Craft Operative - Carpenter in Ipswich

Enthusiastic person, willing to learn and understand the role of a craft operative carpenter is a varied role. We will expect you to be qualified to City & Guilds standard or relevant Carpentry qualification. Punctual and reliable with the ability to remain calm and professional in difficult situations, we would expect you to be a good communicator both verbally and in writing.

The role of a Carpenter at Maintenance & Contracts is not necessarily solely carpentry works. Maintenance & Contracts are looking for an enthusiastic skilled person, who has experience of all carpentry works including fence repairs and installing fencing, both timber close board panels and featheredge boards which would include digging out for posts and making gates on site to fit or using our depot’s joiner’s workshop. Experience of upvc window repairs (replacement hinges and handles) would be desired or willing to learn new skills if required.

Working as part of the extremely busy responsive repairs team, predominately carpentry works could involve framework for new bath installs, replacing bath panels, kitchen unit repairs, worktop replacements, stair tread repairs / kite winder renewals, emergency board ups of properties in the event of a serious incident, internal door replacements, external door lock replacements or locking mechanism renewals. If you are a holder of a UK Locksmith Association certificate this would be desired but not essential.

Key Responsibilities:

• Hours of work are 8am – 4.30pm Mon – Thur with 1 hour for lunch then 8am – 3.30pm on Friday with a 30‑minute lunchbreak.
• You will start your working day from our depot Layard House, New Way, Ipswich IP2 0FA, and you could be working on IBC housing stock within any of the 4 Ipswich Town postcodes, IP1, IP2, IP3 or IP4.
• Work will be allocated on a mobile tablet (full training will be provided).
• You will be expected to complete the jobs within the allotted timeframe, you may be working on emergency calls during the day.
• You will accept and complete jobs as well as allocate materials for that job on your handheld.
• You will be expected to record detailed follow‑on job notes, and this will be typed into your handheld as the job is completed.
• You will drive an Ipswich Borough Council fleet vehicle which will be electric.
• This vehicle will be required to remain at our depot on charge overnight, you would be expected to make your own way into the depot each day.
• Your vehicle will be stocked with imprest stock which will be replenished as you allocate materials for the jobs on your handheld.

Additional Expectations:

To be a good listener, empathetic and have patience. Ability to work under pressure, we expect you to always adhere to Health and safety procedures and be able to work both independently and as part of a team. Our repairs team completed just over 21 thousand repairs in the past calendar year, we are an extremely busy team, you may be required to buddy with colleagues from a different trade for some jobs. You will complete online E‑Learning training on a multitude of topics when employment commences, and you will spend at least the first month with a colleague who will act as your induction buddy.

Working Hours:

Hours of work are 37 per week, Monday to Friday.

Benefits and Compensation:

As well as a good salary, we offer a career grade average pension scheme, generous holiday starting at 26 days plus bank holidays and sick pay entitlements, subsidised parking for work and leisure, public transport discounts, free swimming and gym membership, cycle purchase scheme, plenty of personal and professional development opportunities, flexible working, Employee Assistance Programme and the opportunity to work with great colleagues.

Contact Information:

For more information about this role please contact Repairs Manager Mrs Liz Abigail on 07921 492521 or via email elizabeth.abigail@ipswich.gov.uk. If you require any assistance or reasonable adjustments during the application or recruitment process, please let us know so that the appropriate arrangements can be put in place.

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 24th February 2026 at our depot: Layard House, New Way, Ipswich IP2 0FA. Early applications are encouraged as we reserve the right to interview candidates who meet the essential criteria prior to the closing date and / or to close the opportunity to applicants once we receive sufficient applications.

Please note CVs are not accepted.