Wivenhoe House Hotel Ltd
Job Pack – Housekeeping Supervisor
Wivenhoe House is a beautiful 18th Century 4* hotel, near to the pretty quayside village of Wivenhoe, and minutes from Britain’s oldest recorded town, Colchester. The hotel compromises 40 bedrooms, several events spaces which includes the Garden suite which can host up to 120 guests and the 80 cover one AA rosette Park brasserie. It is also home to the Edge Hotel School and the hotel facilitates mentoring and hands on experience for students studying for degrees in Hospitality.
The successful candidate will be part of a team of Housekeepers working throughout the Hotel across public areas, bedrooms and some administration based tasks. You will be working alongside and assisting the Housekeeping Manager in the organisation, running and management of the Housekeeping team. If you are proactive, ambitious, a team player, have an eye for detail, supervisory experience and a real passion for hospitality then we would like you to join our team.
Duties of the Post
The successful candidate will be required to supervise the cleaning of guest rooms/suites, assist the Housekeepers to change bed linen, towels and portering duties where appropriate and to an agreed standard. You will also be required to assist with the management of ordering of stock, linen storage and deliveries and carry out any other tasks as requested. Whilst mainly supervisory the role is also hands on involving the moving of furniture and equipment in guest rooms and other areas of the Hotel. If you have previous cleaning supervisory experience, can work flexibly in a role which will include working weekends and some late shifts, have an eye for attention for detail and can deliver excellent customer service this could be the opportunity for you to be part of this unique and exciting operation.
Experience
Previous experience of working as a Housekeeping Supervisor in a hotel, care home or similar industry is preferred. Qualifications in Manual Handling, COSHH training and NVQ Level2 in Customer Care or Hospitality would also be an advantage.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Job Title and Grade: Housekeeping Supervisor
Contract: Full-time, permanent
Hours: 40 hours per week (to be worked flexibly 5 days from 7)
Salary: £29,262.
Responsible to: Housekeeping Manager
Responsible for: A team of Housekeepers and Porters
Purpose of job: To consistently monitor the Housekeeping service to provide excellent quality and standards throughout the hotel.
Duties of the Post: The duties of the post, some of which will require physical effort such as standing for long periods, waking distances, climbing stairs and using cleaning equipment, will include the following:
1. Ensure all rooms are cleaned to the required standards and ready for the arrival of the guests
2. Actively participate in training the Housekeeping team to achieve the hotel standards of comfort, safety and security
3. Carry out inspections of all vacated and cleaned rooms and undertake routine inspections of occupied rooms in order to ensure that high quality service is always provided.
4. Monitor room maintenance through reports from the Housekeeping staff and liaise with the Maintenance section to rectify faults as soon as possible.
5. Ensure all students receive consistent training to achieve their training outcomes whilst on rotation in the Housekeeping Section.
6. Assist the Housekeeping Manager with monitoring the financial performance of the
Housekeeping Department ensuring that the service is delivered within budget.
7. Report and return any lost guest property ensuring close liaison with reception
8. Ensure Health and Safety standards are always followed
9. Ensure that rooms are always supplied with the correct allocation of linen, towels, amenities etc. to the agreed standards.
10. Inspect corridors, lockers and butler pantries, housekeeping trolleys, housekeeping storage rooms and equipment and report all maintenance and replenish requirements.
11. Ensure that all guests receive high quality service at all times
12. Ensure that the Housekeeping team follow procedures to ensure that spoiled linen or towels from circulation, the turndown service is offered consistently, etc.
13. Ensure security of keys and allocated guest rooms at all times reporting any suspicious behaviour immediately.
14. Regularly carry out staff appraisals and identify staff training and development needs.
15. Deputise for the Housekeeping manager when required.
16. Undertake any reasonable task as requested by the General Manager or his nominee.
These duties are a guide to the work that the post holder will initially be required to undertake. They may be changed from time to time to meet changing circumstances and do not form part of the contract of employment.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Experience/Knowledge Essential Desirable
▪ Previous experience in a similar role
▪ Previous relevant experience in 4 or 5 star property
▪ Previous experience of managing a team
Skills/Abilities Essential Desirable
▪ Excellent communication skills
▪ Problem solving skills
▪ Ability to deliver training to Room Attendants , Porters and Students
▪ Experience of working with computerised systems
▪ Attention to detail: working carefully within the minimum time
▪ Good team working skills
▪ Good organisational skills including the ability to prepare staff rotas to meet operational needs
▪ Ability to act with discretion
▪ Ability to deliver excellent customer service
▪ Flexible approach to working times
Other Essential Desirable
▪ Be able to undertake the physical aspects of this post
▪ Well presented and a professional manner
▪ Ability to meet requirements of the UK right to work legislation
* The University has a responsibility under the Asylum, Immigration and Nationality Act 2006 to ensure that all employees are eligible to work in the UK. Prior to commencing employment, the successful candidate will be asked to provide documentary evidence to this effect, Please note that the University will not be able to issue a Tier 2 Certificate of Sponsorship for this post.
* (Please note that we reserve the right to close the post for applications and withdraw it from the website at any time)
July 2026
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: £29,262.65 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Discounted or free food
- Employee discount
- Free or subsidised travel
- Free parking
- On-site parking
- Referral programme
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Colchester CO4: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Experience:
- housekeeping supervisory: 2 years (required)
Licence/Certification:
- Manual Handling/CoSHH Training certificate (preferred)
- NVQ Level 2 in Customer Care/Hospitality (preferred)
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
