Lead Engineer

Job Ref: MC1427

Branch: The Vineyard Hotel

Location: The Vineyard Hotel, Newbury

Salary/Benefits: Competitive Salary

Contract type: Permanent

Hours: Full Time

Shift pattern: 5 days on/2 off per week, split as required to ensure 7-day hotel coverage

Hours per week: 40

Posted date: 05/10/2026

Closing date: 16/11/2026

Why join The Vineyard Hotel?

Join The Vineyard as we begin an exciting new chapter, reopening in February 2027. Starting in January 2027, you'll become part of a passionate team, helping to shape the guest experience and set the standard for our next era of luxury hospitality.

Renowned for exceptional food, outstanding wine, and memorable guest experiences, The Vineyard is entering a new era. From day one, you'll help shape the guest experience, establish new standards, and contribute to the successful launch of this five-star destination.

Join a passionate team where excellence, innovation, and collaboration are at the heart of everything we do, and play a meaningful role in shaping the future success of The Vineyard.

The role

As Lead Engineer, you will take overall responsibility for the maintenance, compliance, safety and operation of the hotel's facilities, plant, equipment and infrastructure. Reporting to the General Manager and Hotel Property Manager, you will lead the Maintenance Department, ensuring the property is maintained to the exceptional standards expected within a luxury hotel environment.

This hands-on leadership role requires a proactive and technically skilled professional with experience in electrical, mechanical or related building services disciplines. You will oversee planned and reactive maintenance, statutory compliance, contractor management, energy efficiency initiatives and property improvement projects, whilst supporting the delivery of exceptional guest experiences.

Working closely with all hotel departments, you will play a fundamental role in protecting and enhancing the hotel's assets, ensuring a safe, efficient and well-maintained environment for guests and colleagues alike.

You’ll also:

Leadership Team Development

Lead, motivate and develop the Maintenance Team, creating a culture of accountability, engagement and continuous improvement.

Coach and support team members through regular training, performance reviews and development planning.

Manage team rotas and workload distribution to ensure effective operational coverage.

Promote a positive safety culture and ensure team wellbeing is prioritised.

Maintenance Facilities Management

Manage the hotel's Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) programme, ensuring all tasks are completed effectively and on schedule.

Oversee reactive maintenance across the hotel, ensuring issues are resolved promptly with minimal disruption to operations.

Ensure all guestrooms, public areas, restaurants, bars, leisure facilities and back-of-house areas remain in excellent condition.

Conduct regular inspections to identify maintenance requirements and opportunities for improvement.

Support asset lifecycle management and long-term maintenance planning.

Health, Safety Compliance

Act as the lead for maintenance-related Health Safety activities across the property.

Ensure compliance with all relevant health, safety, fire, environmental and statutory regulations.

Manage fire safety systems, emergency lighting, water hygiene programmes and associated compliance requirements.

Conduct risk assessments and ensure Safe Systems of Work are in place and adhered to.

Manage Permit to Work procedures and contractor controls.

Ensure compliance with asbestos management procedures and site-specific control measures.

Lead incident investigations and corrective action planning where required.

Implement emergency response procedures and support business continuity planning.

Conduct regular safety inspections and ensure lock off/tag off (LOTO) procedures are followed.

Water Safety Pool Plant Operations

Oversee the operation, testing and maintenance of swimming pool plant systems.

Act as the appointed person for water hygiene management, implementing Legionella risk assessment recommendations and ensuring ongoing compliance.

Liaise with water treatment specialists, contractors and external consultants regarding water quality programmes and testing.

Maintain accurate records relating to water systems, testing and remedial actions.

CAFM Maintenance Systems

Manage the hotel's Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) system.

Ensure all planned and reactive maintenance activities are accurately logged, tracked and completed within agreed timescales.

Monitor maintenance performance, analyse trends and identify opportunities for operational improvements.

Maintain accurate maintenance, compliance and audit documentation.

Produce reports and performance data for senior management review.

Contractor Project Management

Manage relationships with contractors and suppliers, ensuring quality service, compliance and value for money.

Supervise contractors on site and ensure all works are carried out safely and in accordance with permit systems.

Lead maintenance projects, refurbishments and property improvement initiatives.

Assist with purchasing, stock control, procurement and budget management.

Support capital expenditure planning and future investment programmes.

Sustainability Energy Management

Drive energy efficiency and environmental improvement initiatives across the property.

Monitor utility consumption and identify opportunities to reduce environmental impact and operating costs.

Support wider sustainability objectives through effective maintenance planning and operational best practice.

Operational Support

Work collaboratively with departmental leaders to ensure maintenance activities support operational requirements and guest satisfaction.

Participate in an on-call rota and provide support during emergencies, projects and peak operational periods.

