Duty Technician: Metalwork Lead

Main Duties

Blackhorse Workshop is an open access public workshop providing access to tools and machinery for our members; both professionals working in the creative industries, and hobbyists keen to develop their making skills. Specialising in wood and metal equipment, we also run courses, training programmes for young people and special one-off cultural projects. We aim to support people to make a living doing what they love, open up the benefits of making and bring people together.

We are a small and collaborative technical team with specific key areas of focus, but a shared responsibility for the whole workshop environment. Within this role your twin responsibilities are Duty Technician to the whole workshop on the day you are working, and lead technician for the metalwork area. As such this is a vital role in the running of our busy workshop.

As Duty Technician you are the key figure on the day who ensures that the workshop is a safe and supportive space to make, for workshop users of varying skill levels. On a practical level this means responding to a variety of urgent and non-urgent tasks such as changing extraction bags, changing blades, carrying out repairs to tooling, organising the workshop space and helping out with tasks around the building. You will also assist workshop users to help realise their projects, providing technical assistance and project guidance where possible.

As lead metalwork technician you are also primarily responsible for the metal workshop area. This means you will carry out most maintenance and repair of the fixed metalwork machinery and metalwork space. You will work with the Workshop Manager to propose and implement upgrades to the space, so that we continue to improve our offer. Your metalworking experience will be invaluable in assisting workshop users to realise their metalwork projects, as well as inducting workshop users in the safe use of our metalwork machines.

And as part of the core team, you will have free access to all of the workshop’s tools and equipment outside of your working hours. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: Duty technician role:

• Maintain a clean and efficient workshop environment across metal and woodwork spaces.
• Carry out repairs to machinery and tools
• Provide technical assistance and advice to workshop users around their projects, ensuring we are as inclusive and accessible as possible.
• Play an active role in the technical team, sharing skills and offering help wherever possible.
• Provide further support for programme needs and small building maintenance tasks where
• required.
• Help to ensure that the workshop complies to legal requirements around Health and Safety particuarly ; fire prevention, manual handling, air quality and chemical management.
• Lead Metalwork role:
• Carry out routine maintenance and repairs to a range of fixed metalwork machinery and tools eg. Coldsaw, pillardrill, mig and tig welders, plasma cutter, forge, roller etc.
• Maintain stock of consumables inc. gas, welding supplies
• Propose and implement a programme of workshop upgrades
• Demonstrate safe use of metalworking machinery to first time workshop users as part of an induction procedure

Skills and Experience Required

• Experience of teaching or supporting people to work with metal.
• Experience of working with other materials particularly wood.
• Knowledge of machine repairs inc. Electrical