Vehicle Technician – Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Job number:

DWFRS – CORP00670

Contract Type:

Permanent

Location:

Wiltshire

Department:

Assets

Closing Date:

15-Sep-2024

Job Title: Vehicle Technician

Grade: Grade E

Salary: £31,364 per annum rising by annual increments to £33,945 (pay award pending). More information on salaries and progression can be found on our pay and policies page.

In addition to the basic salary there are also the below annual payments:

• Annual tool allowance: £443.88
• Annual out of hours scheme: £3895.00

Hours: Full time, 37 hours per week Monday to Friday, plus one week a month on call.

Workshop Hours

Monday to Thursday: 08:00 to 16:30

Friday: 08:00 to 13:00

Location: Bowerhill Workshop, 3 Swift Way, Bowerhill Industrial Estate, Melksham, SN12 6GX

Appointment Type: Permanent

Contact: For a chat about this post, please contact Steve Weston, Vehicle Workshop Supervisor on 01722 691390 or email Steve.Weston@dwfire.org.uk or Paul Rush, Fleet Maintenance Manager on 07900 164967 or email Paul.Rush@dwfire.org.uk

Closing and Interview date: The closing date for applications is Sunday 15^th September 2024 (midnight). It is intended that interviews will take place on Tuesday 1st October 2024 at the Bowerhill Workshop. Should you be shortlisted for interview, further details regarding the interview format etc will be provided before the interview date.

About the Role

Due to internal promotion, we are looking for a Vehicle Technician to join our team at the Bowerhill Workshop in Melksham, Wiltshire.

The Bowerhill Workshop are a small hardworking team that deliver an essential service to the Wiltshire Fire Stations and Devizes Training Centre.

The Workshop supports Fire Stations with Fleet and Equipment from Salisbury up to Cricklade with the occasional requirement to provide support in the Dorset area.

In the role of Vehicle Technician, you will be responsible for carrying out the inspection, testing, maintenance and repair of a wide range of vehicles and associated operational equipment, such as fire appliances and specialist rescue equipment ensuring all work is completed to the required standards.

Specialist training will be provided for the successful applicant such as Scania FBT one, two and three, Rosenbauer maintainers course and Godiva pump repair training. Some of these courses are outside the Service area and therefore you may be required to stay overnight.

You will play a significant role in ensuring compliance is maintained in relation to the legislative, regulatory and best practice standard of work that is carried out within the Workshop.

If you have any questions or would like to request a visit to the Workshop, then please contact Steve Weston or Paul Rush on the details above.

As a Vehicle Technician in our Assets Department, you will:

• Carry out the inspection, testing, maintenance and repair of a wide range of vehicles and associated operational equipment, ensuring all work is completed to the required standard.
• Carry out vehicle and stowage modifications including the fabrication of components.
• Travel across the whole service area to attend operational incidents, vehicle breakdowns and DWFRS sites as required to provide repair, maintenance, and vehicle recovery.

What makes you our ideal Vehicle Technician:

• You will meet the essential requirements for this vacancy as detailed in the Person Specification.
• You will have strong organisational skills with the ability to manage a varied workload meeting timeframes whilst maintaining accuracy.
• You will work well as part of a team and independently.
• You will have excellent communication skills with the ability to work with internal and external stakeholders such as Officers and Suppliers/Manufacturers.

For full details of the role and requirements please have a look at the Job Description and Person Specification.

Other Information:

• You must have a minimum of a full current category C driving licence and be able to fulfil the significant travel requirements of the role. Use of your own vehicle will be required.
• A Service vehicle will be available for daily maintenance duties and out of hours breakdowns. Please note Service vehicles are manual transmission only.
• You must be willing to participate in the emergency out of hours scheme providing support during the evenings and weekends one week a month for which the appropriate remuneration will be paid.
• A Standard Disclosure & Barring Service Check (DBS) clearance will be undertaken on the successful individual prior to offer of employment.
• Any offer of employment will be subject to full pre-employment checks which include identity checks, right to work in the UK, medical and receipt of satisfactory references, and an explanation of any gaps in employment in the last 3 years.
• Upon appointment you will be required to adhere to the requirements of a Health Surveillance Programme and attend an Occupational health appointment for baseline readings.
• Please click here for information relating to raising tax awareness and pension considerations when applying for a job.

