CAREERS · JOB ADVERT · REF MKR-01
Furniture Maker / Designer-Maker / Craftsperson
YOUR WASTE. OUR MATERIALS.
We're looking for an exceptional maker.
Someone who sees possibility where others see waste. Someone who enjoys solving problems at the bench, building things that have never existed before, and takes genuine pride in every detail they produce.
Every week different reclaimed materials arrive through our doors, timber, metals, plastics and materials most workshops would never touch. Your job is to understand them, work with our design team, and transform them statement furniture, bespoke commercial interiors, installations and feature pieces for some of the UK's best-known brands.
Some projects begin with nothing more than a conversation and a pile of reclaimed timber. Others arrive as fully developed manufacturing drawings where every millimetre matters. We need someone who enjoys both.
AT A GLANCE
SALARY
Competitive Rate of pay, based on experience, craftsmanship and capability.
We're looking for the right person and recognise exceptional skill when we see it.
CONTRACT
Permanent · full-time
6-month probation
REPORTS TO
ReFactory Design & Production Office
HOURS
Mon–Fri, 7:00am–5:00pm
47.5 hrs/week · 30-min lunch
LOCATION
Goole Site - Opus 36, New Potter Grange Rd, DN14 6BZ
· Some work at The Maltings - Turpin Ln, South Milford, Leeds LS25 5FP
own transport required
HOLIDAY
30 days’ leave
rising with service
Holiday in full: 30 days’ annual leave, The site runs on bank holidays, so they’re normal working days, but you’re free to book them off against your allowance. Entitlement rises by one day for each full year of service, up to five extra days (35 after five years).
ABOUT REFACTORY
ReFactory is the in-house design-and-make workshop of MyGroup, a Yorkshire-based recycling and resource recovery business with more than 35 years' experience keeping valuable materials out of landfill.
Every day our wider business recovers materials others consider waste, reclaimed timber, metals, ocean plastics, packaging, industrial materials and much more.
Our job at Refactory is to give those materials another life.
We design and manufacture bespoke furniture, commercial interiors, installations and statement pieces that combine exceptional craftsmanship with sustainable design. Every project is different, every material has its own story, and every build presents a new challenge.
We've delivered work for some of the UK's best-known brands, creating products they'd never have imagined could be made from the materials they threw away.
We're as passionate about craftsmanship as we are sustainability.
THE ROLE
We want a multi-skilled furniture maker who can take a piece the whole way, from first prototype, through refining the build, to the short runs that must match it exactly, to fitting the finished thing on site. Most days you’re at the bench, building furniture and fittings from reclaimed and recycled material. Some days you’re out installing a feature piece. The design team will hand you things that have never been made before and trust you to work out how. We're looking for someone who enjoys solving problems, contributing ideas, improving designs and finding practical ways to make ambitious concepts become reality.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Building bespoke furniture, feature pieces and commercial installations using reclaimed and recycled materials.
- Working alongside our designers to develop concepts into beautifully made products.
- Producing prototypes and refining manufacturing methods.
- Manufacturing one-off pieces and small production runs to consistently high standards.
- Working confidently from both sketches and detailed manufacturing drawings.
- Operating and maintaining woodworking machinery and workshop equipment safely.
- Installing completed projects on client sites when required.
- Maintaining the highest standards of workmanship, safety and attention to detail.
WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR
ESSENTIAL
· Proven experience as a furniture maker, cabinet maker, designer-maker or within a similar craft-based manufacturing environment.
- Strong knowledge of woodworking techniques, tools and machinery, and open to working metal, plastics and whatever else turns up
- Comfortable developing a rough concept on the floor and working to a precise drawing, both take a maker who can communicate and adapt
- A creative, problem-solving head, a real eye for detail, and the pride of a maker who cares,
- Exceptional attention to detail and pride in producing work of the highest quality.
- A portfolio or photos of your work. We don’t hire anyone who can’t show us what they’ve made
- Full UK manual driving licence, you’ll occasionally drive between sites and to jobs
- Your own transport (the workshop isn’t on a public transport route)
- You take pride in doing things right, and in doing right by the planet
Most importantly:
Please include photographs or a portfolio of work you've personally built.
We're far more interested in seeing your craftsmanship than reading pages of CV.
DESIRABLE
- Experience working with reclaimed or recycled materials
- Prototype development and R&D experience.
- Experience across other materials (metal, plastic, textiles)
- On-site installation experience
WHAT YOU’LL GET
- Genuinely varied work with the opportunity to build one-off furniture, statement pieces, commercial interiors and installations.
- The satisfaction of giving waste a second life as furniture people genuinely want
- Creative involvement in developing new products and solving unique design challenges.
- Room to grow across new materials, methods and techniques
- A permanent, full-time role with a workplace pension and 30 days’ holiday (rising with service)
- A small, multi-disciplinary team that takes the planet and the craft equally seriously.
BEFORE YOU APPLY
Take a look at the work we produce. Instagram @myrefactory
If building projects like these excites you, we'd love to hear from you.
HOW TO APPLY
Please send:
- Your CV
- A short covering note
- A portfolio, website, Instagram profile or photographs of projects you've personally made
PDFs, links or images are all welcome.
Email: [email protected]
Closing date: End of August
Benefits:
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
