CREATING YOUR TOMORROW.

We’re a great place to work. Brilliant benefits, clear career progression, flexible working, competitive salaries and the best culture in the business.

Why wait? Join Wates.

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There’s a huge variety of career opportunities with us, working on a wide range of challenging and exciting projects.

We hire talented people from all backgrounds, reflecting society and the communities in which we work.

From employee discount schemes to flexible working, we offer a range of benefits aimed to boost productivity and promote mental wellbeing. Combined with generous salaries, stimulating work, and unrivalled opportunities to generate value in our communities, it’s what makes Wates such an attractive place to be.

Reward and benefits

We value our people and the work they do, and we reward them for it. We recognise that great pay and benefits are key to retaining and attracting the best people in our industry.

Career development

We provide clear routes for career progression – and a great selection of opportunities for training, development and upskilling to help people get to the next level.

An inclusive culture

As a family business that has stood the test of time for more than 125 years, we are proud of the culture that we have built, of the work that we do, and of the teams that deliver it.

CREATING TOMORROW TOGETHER

Your future with us

At Wates we focus on the key things that matter to our people:  an inclusive culture, commitment to social value, great reward and benefits, flexibility and hybrid working and career progression. We know these things make a real difference to people’s lives.

We are proud of what we offer, and Wates is an incredible place to work regardless of what stage you are at in your career journey, from new entrant to long serving colleague.

And once you’ve joined us, we’ll make sure you’ll want to stay.

Our culture

Our culture – outlined in our Guiding Framework – influences everything we do and how we do it, from our core purpose of creating tomorrow together, to the atmosphere we create across our sites and offices. As a family-owned business, we’re passionate about our people and creating a culture where everyone can be themselves, enjoy their working lives and thrive in the career they choose.

We are a fair place to work. To ensure everyone has opportunity to thrive, our culture is founded on the following principles:

  • TREAT FAIRLY: Everyone is treated with fairness and respect. When someone finds themselves not being treated fairly, they feel able to speak up, are listened to and any appropriate action is taken
  • PAY AND PROGRESS FAIRLY: Everyone has fair access to development and progression opportunities to build a meaningful career of choice. There is equity in pay.
  • HIRE FAIRLY: We hire the best person for the job from a diverse pool of candidates. We actively challenge and ultimately eliminate perceptions that prevent anyone from joining the sector.

Our family-first culture has been recognised at the Working Families Awards, where we won in the ‘Best for Fathers’ and ‘Best for All Families’ categories. We are among the Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality, have been awarded gold accreditation from Investors in People. We won the Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Award at the Construction News Awards where the judges found us “head and shoulders above our contemporaries.”

We are a Disability Confident employer, committed to ensuring that our recruitment processes are inclusive and accessible and that existing colleagues who have or acquire a disability are supported in their career at Wates.

We have some of the best family leave policies in our industry. This includes a 52 week paid maternity leave and eight weeks of fully paid paternity/partner leave. Our shared parental leave and adoption leave are enhanced and matched with maternity leave. We offer four weeks of unpaid carers leave. This includes our site-based employees.

We believe that business done well can be a force for good and so we take our role in society very seriously. We believe in helping to shape communities through our projects and social value commitments. As a Wates employee you could also be involved in a range of activities from community engagement with schools through to social enterprise mentoring and volunteering in the communities we work in.

We also help to challenge inequality by championing the real Living Wage, working closely with the Living Wage Foundation to achieve this.

We’re committed to making our industry more sustainable through the way we build, the materials we use and the way we engage with suppliers, and have committed to Science Based Targets that will see us becoming a net zero company by 2045. Our zero carbon sites programme, our transition towards electric plant and equipment and our use of lower carbon alternative materials will help us get there.

We are also committed to having a positive impact on nature from our operations. This will be achieved through supporting local community projects and making biodiversity improvements to our projects.

Your career

We focus on helping our people to thrive and on offering great career development opportunities, so you never stand still. And if you want a change – even a completely different role – we encourage internal mobility throughout our businesses, giving you a range of different environments in which to gain experience.

Our wide range of learning and development activities builds the knowledge, skills and behaviours you’ll need to perform at your best and progress your career.

Our focus on diversity encourages those who are furthest from the workforce to come back into the workplace if they have been away for a while.

26 days

holiday a year

2 days

off for volunteering

Benefits

health, leisure, financial

Reward and benefits

As well as competitive salaries, we have some brilliant benefits – it’s our way of recognising the hard work you do.

We understand that this is about more than money.  We also run a flexible benefits scheme where you select the benefits that are important to you, from pension top-ups to health care and restaurant discount cards.

We offer 26 days of holiday a year that includes additional volunteering days for a good cause of your choice.

Our award winning, industry-leading family leave policy offers full paid maternity leave as well as eight weeks paid partner / paternity leave. We also offer enhanced shared parental and adoption leave including matched maternity pay as well as two weeks bereavement leave and flexible carers’ leave.

Learning and development at Wates

Learning and Development

We empower our colleagues to excel and thrive through comprehensive learning and development opportunities aligned with our values and performance priorities.

We offer diverse development programmes covering areas like safety, technical skills, behaviour and leadership. We empower our employees to take charge of their growth with self-driven learning options, including e-learning, and we provide support when they need it.

We foster a culture of continuous learning and empowerment, equipping our colleagues with the tools so they can progress their career and contribute to the success of our organisation.

BEGIN YOUR CAREER WITH US

Early careers programmes

Our early careers programmes are targeted at undergraduates, graduates, school and college leavers and trade professionals. The programmes are designed to be accessible and flexible to suit you.

