Facilities & Fleet Support Assistant | Circa £26,500 + excellent benefits | Permanent | On-site

Would you like to work for a company that makes a real difference in the automotive industry? Do you have hands-on maintenance or facilities experience? We’re looking for a pro-active team player to provide support and assistance to both the facilities and fleet teams, this is a varied role based at our Thatcham, Berkshire site.

The Facilities Department are an efficient and helpful team, who like to carry out general cleaning and building repairs themselves. You’ll support with these activities so, practical experience of general DIY tasks such as painting and decorating, would be highly beneficial, as would prior cleaning experience (building spaces or vehicles). 

The Fleet Department are an organised team who do a great job of supporting our research, training and operational car fleet. You'll support the team with the cleaning and moving of vehicles around the site, so a UK driving license, along with good attention to detail will be required. This is an interesting position that offers a diverse range of responsibilities and tasks across a unique purpose-driven business. 

As a Facilities & Fleet Support Assistant, you will:

• Review, respond and react appropriately to facilities support requests via the helpdesk system

• Carry out general repair/maintenance duties e.g. decoration, picture hanging, furniture moving

• Collect refuse from all sites to ensure a clean and pleasant working environment, including offices, recycling and workshop areas

• Support operations with security activities; locking up, unlocking site

• Cleaning and maintenance of vehicles and sites, including workshops and offices to a high standard

• Support with ad-hoc driving and vehicle movements

Skills & experience that will set you up for success in this role:

• Previous experience in facilities support / maintenance and cleaning

• Experienced in the safe use of power tools and equipment.

• Practical experience of painting and decorating

• Comfortable driving and manoeuvring vehicles, with a valid UK driving licence (essential)

• Knowledge of workplace Health & Safety regulations and procedures

• Basic IT skills, previous experience using a helpdesk system would be highly advantageous but not essential

About you

You’ll have experience in a similar role with the ability to work well using your own initiative and successfully prioritise your workload. You are a proactive, team player who enjoys manual work. You pride yourself on your reliability and feel at ease when communicating with people from all areas of the business. If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you!

Did you know...

Research tells us that men are more likely to apply to jobs if they meet only 60% of the criteria, whereas women often hesitate or don't apply unless they meet all of the criteria. This difference in application behaviour can contribute to the gender gap in career advancement and opportunities.

We know the perfect candidate doesn't exist! If you think you have what it takes but don't tick every box, we'd still encourage you to apply - it could be a perfect fit!

Perks & Benefits

Salary - Circa £26,500 negotiable dependent on skills & experience.

• 10% non-contributory pension

• 29 days holiday (inclusive of Christmas shutdown) + public holidays

• Group Life Assurance (equal to 4 x basic salary)

• Group Income Protection (after 6 months’ service)

• Salary Sacrifice schemes (cycle to work, home & tech scheme)

• Enhanced and competitive parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender or family structure

• Moneyhealth’s Financial Coaching & Wellbeing Platform

• Health Cash Plan (cash back on eligible medical treatments)

• Benenden Health Care (opt-in benefit)

• Reward & Recognition Programme

• Discounted gym membership

• Sports & Social club

• Payroll charitable giving

• Subsidised on-site restaurant

• Free on-site parking

When we work

Based on-site in Thatcham, this role operates on a 2-week alternating shift rota, Monday to Friday:

• Week 1: 06:30 – 14:30 (13:45 finish on Friday)

• Week 2: 09:30 – 17:30 (16:45 finish on Friday)

What we do

At the cutting edge of automotive research in the UK, Thatcham Research has a unique role in shaping the design of new vehicles and influencing ever higher standards of safety, security and repair. With an on-site Crash Laboratory, Repair Technology Centre and Training Academy, our research expertise is driving some of the very latest automotive developments in technology, materials and standards in this fast moving and highly technical industry.

Our Gamston facility is one of the UK’s leading sites for active safety, trialling and assessing the latest crash avoidance and driver assistance technologies.

Our Values

As an organisation that believes a strong set of Values are key to our organisational success and a sense of belonging for all colleagues, we ask that you understand, represent and apply our Values of Fearless, Inquisitive, Resourceful, Supportive and Trusted and demonstrate these Values throughout the recruitment process.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We are dedicated to fostering an inclusive workplace which values diversity and embraces each individual's authentic self. We are proud to champion a culture where colleagues freely share their diverse perspectives, recognising that these contribute to our innovative spirit. Our journey of growth and understanding is continuous as we actively invest in diversity training, workshops, and partnerships to ensure positive change.

Beyond our partnerships with the Automotive 30% Club and Women in Data (WiD), we collaborate with various organisations to advance equity not only in gender but also across ethnicity, age, disability, social mobility, LGBTQ+ identities, experiences, and thinking. Our aspiration is to create an environment where everyone thrives, achieves, and experiences a genuine sense of belonging.

Recruitment process

We’re proud to manage our recruitment in-house and believe this direct approach enables us to give you the best possible Employee Experience we can – which starts right here, your application! We’re continuously striving to improve the candidate journey, and transparency (or communication) is a key area of focus – yes, even with salary & benefits.

What can you expect from our recruitment process?

• Regular updates on the progress / outcome of your application

• An initial telephone screening call with our Recruitment Business Partner

• First interview with the hiring manager, usually via Teams

• Second/Final interview, in-person at our office (we may give you a role specific task to present on!)

• Personalised feedback following your interview – because everyone deserves that!

• An opportunity to give us your honest feedback in a short survey on all of the above

We’re committed to removing barriers. If there are any adjustments we can make to better support you, please let us know when you apply.

All applicants must have Right to Work in the UK.

If you're experiencing any issues with our career site or application from, please let us know here: careers@thatcham.org ⁠