DAKOTA NEWCASTLE – MAINTENANCE MANAGER
Dakota Hotels are coming to Newcastle city centre in early 2025 to ensure our hotel opens flawlessly, we are seeking a proactive and skilled Maintenance Manager to join our preopening team from January 2025.
This unique opportunity calls for an experienced professional who can blend technical expertise with strong leadership skills, ensuring our new property operates at the highest standards from day one. The successful candidate will play a critical role in preparing the building for opening and maintaining the standards.
Ideally situated by the Gateshead Millennium Bridge on the quayside, our hotel will boast 118 bedrooms including stunning 33 suites. Dakota Newcastle will host our renowned Bar & Grill, Champagne Room, Cigar Terrace, and an events space for up to 60.
Primary Role Responsibilities
- Report directly to the Director of Facilities, leading the property maintenance team with strong leadership and continual on-the-job training.
- Coordinate and actively participate in preopening activities, ensuring all maintenance tasks and operational systems, including equipment and CCTV installations, are fully functional ahead of the hotel opening.
- Oversee and maintain all compliance, safety, and facilities paperwork, with a focus on health and safety standards.
- Carry out a broad range of maintenance tasks in accordance with your skillset and participate in maintenance activities such as installing, maintaining, decorating, light plumbing, tiling, light joinery, PAT testing, grouting and silicone work ensuring high-quality finishing across all areas.
- Lead the execution of both planned and reactive maintenance tasks, collaborating with the Housekeeping and Maintenance teams to ensure all guest rooms, public spaces, and facilities are pristine and fully operational.
- Take ownership of project work, ensuring all tasks are completed on time and to the highest standards during both preopening and ongoing operations.
- Keep maintenance and project schedules up to date, ensuring the building’s infrastructure meets legislative requirements and brand standards.
- Develop and manage the departmental rota, oversee holiday schedules, performance appraisals, and stock levels to ensure smooth operations.
About Dakota Hotels
Dakota is a growing UK-based lifestyle brand, known for our stylish hotels, bustling brasserie Grills and upscale cocktail Bars. Dakota’s story started with two boutique hotels on the outskirts of Edinburgh, in South Queensferry, and Glasgow, in Eurocentral. We have now expanded into prime city centre locations in Glasgow, Leeds, and Manchester, with Newcastle opening early 2025 and more in our pipeline.
Dakota is synonymous for delivering attentive and genuine guest service. We attract hard-working individuals who are passionate about working to the highest standards and have been voted within The Caterer’s Top 15 Best Employers in Hospitality for the last five years in a row. We were also featured within the Top 10 employers in the 2024 Sunday Times Best Places to Work in the UK, as well as being awarded the Spotlight Award for Best Places to Work for LGBTQIA+ employees.
As recent winners of The Cateys ‘People Team of the Year’, we have award-winning internal training programmes within Dakota Academy fostering continuous development and ongoing training. As a result, over 75% of our leaders have been promoted internally and, for four consecutive years, a member of our team has won a prestigious Acorn Award awarded by The Caterer to the ‘Top 30 under 30’ in the industry, demonstrating our success in developing talent.
Applicant Requirements
Successful candidates must demonstrate having researched our brand and a genuine desire to be part of our team. The successful applicant will have/be:
- At least four years' experience in a maintenance-based role, with comprehensive knowledge of trades such as plumbing, plastering, or electrical work.
- A minimum of two years’ experience working in the hospitality industry, ideally in a 4 or 5-star hotel setting.
- Supervisory or management experience (minimum two years), with the ability to lead and motivate a team.
- A good understanding of health and safety regulations (relevant qualifications are advantageous, but training will be provided).
- Experience in newbuild housing, hotels, or commercial property is strongly favoured, especially in the context of preopening preparation.
- Attention to detail and high standards of work, particularly in finishing tasks.
- Fully computer literate.
- Proficient in carrying out general maintenance tasks with a broad understanding.
- Have valid qualifications in your chosen trade in areas such as plumbing or electrics.
- Physically able to carry out maintenance tasks and be standing for the entirety of your shift.
- The ability to work flexibly, including evenings and weekends as needed, with a full-time presence onsite during preopening and beyond.
PACKAGE
This is a permanent, full-time role offering a highly competitive salary and a quarterly sales-based target bonus.
Benefits
In addition to being part of a culture infused with positivity and opportunity for ongoing development, tangible benefits you could enjoy when you join our team include:
–40 per cent off stays at any Dakota
–25 per cent off drinks and dining at any Dakota
–Access to our Employee Assistance Program which includes
- free private mental health support and counselling sessions
- video GP consultations and private prescription services
- access to daily rewards to be cashed out for shopping vouchers
- Access to discounted gift card platform
–Support from our inhouse Mental Health Champions
–Additional holiday day on the first anniversary of your employment.
–Family-friendly flexible working options
–Meals on duty and uniforming
–£200 bonus to recommend a friend to join our team
–£10 bonus every time you are mentioned on Trip Advisor
–Free bi-annual eye testing for users of display screen equipment
–Accredited, certified compliance training given on employment such as in Food Hygiene, Alcohol Responsibility, Data Protection, and Health & Safety
–Access to a suite of external, certified resources via our Learning Management System
–Supportive continuous professional development culture with an annual appraisal and objectives, or a Personal Development Plan
–Opportunities to undertake both internal and external training courses, including potential for in-house Apprenticeships
Full terms on our benefits can be found in our Handbook.
