Reactive Response - Craft Joiner​/Carpentry generalist

Join Our Team:
Craft Operative [Joiner/Carpentry generalist] opportunity

Navigate your future and lock in your career as we keep our canals open and alive.

As a Craft Operative in our Reactive Response Team, you will play a vital role in caring for our network, responding to incidents as they happen and ensuring our waterways remain safe and accessible for everyone. They act fast, think on their feet and take real pride in protecting the places people love.

This is a mixed‑skills role suited to someone with experience in one or more trades (e.g., carpentry, metal fabrication, bricklaying, or stone masonry). You’ll work flexibly, responding to emergencies as they occur across our network.

The post holders will work an annualized hours system (averaging 37 hours), primarily Monday to Friday, with overtime and occasional weekend work as needed to respond to emergencies and carry out repairs that help keep our waterways open for customers. Administratively based at Hatton Locks, this role involves regular travel across the West Midlands. You will travel from home in a company van, report directly to site to complete the day’s tasks, and return home at the end of the working day.

• North to Leek (Caldon Canal, Derbyshire)
• West into Wales (Montgomery Canal)
• East to Rugby (Oxford Canal)
• South to Stratford‑upon‑Avon (Stratford Canal/River Avon)

Flexibility is essential
, as emergency call‑outs and rapidly changing priorities are a core part of the team’s work.

As a Craft Operative, you will help improve, maintain, and preserve our historic network. This includes refurbishing and repairing canal infrastructure such as locks, bridges, aqueducts, towpaths, and associated equipment, while consistently working to high safety, environmental, and heritage standards. This role sits within our reactive response team and involves planned work alongside emergency call-outs. As priorities can change at short notice, a flexible and adaptable approach is essential.

• Carry out outdoor maintenance and repair works to maximize network availability, often involving heritage‑sensitive solutions.
• Use bricklaying or other trade skills to support manufacture and refurbishment work to agreed standards and timescales.
• Safely operate machinery, plant, tools and equipment, and support inhouse maintenance where required.
• Maintain personal equipment, workshop tools and workspace to required standards.
• Respond promptly to customer queries and urgent situations.
• Ensure equipment, materials and PPE are appropriate for each task.
• Assist with measuring locks and lock gates, learning heritage craft skills alongside specialist teams.
• Read and interpret technical drawings to inform work.
• Work with and supervise volunteers to support sustainable maintenance delivery.
• Travel regionally and flexibly to meet nationally prioritized work demands.

You must bring strong operative skills and be confident applying your trade knowledge in unique environments. While additional skills can be learned on the job, competence in at least one relevant discipline is essential to aid your colleagues. Whether you come from a building or Joiner/Carpentry generalist background, your experience and enthusiasm will help you thrive in this role.

• Trade relevant apprenticeship or equivalent qualification (e.g., City & Guilds or NVQ Level
  2).
• Experience operating plant/equipment (e.g., chainsaws, power tools, forklift trucks).
• Experience in a relevant discipline such as carpentry, metal fabrication, bricklaying or stone masonry.
• Ability to read and interpret technical drawings.
• Full UK driving license (essential for regional response travel).

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us rui We encourage early applications as we may close the vacancy once we receive enough suitable candidates.

We offer a starting salary of £28,154, with opportunities for progression. Enjoy a competitive pension scheme, increasing holiday entitlement, and a range of employee benefits. For a full breakdown of our benefits, check out our brochure here: EVP - 1().