Maintenance Worker

37.5 hours per week / permanent / working Monday to Friday 9am-5pm. At YMCA DownsLink Group, our mission is to help children and young people have a fair chance to be who they want to be. We do this by providing a safe home, building life skills and self-confidence, and supporting emotional wellbeing and mental health.

Our Values - we do what’s right, we work with heart, and we build real connections - guide and shape how we show up for children and young people we support and for each other. Do you take pride in creating safe, welcoming homes that make a real difference in young people’s lives?

Our Maintenance team works across multiple properties to ensure our residents have safe, good-quality homes. We work closely with service staff to identify and complete repairs, carry out ad hoc cleaning and decoration, ensure compliance with health and safety regulations, and prepare empty homes for new residents. We operate across West Sussex, centred around our Foyers in Horsham and Crawley, which provide 24-hour supported housing for young people aged 16–25. We also manage several larger shared houses (typically 4–8 residents) through our Transitional Housing teams, supporting young people on their journey to independence. In total, the team helps maintain safe homes for approximately 300 residents across the county.

As a Maintenance Worker covering sites across West Sussex, you will take on a hands-on role combining practical maintenance tasks with caretaking responsibilities. You will help create and maintain safe, welcoming, and psychologically informed accommodation for the people we support.

• Provide a comprehensive maintenance, caretaking, and cleaning service to ensure safe, welcoming, and psychologically informed accommodation.
• Carry out day-to-day maintenance across our West Sussex sites, with occasional support to other housing schemes.
• Complete maintenance, cleaning, repair, and redecoration works within agreed timescales, delegating tasks where appropriate.
• Perform or delegate general caretaking and cleaning duties, including cleaning communal areas, litter-picking, and waste removal.

If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t match every single requirement, we still encourage you to apply. We know that skills and potential come in many forms, and your background may offer valuable transferable strengths. We’re looking for someone with a positive, flexible attitude and a genuine desire to contribute to young people’s wellbeing.

We are searching for someone with:

• Strong maintenance experience across a range of trade or repair tasks, including delivering high-quality maintenance and decorating work.
• Experience working in supported housing, residential, or community-based settings.
• Commitment to maintaining high standards of safety, quality, and resident wellbeing.
• Good understanding of health & safety requirements and compliance processes.
• A proactive, organised approach to workload and prioritisation.

It would be beneficial, though not essential, if you have:

• City & Guilds or equivalent qualification in one or more maintenance skill areas.
• Manual handling training.
• Training in handling bodily fluids.
• Boundaries training.
• First Aid training.

If you would like any further information or an informal discussion about this post, please contact Chris.McKeever@ymcadlg.org. Should you require any assistance with our application process, please email us at Recruitment@ymcadlg.org.

CLOSING DATE: Sunday 5 April 2026 at midnight. If we find the right candidate sooner than expected, we may close the advert early - so early applications are strongly encouraged. Please note that we are unable to offer a work permit or visa sponsorship for this role; applicants must already have the right to live and work in the UK independently.

An inclusive workplace: We are committed to policies and practices of equity, diversity, and inclusion and to supporting our people to make sure our culture is consistent with this commitment.

Accessibility: If you require assistance or have questions regarding the application process, please do contact us. YMCA DLG requires all staff and volunteers to be committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and to respond proactively to safeguarding concerns. Successful applicants will undergo a thorough background screening process, conducted by an accredited third-party provider. This includes an Enhanced DBS check (with Children’s and Adults’ Barred Lists) as well as comprehensive reference and activity checks.