Cleaning Operative

Cleaning Operative

  • Location:
    York University (YO10)
  • Salary:
    £13.45 per hour (£22809.20)
  • Employment Type:
    Permanent
  • Hours per Week:
    32.5
  • Grade:
    6
  • Closing Date:
    5 November 2026
Reporting Group:
  • Derwent Facilities Management

Derwent FM

As the UK's leading Social Enterprise, we move lives forward every day by building, managing and supporting thriving Communities. From new homes, social housing and student accommodation to leisure, education and Community initiatives, our work makes a positive difference to millions of People across the UK. And that takes People who care about doing the right thing. People who are ambitious, ready to grow and motivated to make a difference through the work they do.

We're looking for Colleagues who bring energy, curiosity and ownership. People who enjoy being challenged, support those around them and want to keep raising the bar. Because when we perform at our best, we create more opportunities to invest in our Customers, our Communities and each other.

Experience matters, but it's only part of the story. If you share our values and want to build a career where your work has real impact, we'd love to hear from you.

More about your role

As a Cleaner, you'll play an important role in helping us deliver an excellent student experience across our University of York accommodation sites. Working as part of a supportive team, you'll carry out cleaning duties across shared kitchens, bathrooms, communal areas, corridors and stairwells ensuring all spaces are maintained to a consistently high standard. You'll work closely with your Supervisor and colleagues to deliver both planned and reactive cleaning services, identify and report health and safety concerns, and support summer deep-clean programmes to prepare accommodation for new students. You'll also provide a friendly and professional service when interacting with students, university staff and visitors.

The working hours are Monday to Friday 9.00am – 4.00pm with a 30-minute (unpaid) break. A basic DBS check is required for this role.

Essential Criteria

  • Previous cleaning experience, ideally in a housekeeping or facilities management environment
  • Basic IT skills, including the ability to complete online training and use workplace systems.
  • Ability to work independently and prioritise workloads to meet required cleaning standards, and also as part of a team during deep clean periods
  • Knowledge of COSHH regulations and safe working practices

More about you

You'll be a reliable and enthusiastic team player who takes pride in maintaining high standards of cleanliness and customer service. You'll be comfortable working with minimal supervision, using your initiative to identify issues and resolve them appropriately. You'll have a strong awareness of health and safety, a positive can-do attitude and a commitment to providing a welcoming environment for students and visitors. A cleaning qualification, BICS training or previous experience within student accommodation would be an advantage, but most importantly you'll be motivated to deliver a great service every day.

What you'll get

We know rewarding work deserves rewarding benefits. That's why, alongside a competitive salary, you'll have access to a package designed to support you at work and beyond.

You'll receive:

  • Pension with matched contributions up to 7%
  • Bonus scheme for colleagues up to 2%
  • 35 days holiday (including bank holidays)pro rata with the option to buy or sell days
  • Healthcare cashback plan for everyday medical costs, with private GP and health support services available
  • Comprehensive wellbeing support including counselling, flu jabs, our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and access to our Wellbeing Hub, supporting your mental, physical and financial wellbeing
  • Access to Our Place Rewards, offering discounts and savings on groceries, travel, shopping, home products and other lifestyle purchases
  • Ongoing training, professional qualifications, internal development programmes and career progression opportunities
  • Recognition programmes including Star Awards and Colleague Awards, celebrating achievements and recognising great work
  • Strong focus on inclusion, wellbeing and colleague engagement
  • Free membership to Places Gyms
  • Life Assurance to provide financial security for your loved ones, alongside access to will writing services to help you plan for the future with confidence

 

What's next?

If you meet the criteria and are ready to make the next step in your career then apply following our simple 5 minute application process, upload a CV and a supporting statement which demonstrates how you meet the requirements of the role. If you have any questions please email the recruitment team recruitment@placesforpeople.co.uk 

As part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we offer a guaranteed interview to candidates who are disabled, neurodiverse, or have served in the Armed Forces, provided you meet the essential criteria for the role. If you would like to be considered under this scheme, please indicate this in your application. 

We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview experience, please let us know. We're happy to work with you to ensure you have the opportunity to perform at your best.

If you are a Places for People customer and you're looking for support with your application, please contact our skills and employment team on skillsemployment@placesforpeople.co.uk. 

Please note that we may bring the closing date forward, if we receive a large number of quality applications. If you are interested in this role we would advise applying immediately to avoid disappointment.

If you are using a mobile device such as an iPad then ensure your CV is stored in the cloud, we currently support Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox.

We understand the importance of a supportive and inclusive work culture so please talk to us at interview about flexibility you may need. We can't promise to give you exactly what you want, but we promise not to judge you for asking. For this role we are open to discussing the possibility of reduced hours, flexible start and finish times or compressed hours.  

If you are a recruitment agency please note we operate a PSL and do not take cold calls

Safeguarding

At Places for People, safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. We are committed to creating safe communities for our customers and colleagues by protecting children, young people, and adults at risk from harm, abuse, and neglect. 

We follow robust safeguarding policies and procedures, ensuring all employees, volunteers, and contractors uphold the highest standards of safeguarding and accountability. Our recruitment process includes pre-employment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks where applicable, to promote a safe and secure working environment. 

By joining Places for People, you are expected to contribute to our safeguarding culture, following our policies and reporting concerns to protect those in our communities

 

 

 

Armed Forces - We are proud to support the Armed Forces Covenant. Places for People will guarantee an interview for any candidate who is serving or has formerly served in the Armed Forces, as a reservist, armed forces veteran (including the wounded, injured and sick), cadet instructor and military spouse/partner and who meets the essential criteria for the vacancy.

Disability Confident - We are proud to be a member of the Disability Confident scheme certified as Level 2 Disability Confident Employer. This helps us to successfully employ and retain people with disabilities and health conditions. Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for a vacancy will be guaranteed an interview. The Equality Act 2010 (Disability Discrimination Act 1995 for NI) defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has sa substantial and long-term negative effect on their ability to do daily activities.

Neurodivergent – Neurodiverse individuals have highly valuable skills, and we recognise that a traditional interview process sometimes works against them and doesn’t allow them to self-advocate. Neurodiverse applicants who meet the criteria for a vacancy will be guaranteed an interview.

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Location
York University (YO10)
Goodricke University, Heslington, York, England, YO10 5DD
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