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Form of workWhy Work for us: Employee benefits (southampton.gov.uk)
We are looking for a confident and self-motivated individual to undertake the role of Cemetery Operative within Southampton City Council’s Bereavement Services team.
Purpose of Role
- To be responsible for maintenance of cemetery, crematorium and buildings.
- To be responsible for the preparation and backfilling of graves in accordance with legislation and regulations.
- To help make Southampton a cleaner, safer, healthier and more attractive City.
Key Accountabilities
- To undertake a range of horticultural duties including; planting, weeding, basic pruning, turfing and seeding and small scale landscaping.
- To undertake general maintenance, labouring, grass cutting, clearing of leaves, litter and the emptying of litter bins. To be able to guide and demonstrate these duties to other assigned employees.
- To liaise with cemetery users, concerning any enquiries within the cemeteries in a sympathetic and professional manner.
- To excavate, prepare and backfill graves in accordance with specification and the correct Safe Working Procedures/Risk Assessments in operation. To include shuttering, dressing and reinstatement of site to a clean and tidy standard. To be prepared to undertake interments at short notice and to complete the task of backfilling of graves that go beyond normal working hours.
- To be able to drive between sites to ensure that all graves are excavated and maintenance is carried out in accordance with scheduled programmes.
- To assist with exhumations in accordance with legislation.
- To use appropriate hand tools, light plant, operate pedestrian and ride on machines and mini-excavators in accordance with council policy.
- To use chemical controls and irrigation equipment with appropriate training in accordance with council policy.
- To be responsible for the locking and unlocking of premises and sites, cleaning of chapels, toilets and mess rooms with the reporting of any defects as appropriate.
- To carry our minor daily maintenance and cleaning of all plant and equipment reporting of any defects as appropriate.
- To undertake other duties as appropriate to the grading of the post as required.
If you feel you have the necessary background, experience and skills to undertake this role we would like to hear from you.
Essential requirements:
- To hold a full UK driving licence is essential.
- To hold or be willing to train for a B+E towing licence is essential.
- To hold or be willing to train for an excavator qualification is essential.
- To hold or be willing to train for an ICCM COTS qualification is essential.
For further information please refer to job description and person specification.
Contact details for informal discussion:
For further information and details regarding the position, please contact Kevin McLoughlin, Team Leader, Cemeteries on 07949 830412 or 023 8076 6405.
Recruitment contact details:
Email: recruitment@southampton.gov.uk
Tel: 023 8083 4033
Additional information:
- The working hours for this role are 37 hours per week. Some out of hours working, including weekends and evenings may be required from time to time.
- This is a permanent position
- Please note that appointments are usually made at the bottom of the salary scale.
How to apply:
To apply for the position please select the 'Apply for this job' button at the bottom of the page.
The supporting statement section of the application form must be completed, unless there are specific criteria questions for you to evidence against. Applications are shortlisted against the essential and desirable criteria found within the job description for the post. Please refer to the job description when completing your application form and evidence how you meet the required criteria/questions. A CV on its own will not be considered.
Unfortunately we are not able to accept applications that are made through a third party agency. We cannot guarantee that any correspondence sent from third party agencies will be responded to. To ensure your application is received please apply directly through our website.
We are proud to be #DisabilityConfident and support fair recruitment practices. Find out how you can get involved at gov.uk/disability-confident. No applicant or employee will receive less favourable treatment because of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership and pregnancy or maternity, unless a Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR) applies.
Southampton City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. It is committed to delivering services to ensure they are happy, safe and have opportunities to reach their goals as responsible members of our community. We believe it is always unacceptable for a child, young person or adult to experience abuse of any kind, and recognise our responsibility to safeguard and promote their welfare. We are committed to following safe practices to ensure this and expect all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment. This commitment is reflected in all our recruitment and selection practices.
As a Corporate Parent we are actively aiming to support all our children in care (looked after children) and care leavers. Any applicants who are children in care or care leavers, who meet the essential criteria for the post applied for, will be guaranteed an interview.
