Closing date: Monday 26th May 2025
Salary: Competitive Salary, Plus Desirable Benefits
Full Time, Permanent Position
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?
Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve are looking for a proactive and hands-on Maintenance Manager to lead our team and ensure the smooth operation of our estate. You’ll oversee both planned and reactive maintenance, allocate tasks strategically, and manage a mix of in-house staff and external contractors.
With a sharp eye for health and safety, budget control, and compliance, you’ll also be responsible for coordinating work schedules, maintaining essential infrastructure, and ensuring our operations run efficiently with minimal disruption to guests or staff.
Your leadership will be key - you’ll support recruitment, team development, training, and performance management, all while promoting a strong, safety-conscious team culture. From monitoring contractors to collaborating across departments and reporting to senior management, you’ll keep standards high and systems running. If you’re highly organised, solution-focused, and ready to make a real impact in a unique setting, we’d love to hear from you.
Who we are looking for:
We’re looking for a confident and experienced Maintenance Manager with a strong background in facilities or building trades - someone who thrives on leading teams and delivering high-quality work in a dynamic environment. You’ll bring hands-on experience managing specialist maintenance activities such as grounds and facilities upkeep, electrical work, plumbing, or general building repairs. Your understanding of building regulations, health and safety standards, and planning requirements will be key in ensuring our operations run smoothly and safely.
A natural leader, you’ll have a proven track record in team building, staff development, and motivating others. Strong communication and problem-solving skills are essential, along with experience managing budgets and negotiating contracts. You’ll need to be IT-literate, comfortable using tools like Microsoft 365, and willing to get up to speed with internal systems. A full UK driving licence (categories B, BE, B1 as a minimum) is essential, alongside recognised maintenance qualifications such as City & Guilds or NVQs.
If you have an interest in conservation and the environment, even better - we’d love to hear how your values align with ours.
Contract details:
Working hours are 45 hours per week, worked 5 days out of seven, 8am-5pm. This position is based at Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve, although the successful candidates might be required to work across both sites on the occasion. All applicants must have the right to work in the UK. A reliable mode of transport is recommended due to our remote location.
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.
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 ‘roarsome’ benefits including:
- 28 days annual leave inclusive of bank holidays, pro-rata to start date and working hours, rising with length of service.
- 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.
- Company Pension
- And many more length or service-related rewards and Benefits.
Your adventure awaits
#joinourpride
A full job description is available on request.
To apply: If you want to work in an exciting and unique environment where no two days are the same, email your C.V. and covering letter to matthewL@portlympne.com
