Port Lympne Hotel and Reserve & Howletts Wild Animal Park
Maintenance Operative
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Closing date: Monday 29 June 2026
Salary: £31,636.80 Per Annum, Plus Desirable Benefits
Position: Full Time, Permanent
About the Role
Are you wild about creating memorable experiences? Do you want to work in a place where you can hear calls from troops of howler monkeys, or the roars from a pride of lions?
We are looking for a hands-on and proactive Maintenance Operative to join our Estates team, supporting the maintenance and day-to-day upkeep of our unique and varied estate environment at Port Lympne, with support provided to Howletts Wild Animal Park where required.
In this role, you’ll carry out a wide range of reactive and planned maintenance tasks, helping to ensure our guest accommodation, public areas, operational facilities and wider estate infrastructure remain safe, functional and presented to a high standard. No two days are the same, with work ranging from general building repairs, plumbing, carpentry, painting and decorating to estate upkeep and minor refurbishment projects.
Working as part of the wider Estates team, you’ll help maintain high operational standards across the estate, responding to maintenance issues as they arise while supporting planned maintenance activities and wider operational needs.
This is an exciting opportunity for someone practical and adaptable who enjoys varied, hands-on work and wants to play an important role supporting two truly unique visitor destinations.
Who We Are Looking For
We’re looking for a practical, proactive and reliable individual with hands-on maintenance experience who enjoys variety, takes pride in high standards of work, and can support the smooth day-to-day operation of a large and varied estate environment. You’ll have broad maintenance experience across a range of disciplines such as general building maintenance, plumbing, carpentry, painting and decorating, or similar trades, with confidence carrying out both reactive repairs and planned maintenance tasks. You should be comfortable working independently, able to problem solve effectively, manage competing priorities and adapt to changing operational demands.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
As this role involves working across guest-facing areas, accommodation, operational facilities and wider estate environments, you’ll need a strong understanding of health and safety, safe working practices, and the ability to carry out work with minimal disruption to operations. Experience working in hospitality, leisure, estates or other public-facing environments would be beneficial. We’re seeking someone who is flexible, dependable and team-oriented, with strong communication skills and a professional approach. You’ll be comfortable working collaboratively with others, remain calm under pressure, and take pride in delivering high standards of workmanship and presentation. A full UK manual driving licence is essential. Relevant trade qualifications or certifications such as NVQ, City & Guilds, IPAF or PASMA would be advantageous.
Contract Details
- Hours: 45 hours per week, worked five days out of seven.
- Working Hours: Between 7:00 am and 8:30 pm, including weekends and bank holidays.
- Right to Work: All applicants must have the right to work in the UK.
- Transport: A reliable mode of transport is recommended due to our remote location.
- Location: Predominantly based at Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve, with potential occasional work at Howletts Wild Animal Park.
The Location:
Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve is a world-renowned wild animal park set within 600 acres of Kentish savannah. The Reserve is home to some of the world’s most rare and endangered animals and offers luxury short breaks accommodation, free roaming animal safaris, once-in-a-lifetime animal encounters and exquisite dining experiences. Most importantly, every one of our employees is part of real conservation in action and their efforts have contributed to animals such as black rhino and western lowland gorillas being returned to their natural habitats in collaboration with our partners at The Aspinall Foundation.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Why You Should Join Us
We’re on a mission to create memorable experiences that matter, and our Core Values ‘One Team’, Customer’ and ‘Pride’ are what drive us each day to become part of something extraordinary. As well as walking to work surrounded by the calls of Howler monkeys and the roars from our pride of Lions, you will join a supportive team who are passionate about their place of work. Be part of the Port Lympne and Howletts family and join our pride.
You can also expect a host of other benefits including:
- 28 days annual leave inclusive of bank holidays, rising with length of service. (Pro-rata to start date and working hours)
- Comprehensive training and development opportunities, including workshops and e-learning
- Enhanced Sickness, Maternity and Paternity Policies.
- Unlimited free entry for you and a person of your choice into both of our parks as well as friends and family tickets.
- Exceptional discounts on food, retail and accommodation at our parks.
- Numerous retail discounts and access to a 24-hour counselling line through our Healthy Extras Scheme.
- And many more length or service-related rewards and benefits.
A Full Job Description Is Available On Request.
To apply: Please email your CV along with a covering letter to – beng@howlettsandportlympne.com
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location