The opportunity
ep8 is a professional and growing residential construction and property development business. We deliver extensions, refurbishments and small-scale residential developments across Oxfordshire, West Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and the eastern Cotswolds.
We are looking for a genuinely experienced, hands-on General Builder to join our directly employed team.
This is not primarily a site management or supervisory position. You will be expected to carry out skilled building work yourself, take responsibility for substantial elements of residential projects and work confidently with limited supervision.
Your initial main project will be a substantial residential project in the Pangbourne area, expected to run for approximately seven to eight months. With a strong pipeline of further work developing, this is an opportunity to join the business at an important stage and build a stable, long-term career with us.
The role
You will work closely with our experienced groundworker and our specialist subcontractors. Together, the directly employed team will undertake key structural and general building packages, including:
- Setting up and organising new sites
- Demolition and enabling works
- Temporary works and safely propping existing buildings
- Forming structural openings
- Installing structural steels, padstones and associated supports
- Brickwork and blockwork
- Groundworks, drainage, concrete and slab work
- Making good following structural alterations
- General residential building work
- Reading and working from construction and structural engineers’ drawings
You should be comfortable sharing your knowledge and working collaboratively with a colleague whose main strengths are groundworks, machinery and site productivity.
This is not necessarily a formal management or training position, but we value people who help their teammates develop.
Essential experience
You must have strong, practical experience in:
- General residential building work
- Temporary propping and structural alterations
- Forming openings in existing properties
- Installing structural steels and padstones
- Reading construction and structural engineers’ drawings
- Demolition and enabling works
- Working safely and taking responsibility for your own work
Strong bricklaying or blockwork experience would be a major advantage.
We are looking for an experienced tradesperson - not a labourer or someone whose recent experience has mainly involved supervising other trades.
Additional useful skills
Experience in some of the following would also be beneficial:
- First-fix carpentry, including studwork, floor joists, roof timbers, timber framing and door linings
- Insulation and plasterboarding
- Fascias, soffits, gutters and downpipes
- Second-fix carpentry, including hanging doors, skirting, architraves and window boards
- Installing windows and external doors
- Basic plastering and making good
- Groundworks and drainage
- Concrete and slab work
- Hard landscaping and paving
- General site establishment and organisation
You do not need to be highly skilled in every area. Proven experience in structural alterations, temporary propping, steel installation and general building is central to the role.
Qualifications and transport
A full UK driving licence is essential.
You must also be willing and practically able to collect a fellow employee on the way to site when required. Candidates should therefore be based somewhere that allows sensible travel to the Pangbourne area and our wider operating region.
A valid CSCS card is preferred.
SSSTS, temporary works training and CPCS or NPORS plant qualifications would be useful but are not essential. Practical ability is more important than holding every qualification, and we may fund suitable training for the right candidate.
Access to a suitable van would be helpful during the probationary period, although it is not essential for an exceptional candidate.
About you
You will be:
- An experienced and practically capable builder
- Dependable, reliable and punctual
- Proactive and able to solve problems on site
- Comfortable taking responsibility for your work
- Professional when working in customers’ homes
- Tidy, organised and safety-conscious
- Able to work effectively as part of a small team
- Willing to share your experience with colleagues
- Interested in a stable, long-term employed position
- Keen to grow with an ambitious and professional business
Salary and benefits
- Salary of approximately £45,000–£50,000 per year, depending on experience
- Permanent, full-time PAYE employment
- Initial probationary period
- Working hours of 7:30am–4:30pm, Monday to Friday, including one hour of unpaid breaks
- 20 days’ annual leave plus eight bank holidays
- An additional two to four days’ company shutdown over Christmas and New Year
- Up to five unused holiday days may be carried forward, subject to company policy
- Workplace pension contributions
- Paid compulsory training and agreed health and safety qualifications
- Annual salary review, normally in March
- Occasional overtime by prior agreement
- Agreed Saturday work paid at the equivalent day rate or taken as time off in lieu
- Possible van allowance during probation if you use your own suitable van
- Company van following successful completion of probation, subject to final agreement
- Opportunities to take on greater responsibility as the business and team grow
How to apply
Please apply with an up-to-date CV and a short summary of your hands-on experience in:
- Temporary propping
- Forming structural openings
- Installing steels and padstones
- Brickwork and blockwork
- General residential building work
Please also confirm where you are based, your current notice period and whether you hold a full UK driving licence.
Pay: £45,000.00-£50,000.00 per year
Application question(s):
- Briefly describe your experience of temporary propping, forming structural openings and installing steels or padstones in residential properties.
- Where are you based, and can you travel regularly to the Pangbourne area for a 7:30am start?
Experience:
- hands-on general building: 1 year (preferred)
Licence/Certification:
- UK Driving License (required)
Work Location: In person