We offer a wide range of employee benefits and strive to ensure that staff are valued and rewarded. For example, we offer a flexi time scheme, Local Government Pension Scheme, a generous annual leave allowance, a variety of family friendly schemes and health & well-being services. Employee benefits include:

• Generous annual leave of 27 days per annum, plus 8 bank holidays. Pro-rata amount depending on your start date. Annual leave rises to 30 days per annum after five years’ Service.
• Local Government Pension Scheme – Members benefit from a generous employer contribution.
• Long Service awards.
• Blue Light Card and local discounts.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• A variety of family friendly policies and procedures to support a good work life balance.
• Health and wellbeing initiatives including free gym access.
• Support from the Fire Fighters Charity with your social wellbeing, physical health, mental health, nursing, retirement, and support for families.
• Learning and development pathways and qualifications, allowing employees to cement their knowledge and gain new skills.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, an organisation that is passionate about changing and saving lives. Our corporate staff are absolutely vital in helping to make our communities safer and healthier.  Without them, we couldn’t do it.

As well as being one of the largest combined Fire and Rescue Services in the country we are also one of the top performing. In February 2022, inspectors from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) looked closely at our Service and graded us as ‘Good’, ‘Outstanding’, and ‘Good’ across the three inspection pillars of Effectiveness, Efficiency and People.

To find out more and apply:

Our Candidate Charter outlines the commitments we make to you when applying for a vacancy with us.

Please note we do not accept CV’s in place of application forms.

We welcome the use of AI responsibly and ethically to demonstrate your skills in your application, but please don’t allow it to overshadow your own unique voice.

While we appreciate innovative approaches, we also value authenticity. Our assessment considers both the content of the application and how it was created, ensuring fairness and inclusivity for all applicants. At the end of the day – we want YOU to work for us!

You should ensure you include satisfactory evidence in your application to demonstrate all of the areas stated as being measured at the Application Stage on the Person Specification. This will ensure you have the best opportunity of progressing to the next stage of the selection process.

We are dedicated to building a workforce that reflects the diversity of our communities and welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of age, disability, gender, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances.  All applications will be treated on merit and staff involved in recruitment and selection processes undertake unconscious bias training.

We are committed to the Disability Confident Scheme and guarantee an interview to applicants with a disclosed disability if they meet the minimum criteria for the post to which they are applying.  Please tell us in confidence if this applies to you, or if there are any reasonable adjustments that would help you apply for this post.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service’s recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of Adults, Children and Young People.  All staff and volunteers are expected to share this commitment.

If you hold international qualifications, you will be required to provide official evidence that shows how these compare to UK Qualifications. We will accept a Statement of Comparability from a UK organisation called ENIC which can be obtained via their website. Please note that UK ENIC charge for this service, so if you request a Statement of Compatibility, you will be required to pay for it as we are unable to reimburse you.

For further guidance on how to complete your application, please refer to the Job Application Guidance Notes. If you are experiencing difficulties completing your application or have a need to complete your application in an alternative format due to a disability, please contact HR Resourcing on 01722 691444 within plenty of time of the closing date of the position you are applying for.

Values & Behaviours Framework

Our recruitment, assessment and progression processes are based on our Code of Ethics that has been developed specifically for Fire and Rescue Services.  When recruiting, we identify the most important behaviours for the role and these are used as part of the short-listing and selection process.

Available documents

• Vehicle Technician – Job Description.pdf
• Vehicle Technician – Person Specification.pdf
• Employee Benefits March 24.pdf
• Job Application Guidance Notes 2024 V8.pdf