Situations Vacant - Residential Caretaker – Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation

There are currently opportunities for new residential caretaker positions on the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation.  These come with a residential mooring (with local authority planning permission approved) at Heybridge Basin and at Paper Mill, on the Navigation, for which the incumbent will be charged the going rate (dependent on boat length). The post-holder will be expected to spend a minimum of 8 hours per week undertaking maintenance and security duties at the moorings area (e.g. grass cutting) for which they will receive a modest salary.  Because planning permission relevant to the mooring is for a fixed period at Heybridge, with renewal subject to review, the post at Heybridgewould be for an initial period of 18 months.  The post at Paper Mill is not fixed term.

Duties and responsibilities of the postholder would include:

Security
* Maintain security of Essex Waterways property as far as possible;
* Check moored boats for safety and security at regular intervals;
* Check car park for security, controlling parking as necessary;
* Control angling within the moorings.

Continuity of Navigation
* (Heybridge only) Assist the lockkeeper with locking and mooring as required;
* Keep the lock clear of obstructions and debris;
* Monitor and report on water levels;
* Participate in the Environment Agency’s Floodline flood warning scheme

Site maintenance
* Cut grass and trim hedges around the lock and moorings and the banks and towpath;
* Assist with painting and minor maintenance of buildings, etc;
* Collect and dispose of litter, sorting for recycling as appropriate;
* Monitor toilets and other facilities; re-stock consumables as necessary

Customer Services
* Sell licences (canoes, dinghies, etc);
* (Heybridge only) Assist the lockkeeper with operation of the boatyard as required

Public Relations
* Maintain good relations with boaters and other visitors;
* Represent the interests of Essex Waterways in dealings with customers and other visitors;
* Handle general enquiries, passing them on to the relevant person as necessary;
* Advise boaters in the correct use of the locks and navigation

For more information contact the navigation manager, Colin Edmond, (Tel: 07966 375351). 

Residential positions elsewhere on the Navigation may arise from time to time, and a waiting list is maintained for those expressing interest.