Job Opportunity: Project Mechanic (part-time) Bike Back

1. Background Information

About Life Cycle UK

Life Cycle UK is an independent organisation and registered charity (1077575) that has been working since 1999 to transform lives through cycling.

We employ 11 full-time-equivalent staff, have a network of 20 freelance cycle instructors and mechanics; 8 Trustees and over 70 volunteers. We deliver a range of activities to enable people to cycle. These include:

  • Our award winning bicycle refurbishment projects – Bike Back Bristol and Bike Back Derby that teach prisoners mechanical skills and in doing so refurbish bikes for the community.
  • Supported ride programmes that enable people affected by loneliness, isolation, poor mental health or disabilities to connect to each other and the environment through cycling.
  • Positive activities and exercise for disadvantaged young people.
  • Cycle training to give children and adults the skills and confidence to make journeys by bike.
  • Maintenance training from beginner to City and Guilds Level 2 to give people the skills to keep their bikes roadworthy.

The majority of our work is in Bristol and Derby but we have a growing number of contracts with otherlocal authorities to promote and encourage cycling.

There is more information on our website

Bike Back Derby:

Bike Back Derby is our bike refurbishment scheme for Derby and part of Connected - an exciting local travel initiative which aims to keep Derby moving.

We take donations of unwanted bicycles from the public and completely refurbishes them to a roadworthy condition. This work is undertaken by prisoners at HMP Stocken and HMP Nottingham, where they work towards and gain a City and Guilds Level 2 Award in cycle mechanics.

The bicycles are then returned back to Bike Back Derby and sold at affordable prices to local people helping them access work, employment and other facilities by bike.Bike Back Derby sells many bikes direct from our premises as well as at events locally. We also generate income from bike servicing and see this as a growth area. The Project Mechanic would be responsible for developing and growing this income stream from bike servicing.

We work alongside our Connected partners, Wheels to Work, The University of Derby, Derby Royal Hospital, Sustrans, East Midland Trains and Derby City Council to provide additional support tojob seekers and low income beneficiaries with transport issues.

Benefits to the prisoners

The project provides positive productive employment training and nationally accredited City & Guilds qualifications for prisoners at HMP Stocken. We provide support to a few prisoners following their release by giving them work experience in our workshop and supporting them to gain employment.

Benefits to the community

Many people would like to cycle but can’t afford a new bike. The project helps people on low incomes to buy an affordablebike. We also help and support people of Derby City to learn how to maintain their bikes through maintenance courses.

The future

Bike Back Derby is funded by Derby City Council and has funding in place to support the role of Project Mechanic until 31st March 2020. We envisage that the project will continue beyond this current funding, subject to innovation and development to ensure it can be sustained. We have exciting plans to grow our income from selling and servicing bikes to delivering cycle maintenance courses and are looking for a dynamic individual with drive and ambition to join our small team who wants to contribute to our long-term success.

2. Job description

Job title:Project Mechanic, Bike BackDerby

Job overview

Life Cycle UK is recruiting for the fixed term part-time role of Project Mechanic for its successful Bike Back Derby project. This is an important role as the successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring that all bikes are recycled to a high standard and our targets are met.

You will be an excellent bicycle mechanic, with experience of working on a wide range of bikes, particularly older bikes. You will have good time management skills and be able to work well with a wide range of people from other mechanics to prisoners and volunteers and you will be keen to share your skills and knowledge with them. You will be able to organise and maintain a well-equipped workshop and youwill have a very good understanding of health and safety issues, be able to cope with a busy working environment and getting jobs done on time to a high standard. The successful candidate will also be highly motivated and passionate about Life Cycle’s long-term vision for the project.You will have a proactive personality and always be looking for innovative ways to develop and improve our projects.

Job purpose

To take responsibility for the refurbishmentof bikes within Bike Back Derby. This will involve working closely with Life Cycle’s Derby Project Manager and volunteers to refurbishand sell bikes.

General duties and responsibilities

1. Bike refurbishment

  • Organise regular deliveries of donated bikes and collections of refurbished bikes to and from partner prisons.
  • Drive a long-wheel base transit in order to collect and move bikes.
  • Maintain adequate stocks of bikes and ensure sufficient bikes are refurbished to meet the projects targets
  • Record details of all donated bikes so they can be tracked through the system until point of sale.
  • Organise storage of donated bicycles; decide which can be repaired and which should be scrapped.
  • Attend “bike sale” events if required and help the public to purchase suitable bikes for their needs.
  • Coordinate and supervise a team of volunteer mechanics.

