Job Description

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

Main purpose of job:

The British High Commission (BHC) to South Africa oversees the UK Government’s operations in South Africa across the following locations:

• The British High Commission Pretoria (BHC)
• The UK Visas & Immigration Office in Pretoria
• The UK Department for International Trade in Johannesburg (DIT)
• The British Consulate General Cape Town

Its Estates Team, based largely in Pretoria with some staff in the locations above, is responsible for delivering services to properties, offices and related facilities in order to meet the needs of the BHC and its staff.

The Electrical Systems Technician will be responsible for ensuring the routine maintenance, repairs and minor works of electrical systems, installations and generators at the BHC in Pretoria (comprising of offices, residential accommodation, amenities and grounds). They will help ensure that all electrical facilities and generators are operated and maintained in accordance with relevant technical and health & safety standards while liaising with contractors as required on site. They will be required to take a hands-on approach, undertaking some aspects of maintenance works themselves appropriate to their skill set - to this end, the BHC seeks applications from candidates with technical expertise/ qualifications (see below). The Electrical Systems technician will make proposals to improve maintenance and standards, working collaboratively with the BHC’s Technical Works team, directing and negotiating with external contractors. They will also occasionally undertake such duties at premises (offices and residential accommodation) in Johannesburg and may be asked to make the occasional visit to Cape Town. Travel costs are covered.

The Electrical Systems technician will work with considerable autonomy to take judgements on critical electrical infrastructure, to manage contractors working on complex issues and to assess and undertake works themselves, including key health & safety, procedural and financial decisions.

The Electrical Systems technician will work under supervision of the 3 X Estates Managers. The successful candidate will also need to demonstrate professionalism, effective inter-personal skills and be able to deliver a high quality customer service. The individual will deal with customers on a daily basis and offer guidance to the wider team.

The jobholder will need to be willing to work flexibly to help others, take on different tasks where work pressures are heavy, cover leave absences and deal with emergencies. This can involve calls and work dealing with customers and contractors in the evenings and at weekends, for which a mobile phone is provided and a financial allowance is paid on top of the salary.

Whilst the role is based in Pretoria, the jobholder can be expected to undertake periodic visits to the other Offices in South Africa, as listed above.

Roles and responsibilities:

The below roles and responsibilities are general guidelines. The full job is not limited to the detail below and is subject to change from time to time without prior consultation if circumstances, structures, work pressures or priorities alter, or if absences need covering.

Under the direction of the Estates managers the jobholder will:

• Maintain a comprehensive asset register of electrical equipment and generators, records of electrical works. installations and faults and documentation relating to compliance, safety and testing schedules, results and recommendations
• Implement a documented planned preventative maintenance system for essential building services, plant and equipment including:

• LV electrical distribution and electrical installations
• Split air conditioning, package A/C units and AHU’s
• Fire protection systems
• Water plant, pump, treatment & filtration services
• Security gates, vehicle gates, entry barriers, automated doors etc.
• External lighting
• Electrical services supporting security infrastructure and systems.

• Lead work to implement a documented planned preventative maintenance system for the generators and all associated systems and infrastructure, including:

• Lubricant, filters, radiator and coolant system checks and maintenance.
• Fuel and fuel system and fuel tank checks, re-fuelling schedules and maintenance.
• Battery and circuitry checks and maintenance.
• Routine generator exercises, maintenance, trouble-shooting faults, light fixes and servicing of full generator stock.
• Monitoring and maintaining systems and infrastructure associated with generator stock and power systems to the BHC properties.

• Manage a system of monitoring and replenishing fuel supplies, including oversight of purchasing and financial records;
• Supervise and direct contractors on a day-to-day basis with respect to electrical and generator maintenance and other minor building works, including assessing contractors’ quotations/ works schedules for proposed work; and their completed work for its quality and value;
• Assist in defining requirements for and maintaining stocks of essential spares, materials and equipment including oversight of purchasing and financial records and supporting procurement and wider Projects;
• Other ad hoc tasks as directed by managers.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

• Fluent English (the ability to speak, read and write including on technical matters)
• Hold a recognised trade qualification relevant to the responsibilities listed above plus a further qualification at diploma level in an engineering subject
• Previous relevant works experience in an commercial or residential environment
• Good communication, customer service and people skills
• IT literate and able to use the Microsoft Office Suite of Software (Outlook, Word, Excel)
• A positive ‘can do’ approach to work flexibly, troubleshoot problems and the ability to work collaboratively as part of a team
• Experience in the supervision, training and management of people employed on maintenance activities and supervising and negotiating with external contractors engaged in electrical works
• Hold a local Driving Licence

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

• Experience in drafting technical specifications
• Implementing Health & Safety systems
• Basic computer technical drafting and presentation skills e.g. using Microsoft Visio

Required behaviours Changing and Improving, Making Effective Decisions, Managing a Quality Service, Developing Self and Others Application deadline Application deadline - day Application deadline - month Application deadline - year 5 December 2022 Grade Administrative Officer (AO) Type of Position Permanent Working hours per week 36.5 hours Region Africa Country/Territory South Africa Location (City) Pretoria Type of Post British High Commission Number of vacancies 1 Salary R 23 744.07 monthly Start Date Start Date - day Start Date - month Start Date - year 1 February 2022 Other benefits and conditions of employment

Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):

Appropriate training will be available to the successful candidate. The nature of the role means that the jobholder will be able to develop, expand, hone and improve their technical skills over time.

Working patterns:

The jobholder will need to be willing to work flexibly including to deal with emergencies. This can involve calls and work dealing with customers and contractors in the evenings and at weekends, for which a mobile phone is provided and a financial allowance is paid on top of the salary.

Whilst the role is based in Pretoria, the jobholder can be expected to undertake periodic visits to the other Offices in South Africa, as listed above.

The British High Commission pays in full for the Key Care Plus option on Discovery Health for staff including spouses/partners and dependants.

• Once you have successfully completed your probation the British High Commission will contribute 9% of your monthly salary to a Provident Fund.
• Annual leave entitlement of 25 days
• Working hours per week of 36.5

Additional information

• Please complete the application form in full as the information provided is used during screening.
• Please check your application carefully before you submit, as no changes can be made once submitted.
• The British High Commission will never request any payment or fees to apply for a position.
• Employees recruited locally by the British High Commission in Pretoria are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in South Africa.
• All candidates must be legally able to work and reside in the country of the vacancy with the correct visa/work permit status or demonstrate eligibility to obtain the relevant permit.
• The responsibility lies on the successful candidate to;
• Obtain the relevant permit
• Pay fees for the permit
• Make arrangements to relocate
• Meet the costs to relocate
• The British High Commission do not sponsor visas/work permits except where it may be local practice to do so.
• Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount.
• Information about the Civil Service Success Profiles can be found on this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles. Please note: AA=A1, AO=A2, EO=B3, HEO=C4, SEO=C5
• Reference checking and security clearances will be conducted on successful candidates.

Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

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