Driver/Valet in Newcastle

Department: Activate Accident Repair

Location: Unit 2, Balliol Business Park, Benton, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, NE12 8EW

Hours: 45 hours per week (Mon-Fri)

Salary: We are proud to say, We are a Real Living Wage Employer

We’re looking for a Driver/Valet to join our team, and play a key role at Activate Accident Repair Newcastle. Activate Group is a growing UK business approaching 1,000+ team members nationwide. This is an exciting opportunity to build a long-term career with a company that values its people and offers genuine development and progression opportunities.

Role Overview:

• Timely collection, valeting and re-delivery of customer and courtesy vehicles, ensuring the customer is aware of delivery/delays.
• Vehicle checks and the collection of excess payments.
• Explaining the repair and processes to the customer.
• Dealing with customers in a professional manner, ensuring high standards of customer service.

Key responsibilities:

• Carry out collection and delivery of customers vehicles as scheduled, completing all relevant paperwork detailing claim and non-related damaged and collecting excess payments, ensuring that the customer is treated in a professional and efficient manner.
• To drive vehicles in a safe, lawful manner taking into account the weather and traffic conditions, reporting all faults with vehicles driven.
• Ensure all documentation is correct when transferring vehicles.
• Ensuring all vehicles are washed, vacuumed, cleaned and polished using the approved materials and equipment in order to present to the customer, where necessary, clean upholstery and carpets and when requested to do so steam clean engines and engine compartments.
• Cleaning vehicles (customer and courtesy cars) ready for customer collection to a standard that reinforces the customers feeling that they have received first class service.
• Report any accidents, incidents to your Bodyshop Manager without delay.
• To be responsible for the collection of payments and receipts and to ensure the correct financial procedures are followed on return to the office.
• Collect all necessary customer paperwork from reception, checking courtesy cars for damage and cleanliness before delivery to the customer.
• Confirm any damage or cleanliness issues with reception team.
• Notify customer and reception when a delay is imminent.
• Complete all customer paperwork in presence of customer, noting down vehicle details on both courtesy car and customer vehicle, confirming claim damage and old damage.
• To be aware of and adhere to all the Housekeeping and Health and Safety regulations and policies applicable to your position and working environment.
• To ensure that vehicles comply with safety standards when returned to customers, or that faults have been reported and noted on job card.
• Complete necessary office paperwork - fuel and drivers log.

Skills and experience:

• Full driving license with the correct classification to carry out duties.
• Logistics experience.
• Experience of vehicle appraisal.
• Exceptional communication and customer service skills.
• Interpersonal and communication skills should be excellent standard.
• Attention to detail.
• The right attitude to get the job done.
• Time management at each booking is essential.

Benefits:

• 33 days holiday (including bank holidays).
• Annual pay review.
• Personal health cash plan – claim back the cost of things like dentist and optical check ups.
• Enhanced maternity / paternity / adoption / shared parental pay.
• Life assurance: three times basic salary.
• Free breakfasts and fruit.
• Birthday surprise for everybody!

What you can expect from us:

At Activate Group, we want everyone to have the tools and support they need to do their best work. We’re an innovative business that continuously reviews and improves our systems, processes and ways of working, making sure they support our teams to do their jobs effectively. Every role at Activate Group is aligned to our wider business vision and purpose – making someone’s bad day better. You’ll understand how your role contributes to the bigger picture and how your work helps deliver excellent outcomes for customer and partners. We believe work should be enjoyable. We make time to celebrate success, recognise achievements and bring people together at team events and company-wide celebrations. We’ll also support your ongoing development through regular feedback and career planning. Whether you’re based in one of our contact centres in Halifax, Peterborough or Huddersfield, working at an Activate Accident Repair (AAR) site, or working from home, you’ll be part of a supportive culture where people are encouraged to succeed.

A bit about us:

Activate Group is a fast-growing business approaching 1,000 team members nationwide. We work with some of the UK’s largest fleets and insurance companies, supporting drivers that have been involved in road incidents through our contact centres in Halifax, Peterborough and Huddersfield. We manage every step of the repair journey - repairing vehicles at our own Activate Accident Repair (AAR) body shops, as well as through a UK-wide network of trusted independent repair partners. We also work with the UK’s largest vehicle manufacturers, supporting their approved repair programmes, and deliver innovative technology solutions to fleets, vehicle repair centres and dealerships.

Our purpose & values:

Our purpose underpins everything we do: Make someone’s bad day better. Our values define how we work with our team members, customers and suppliers: Make it happen – Be accountable. Take the initiative, work fast, and do a great job. Strive for better – Be bold. Challenge the norm - make small improvements often. Win together – Be a team player. Win together, learn together, respect each other.