2. Servicing & Repairs

  • Work with the team to develop servicing and repairs.
  • Liaise with project assistant to manage bookings

3. Quality assurance and training

  • Manage quality assurance process, checking all bikes and ensuring they are refurbished to a high standard prior to sale.
  • Provide feedback to prisons on qualityand make suggestions for improvements
  • Provide task-specific training to staff, volunteersand prisoners to improve quality of refurbishment process as required

2. Health and safety

  • Be responsible for Health & Safety in the workshop area, ensuring staff and volunteers understand H & S requirements and work to agreed protocols, and making improvements as needed.

3. Tools and equipment

  • Ensure the project as a whole has sufficient parts, spares, tools and equipment to operate effectively.
  • Maintain accurate systems for ordering and stock control.
  • Organise correct, secure and timely disposal of scrap bikes and other waste.

4. Working with others

  • Ensure good customer service
  • Delegate tasks to volunteers, ensuring they have varied work, learning and training opportunities.

5. Other duties:

  • Attend and contribute to regular monthly team meetings to assist with the development of the project
  • Attendoccasional meetings at Life Cycle UK’s head office in Bristol when required.
  • Assist in the delivery of Dr Bike events when required.

Other relevant factors of the job

References and Checks

Ministry of Justice checks

In order to take on this position, you will need to successfully completed Ministry of Justice checks, to access the bike workshops in HMP Stocken and HMP Nottingham. These are in-depth security checks which include declaring membership of groups or organisations which the Prison Service considers to be racist.

Disclosure and Barring Service checks (DBS).

You may need to undertake an enhanced disclosure check carried out by the Disclosure and Baring Service for some of the work involved in this position.

3. Person specification: Lead ProjectMechanic

Experience

Essential

  • Extensive recent experience of bicycle repair and ability to fix a wide range of bikes including older models
  • Experienceof running quality assurance processes
  • Experience of working with a wide range of people including volunteers and vulnerable client groups.
  • Experience of providing good customer service.

Desirable

  • Experience of delivering training
  • Experience of running a Dr Bike surgery

Qualifications

Essential

  • Full clean driving license

Desirable

  • A recognised cycle maintenance qualification such as Cytec; City Guilds or similar
  • First aid certificate.

Skills and knowledge

Essential

  • Knowledge of good practice in running a bicycle workshop or similar with regards to Health and Safety, COSHH, good systems of work
  • Excellent communication skills and the ability to relate to people of all abilities, ages and backgrounds and make them feel at ease.
  • Computer literate with ability to maintain accurate records of bikes in and out.
  • Excellent time management skills and ability to get jobs done on time.

Desirable

  • Knowledge of broader cycling issues.

Personal attributes:

Essential

  • Approachable and helpful
  • Ability to work independently, proactively and under own initiative.
  • Positive approach and can-do attitude
  • A desire to grow and develop the project

4. Terms and conditions of employment – Project Mechanic

Contract

  • Fixed term contract which runs until 31st March 2020. It is our intention for the project to continue past this date but no funding has been secured yet.
  • Part-time: We are looking for a commitment of 2 or 3 days negotiable plus 1 half day every 1st Saturday of the month.
  • Days: Monday, Tuesday and if working a third day - Wednesday.
  • The core working day consists of 7.5 hours (excluding lunch break)
  • From time to time events will require you to work weekends and bank holidays for which time of in lieu may be taken on an hour for hour basis.

Salary:

  • £19,000 - £22,500 depending on experience per annum pro-rata. Salaries are paid on the 28th of each month in arrears and reviewed annually.
  • Under UK law, Life Cycle auto-enrols all staff in a pension scheme. Life Cycle will make a matched contribution to your personal pension up to a maximum sum equivalent to 5% of salary.
  • Reasonable out-of-pocket expenses will be reimbursed.

Annual leave

  • You will receive 28 days annual leave pro-rata including bank holidays.

Reporting

  • The Project Mechanic will report to the Life Cycle Derby Project Manager.

Note: this job description is for guidance. Employees are expected to be flexible and co-operative and to undertake additional duties as required.

Training

On-going training opportunities will be available to be discussed with the Life Cycle Derby Project Manager.

First Aid training will be completed or a requalification course attended (where applicable) every three years.

Working with volunteers

Life Cycle values its volunteers, who are a major resource and make a vital contribution to our work. You will be expected to encourage, develop and support volunteer involvement in our work.

Environmental sustainability

We expect you to carry out your job responsibilities in an environmentally aware manner, ensuring as little damage to the environment as possible. Our aim is to ensure all resources are utilised effectively and efficiently. You will be expected to apply ‘sound value for money’ principles in all your work.