Job Opportunity: Recycling and Waste Collection Operatives (Seasonal)

Vacancy reference 

ECR000207

Salary 

Grade 5 - £24,294 to £25,979 per annum, pro-rata 

Hours 

37 Hours per week

Contract 

Fixed term (up to 6 months)

Location

Kutton Lane Depot, Newcastle-under-Lyme

About the job 

You’ll be physically fit, enjoy being part of a team, able to walk long distances and prepared to work outside in all weathers.  Ideally you’ll already have experience and have worked on collection services before, but that’s not essential.  We provide a full induction, and all your PPE.  We deliver high quality services, and that means you’ll have good skills with customers, and be able to explain our services confidently and accurately. 

You’ll be safely bringing containers to vehicles to empty them, then returning them, working in a way which is safe for you and the rest of the team, reporting issues and providing feedback to your Driver Team Leader and managers, and dealing politely with residents and customers.

This is an opportunity to join a service with great career prospects, as we like to invest in our staff and provide opportunities for the right people to train as drivers, supervisors and for other areas of our service.

If you're looking for an improvement in your work life balance, look no further. Here our operatives may start early but they also finish early, giving you time to enjoy the rest of your day. 

We know that services collecting recycling, food waste, household rubbish, and garden waste from residents and businesses are changing, and that providing ‘Green Skills’ for staff is an investment in the future.  The culture here is all about getting the best out of our team by providing a range of benefits to everyone.

We expect good teamwork, and focus on being accountable, respectful of everybody, and achieving our goals.

Requirements

  • Previous experience of collecting recycling and waste materials is ideal
  • Ability to follow instructions and work in a professional manner
  • Good understanding of health and safety 
  • Able to work well in a team
  • Occasional weekend work

Why work for us? 

Newcastle-under-Lyme is a borough with big ambitions.  We’ve already started our transformation, however, we still need to find better ways of doing things because we are determined to do the very best we can for our communities.   

If our vision is to be the best, then we need the best people working for us. Our people are at the heart of what we do and have the freedom to innovate, grow and develop.  We recruit people who share our vision and values; people who have the drive to deliver our ambitious Council plan.

Our historic Borough is a place of marked contrasts. We are the home of a world class University at Keele, a leading light known internationally for its research and sustainability record, which stands side by side with former mining communities including some which register amongst the most deprived areas in the country. Our Borough is also a mixture of urban centres, affected by some of the same social issues facing our neighbouring city, Stoke-on-Trent, but also outstanding rural landscapes in our less populated villages. Our plans and priorities aim to address the needs of all our communities.   

Our People Offer 

We reward our people with a competitive range of benefits including; access to the local government pension scheme, minimum 24 days annual leave plus 5 extra days after 5 years' service, flexible working options and family friendly policies, local and national high street discounts, free car parking, green travel scheme including cycle to work and electric car salary sacrifice, free employee 24 hour employee assistance and counselling services, flu vaccination service and health checks plus development and training opportunities.

View our full people offer and 'working for us' video here. 

Contact 

Connie Copeland - Connie.Copeland@newcastle-staffs.gov.uk

Closing date

5pm on Friday 19 April 2024. 

Should we receive a large number of applications, then this post could close sooner than the date stated. 

Shortlisted applicants will be contacted within two weeks of the closing date. 

Interview date 

Tuesday 23 April 2024

Supporting documents and information 
 

Download the job description and person specification

We are committed to making our recruitment process as accessible as possible for everyone. This includes making adjustments or changes for disabled people, neurodiverse people or people with long-term health conditions.  If you would like us to do anything differently during the interview or assessment process please contact our People team (humanresources@newcastle-staffs.gov.uk) 

Need help completing the online application form? 

Our application form has recently been updated to make it easier to apply, please be aware that you are not able to save your application part way through so please ensure you have all information to hand; 

  • Make a note of the details of the post you are applying for.  
  • Read through the job description and person specification. 
  • Review our values and behaviours. 
  • Ensure that you have relevant job application information to hand i.e. employment details, qualifications and training, professional memberships (if applicable) and the details of two referees. 
  • If you have a CV you can cut and paste information easily into the form.
  • The supporting information section of the application is your opportunity to share with us your key achievements and highlight any relevant experience.   We’d like you to tell us;  who you are, your values and strengths, why you feel you are suitable for the role and finally, your career goals.  
  • We’d suggest typing your supporting information firstly to a Word document and then copy and paste to the supporting information section of the online application.  This way you won’t lose valuable information if the page times out. 
  • At the end of the form you can choose to save a copy of your application, we advise doing this.
  • If you are interested in more than one role, you will need to submit a separate form for each job.

Contact our People team if you have any questions regarding the online application form or require further support (humanresources@newcastle-staffs.gov.uk

Apply online