to identify key trends/challenges/opportunities
  • Excellent budgetary management skills
  • Ability to think outside the box and look for deliverable, effective solutions to problems arising
  • Experience of comprehensive service/process review or change management processes

Interview Date: 05/09/2022


Informal contact details


Contact role:

Maintenance Services Director


Contact name:

Emilia McDonald


Contact email:

[email protected]


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Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. By reference to the applicable SOC code for this role, sponsorship may be possible under the Skilled Worker Route.  Applicants should ensure that they are able to meet the points requirement under the PBS.  There is further information about this on the UK Visas and Immigration Website .

The University is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce, supports the gender equality Athena SWAN Charter and the Race Equality Charter, and is a Diversity Champion for Stonewall, the leading LGBT+ rights organisation. Applications for job-share, part-time and flexible working arrangements are welcomed and will be considered in line with business needs.



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