Ensure departmental standards consistently support a luxury five-star guest experience.Participate in an on-call rota and provide support during emergencies, major projects and busy operational periods.

About you

You are an experienced engineering, maintenance or facilities professional with a hands-on approach and a passion for operational excellence. You thrive in a fast-paced environment, balancing technical expertise with strong leadership capability and commercial awareness.

You enjoy solving problems, improving systems and delivering projects, whilst maintaining rigorous compliance standards. Most importantly, you take pride in creating safe, efficient and exceptional environments that support memorable guest experiences.

You will also have:

Essential

• Previous experience in a senior maintenance, engineering or facilities management role.
• Qualification in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering or a relevant trade discipline, or significant equivalent industry experience.
• Experience leading, coaching and developing maintenance teams.
• Strong knowledge of building services, plant equipment, electrical and mechanical systems.
• Experience managing Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) programmes.
• Experience using CAFM or maintenance management software systems.
• Strong understanding of statutory compliance requirements and Health Safety legislation.
• IOSH Managing Safely qualification or willingness to obtain.
• Knowledge of swimming pool plant operations and water quality management.
• Experience managing contractor relationships and permit-to-work systems.
• Knowledge of Legionella control and water hygiene requirements.
• Strong organisational, planning and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and projects simultaneously.

Desirable

• Experience within a luxury hotel, hospitality, leisure or spa environment.
• Recognised engineering, maintenance or technical trade qualifications.
• Swimming Pool Plant Operator qualification or equivalent.
• First Aid qualification.
• Fire Marshal qualification.
• NEBOSH General Certificate.
• Experience delivering refurbishment, improvement or capital expenditure projects.
• Experience managing maintenance budgets and procurement processes.
• Knowledge of energy management and sustainability initiatives within hospitality environments.

Skills Competencies

• Strong leadership and people management skills.
• Excellent technical and engineering expertise.
• Ability to lead by example with a hands-on approach.
• Strong decision-making and problem-solving ability.
• Excellent planning, organisation and prioritisation skills.
• Commercial awareness and budget management capability.
• Commitment to health, safety and compliance excellence.
• High attention to detail and quality standards.
• Professional, proactive and solution-focused mindset.
• Ability to build strong relationships with colleagues, contractors and suppliers.
• Strong project management capability.
• Confidence working independently and taking ownership of operational challenges.

The Vineyard is part of the Monogram Collective, an innovative, thriving business and we want you to be part of our exciting journey. You’ll meet great people, have fun at work, develop new friendships, learn new skills, and of course you will also receive a competitive rate of pay and a generous range of employee benefits which includes:

• 35 days holiday
• Training and development from day one
• Employee events and celebrations
• Inhouse company interactive employee communication APP
• Healthy meals to enjoy while you're working
• Access to an external Employee Assistance Programme
• Financial Wellbeing App, allowing you the flexibility to get paid earlier than your normal monthly pay date
• Contributions to a pension plan

Following your first successful 3 months, you’ll also receive …

• Access to our discounts and wellbeing platform “Treat Yourself Here”, unlocking savings and experiences for you and your family
• Involvement in our employee recognition schemes
• Long service recognition
• Probation pass and annual anniversary complimentary guest experience overnight stay and dinner for two
• 50% discount in our restaurants
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Discounted room rates for employees, friends, and family
• Spa treatments and product discounts
• Life Assurance cover

Please note, this role does not meet the requirements for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route.

If you are interested in the role, we look forward to hearing from you!

Discover the Vineyard Hotel: A Premier Destination for Hospitality Professionals

Nestled in the heart of Berkshire, The Vineyard Hotel is a luxurious haven renowned for its rich wine heritage, exceptional hospitality, and stunning surroundings. Located in Newbury, the hotel is celebrated for its dedication to fine dining and wine, housing an impressive 30,000-bottle wine cellar and offering a unique, wine-inspired experience for guests and team members alike.

This five-star property combines elegance with warmth, featuring 49 beautifully designed rooms and suites, each inspired by a different wine-growing region. With its award-winning restaurant, stunning spa facilities, and close proximity to the scenic countryside and historic landmarks, The Vineyard Hotel is not just a destination for guests but also an inspiring place to work, where the commitment to excellence and passion for quality service make it a truly special environment for hospitality professionals.

For job seekers, The Vineyard offers the chance to be part of an exceptional team, delivering unforgettable experiences in a setting that beautifully merges tradition with luxury.

Become part of the team

We're in the business of making people happy, that's why we're always on the lookout for thoughtful innovators, self-starters and those who truly believe they can make a difference to someone else's day. If this sounds like the kind of team you'd like to play for, we'd love to hear from you.