Student Cleaning Assistant
Who are we?
We are Manchester Students’ Union, the biggest SU in the country, supporting over 48,000 students throughout their time at university. We help to make student life the best it can be by supporting students to campaign for change, creating opportunities to meet new people, providing employment opportunities, providing advice and support and being a safe place on campus.
We are a values-centred organisation that employs around 90 permanent, full-time members of staff. We recruit a wide range of roles throughout the year within all our departments from our Commercial team operating Manchester Academy Venues, 13 Media, Bar 532 & Kitchen and Corridor Coffee to our Student Activities, Student Engagement, Marketing and Communications, Finance, HR and Facilities teams. Our team of around 400 part-time, studying staff are instrumental in providing to support to all departments as well as leading major projects like Student Angels. When you join UMSU, you’ll be immersed in an environment that empowers staff to make great things happen and we're always on the lookout for innovative, passionate, and proactive people to join us.
Our values are really important to us and shape the work that we do every day. As part of our recruitment process, we want you to demonstrate how your experiences, behaviours and skills align with our values. You can find more detailed explanations of our values on our website.
About the role
Please note that this role requires you to be available to work early morning, night and weekend shifts.
A morning shift will typically begin at 6am and finish around 9am. You’ll be cleaning the Students’ Union and Academy buildings; reporting any damage or maintenance issues you encounter to the Cleaning Supervisor.Once the cleaning has been completed, you may be asked to support the wider duties of the Facilities team; undertaking basic maintenance and repair tasks, setting up / breaking down chairs and table; other portering duties as required.
An evening shift is likely to run from 7pm to 11pm, and will involve being assigned to an Academy venue while there is a show taking place. Duties will be reactive to situations as they arise; clearing spillages promptly both inside and outside of the venue, monitoring and maintaining toilet cleanliness and consumables with a clear focus on achieving excellence.
It’s important to note that this role is a very physical role.
Principal Duties
• Ensure cleaning is completed to an excellent standard and report any issues to the Cleaning Supervisor
• To work with the wider Facilities team and report any issues/damage you find around the building in the course of your duties the Cleaning Supervisor
• Supporting day to day running of the Facilities function including events and bookings to ensure the smooth running of services whilst complying with health & safety by ensuring floors and communal spaces are clean and dry whilst the building is open, displaying appropriate warning signage as required, cabling for equipment does not pose a trip risk to the public etc. (this list is not exhaustive).
• Undertake basic maintenance and repairs to ensure facilities and equipment are safe and fit for purpose throughout the buildings
• Responsible for the maintenance of your cleaning supplies and equipment, requesting replacements as required via the Cleaning Supervisor
• Attend to any reactive cleaning as appropriate (spills etc)
• Any other duties as required
General Duties of All Staff
• To contribute to the delivery of the team objectives as determined in the operating plans
• To undertake all administrative aspects associated with the individual role.
• To assist in key Students’ Union events throughout the year including Welcome Week & Elections
• To adhere to all Students’ Union policies & procedures
• To contribute to Union projects and participate in working groups
• Assisting other colleagues throughout the Students’ Union when required
Please read the full role profile before applying, as well as our guide to recruitment.
Details
Wage: £13.45 per hour + holiday pay
Contract: Zero Hours, Fixed-Term until June 30th 2026
Hours: approximately 10 hours per week
Eligibility: Open to students currently studying at UoM, MMU and UoS with relevant skills and experience who are eligible to work in the UK from the start of employment
Our Reward Package
You'll get access to our reward package which you can see here.
Recruitment Guide
We have a guide that explains our full recruitment process. We recommend reading through this before beginning an application.
If you are invited to interview with us, we will share our interview questions in advance so you can prepare your responses. We’re more interested in hearing about your experiences and ideas than in testing your memory, and so we want you to feel as prepared as possible.
AI Use
GenAI tools, like ChatGPT, are revolutionising how we approach a whole host of tasks at work. As a future-focused employer, we believe in embracing, not banning, these tools. However, as with all tech, some ways of using it are better than others. You can use GenAI to refine and articulate your ideas. It’s a tool to help structure your thoughts and improve clarity, not to replace your unique voice and experiences. Please don’t just copy and paste what AI tells you to write.
We recommend you read our guide on how to approach the use of AI within our recruitment process:
Inclusivity and Accessibility
We are committed to equality of opportunity, and we work hard to ensure we appoint based on skill and values.
We particularly encourage applications from Disabled or Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African candidates as these groups are currently underrepresented in our staff team.
If you have any accessibility requirements or require adjustments to support you to apply to work with us, please get in touch. We can offer reasonable adjustments at all stages of our recruitment process.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer. Under this scheme, we aim to offer an interview to candidates who declare a disability and meet the minimum essential criteria for the role. Minimum criteria are marked with an asterisk on the person specification. However, during periods of exceptionally high application volumes or peak recruitment times (i.e. July, August and September), it may not always be possible to guarantee an interview for every eligible candidate. In such cases, we will take steps to ensure that the process remains fair, consistent, and inclusive.
Recruitment Timeline
Applications opened: 21/01/2026
Applications close: 30/01/2026 23:59 pm
Interviews: 13/02/2026
Role Commencing: 16/02/2026
We may close applications early if we receive a high volume of applications. We recommend that you apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Once the vacancy has closed, we’re unable to accept late applications to ensure a fair process for all candidates.
Contact
People Team:
You can contact the People Team with any questions regarding this vacancy or our recruitment process.
Email: jobs.su@manchester.ac.uk
Phone: 0161 306 3279
Hiring Manager: Emma Hudson
You can contact the People Team with any questions regarding this vacancy or our recruitment process.
Email: emma.hudson@manchester.ac.uk