Closing date: Monday 16 November 2026
Salary: Competitive Salary DOE, Plus Desirable Benefits
Full Time, Permanent Position
Primarily based at Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve
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?
The Site Services team at Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve and Howletts Wild Animal Park and is looking for a Maintenance Supervisor to support the day-to-day running of our busy maintenance department.
Working closely with the Site Services and Trade teams, you will coordinate daily workloads, allocate and prioritise reactive and planned maintenance tasks, and monitor progress to ensure work is completed efficiently and to a high standard. You will help manage the maintenance backlog, oversee task tracking and support the coordination of external contractors where required.
This is a hands-on supervisory role, ideal for an experienced maintenance operative or working foreman looking to take the next step into team leadership, while continuing to provide practical maintenance support when needed. You will play an important role in maintaining our parks and facilities, ensuring work is carried out safely and with consideration for our guests, colleagues and animal welfare.
A full job description is available on request.
Who we are looking for:
We are looking for someone with a strong practical maintenance background and experience coordinating work or supporting a team within an estates, facilities, construction or similar operational environment. You will be organised, proactive and confident prioritising workloads, responding to changing demands and ensuring maintenance tasks are completed safely and to a high standard.
You will have good communication and problem-solving skills, a sound understanding of Health & Safety and the ability to work independently while supporting and motivating others. A full UK manual driving licence is essential.
Previous supervisory or foreman experience, along with experience coordinating contractors, using maintenance tracking systems or working within a hospitality, leisure or visitor attraction environment, would be advantageous. Additional qualifications such as IOSH, First Aid at Work, trade qualifications, PASMA or IPAF would also be beneficial.
This is a great opportunity for an experienced maintenance operative or working foreman looking to develop their leadership skills, with ongoing training and support in team supervision, maintenance planning and operational coordination, offering scope to progress into a broader maintenance leadership role over time.
Contract details:
The hours of work are 45 hours per week, worked five days out of seven on a rota basis. Normal shifts will be scheduled between 7:00am and 8:00pm. Flexibility is required to work early starts, evenings and weekends, with occasional out-of-hours support and shift cover as required by the needs of the business.
All applicants must have the right to work in the UK. A reliable mode of transport is recommended due to our remote location. The role will be predominantly based at Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve, with occasional work required 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. Our sister park, Howletts Wild Animal Park is located near Canterbury and set within 90 acres of land. Howletts is home to over 300 rare and endangered species, including Kents only giant anteaters, the largest herd of African elephants in the UK, and more gorillas, leopards and monkeys than any zoo in the county!
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 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.
(Please note, this role may close early if we receive a high volume of applications.)
To apply: Please email your CV along with a covering letter to – beng@howlettsandportlympne.com
Visit our website at www.aspinallfoundation.org to find out more about us.
Internal applicants will be given priority for interview before external applications are considered.