Whatever your interests, we’ll help you find the right career path. One where you can explore, grow and thrive.

JUST STARTING OUT?

Work experience

Join us on a work experience position and discover how great working in the built environment can be.

Our opportunities are open to everyone and will help you gain experience that can kick-start your career as well as contributing to our exciting client projects. You could even go on to secure a place on one of our apprenticeships or graduate programmes.

JOB VACANCIES

Why wait? Join Wates.

Search our latest vacancies to find the perfect role for you.

Contracts Manager

Location: Finsbury Park

Job Type: Trades and Labour

Application Deadline: 20-05-2024

We have an opportunity for a Contracts Manager to join our Wates team within our Responsive Maintenance division. You will be based out of our Finsbury Park office working on one of our social housing contracts which may include, Voids, Planned and Disrepair workstreams that achieves target profit, increases contract turnover whilst ensuring compliance with Health and Safety regulations.Key Accountabilities will include: Lead a team of Supervisors, Administrators, Planners and Operatives Manage, monitor, review and oversee customer satisfaction across the contract Ensure that large multi-trade jobs are booked in by the scheduling team and are checked to clarify what trades and timeframes are required Responsible for operatives adhering to the attendance, mobile phone, driving, no smoking and alcohol and drugs policies, ensuring that if the policies and procedures are not followed the appropriate action is taken Work closely with Commercial team to identify and rectify Invoicing issues affecting contract profit and loss margins Ensure Health and Safety compliance in adherence with our Wates Operating FrameworkWe are looking for an experienced Contracts Manager who: Has Repairs and Maintenance sector experience Has a proven track record in managing large Maintenance contracts Has a proven track record in managing a large and diverse direct labour organisation and Supply Chain. Be fully compliant and has a proven track record in Health and Safety Management. Has proven commercial acumen in running large Maintenance contractsYou must have a full UK driving licence.To be successful in this role you will be an excellent communicator able to influence at all levels, be highly organised and driven to achieve high levels of customer and client satisfaction.

Electrician

Location: Streatham

Job Type: Trades and Labour

Application Deadline: 20-05-2024

We have an opportunity for an Electrician to join our Wates team within our Reactive Maintenance Division. You will be working from our Lambeth office and covering the surrounding areas, working on our social housing contract. The primary focus of this role will be to undertake all tasks to achieve first time fix and deliver a high standard of workmanship in a timely and productive manner always affording excellent customer service to the client.Key Accountabilities will include: Undertaking repair/ renewal works within your Electricians remit and work with associated trades Ensure maintenance work is undertaken safely and in accordance with all technical standards Communicate effectively with residents, scheduler and line manager Work safely and in compliance with Health & Safety and safeguarding requirements Remain up-to-date with technical and legal requirements of skill area Working in partnership with other operatives to complete repairs, if required Completing time sheets work sheets detailing work undertaken and materials used after each job undertaken, via a PDAWe are looking for a qualified and experienced Electrician who can utilise their skills to deliver small projects and repair works. You will hold a full UK diving licence, be confident in managing your own workload and will ideally already have experience of the housing maintenance sector.

Electrician

Location: Croydon

Job Type: Trades and Labour

Application Deadline: 20-05-2024

We have an opportunity for an Electrician to join our Wates team within our Reactive Maintenance Division. You will be working from our Croydon office and covering the surrounding areas, working on our social housing contract. The primary focus of this role will be to undertake all tasks to achieve first time fix and deliver a high standard of workmanship in a timely and productive manner always affording excellent customer service to the client.Key Accountabilities will include: Undertaking repair/ renewal works within your Electricians remit and work with associated trades Ensure maintenance work is undertaken safely and in accordance with all technical standards Communicate effectively with residents, scheduler and line manager Work safely and in compliance with Health & Safety and safeguarding requirements Remain up-to-date with technical and legal requirements of skill area Working in partnership with other operatives to complete repairs, if required Completing time sheets work sheets detailing work undertaken and materials used after each job undertaken, via a PDAYou must have a full UK driving licence with access to a vehicle.We are looking for a qualified and experienced Electrician who can utilise their skills to deliver small projects and repair works. You will hold a full UK diving licence, be confident in managing your own workload and will ideally already have experience of the housing maintenance sector.

Multi Trader

Location: Welwyn Garden City

Job Type: Trades and Labour

Application Deadline: 20-05-2024

Wates have an opportunity for a Multi Trader to join our Wates team within our Responsive Maintenance division. You will be covering Enfield and the Hatfield area working on commercial properties delivering reactive maintenance.Key Accountabilities will include: Undertaking repair/renewal works Advising Supervisor in a timely manner where other trades are required Working solely on certain tasks Working in partnership with other operatives to complete certain tasks Completing daily work sheets detailing work undertaken and materials used after each job undertaken Working in a timely and productive manner to complete programme tasksYou must have a full UK driving licence.To be successful in the role you will be an excellent communicator with the ability to problem solve, multi task, work to tight deadlines, have high standard of workmanship, productivity levels and ability to provide excellent customer service at all times is essential.


Fraudulent recruitment offers

It has come to our attention that various individuals and organisations are contacting people offering false employment opportunities.  Very often these offers carry a company logo and the details of a company employee. These are very easily found online and should not be accepted as proof of authenticity. Please be advised, Wates will never make unsolicited offers of employment, ask for money from job applicants or require bank details from candidates before a formal offer of employment has been agreed.

Get in touch

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