Why Work With Us
Benefits
CSR
Mission, Vision & Values
WHY URBANEST? EASY.
We are a growing organisation with employees from all over the world. We embrace diversity, talent and ideas to improve and advance ourselves. At urbanest, we share success as a company. Help us be successful and we will help you achieve your goals. We aim to make urbanest a great place to work – and a great place to live.
Who are we?
We pride ourselves on delivering the highest quality accommodation and sector-leading service to students and universities. Currently we have eight properties within Zone 1: Hoxton, Tower Bridge, King’s Cross, St Pancras, Westminster Bridge, Vauxhall, Victoria and Vine Street (City). With more exciting projects in the pipeline, urbanest is continuing to grow. We work alongside industry leading and award-winning architects, putting our residents’ needs at the forefront of any design decision. Each room is designed to maximise space and light, whilst delivering the best in modern sustainable living and fresh design concepts. Each urbanest has a community feel; with buzzing social areas and quiet study spaces for residents. We also run a calendar of events helping students to discover London, settle in, meet new people and enjoy their living experience with us.
Working with us
urbanest is building a strong positive reputation with some of the most prestigious universities in London. The people who run this company, care. We are passionate about investing in our employees and put a focus on developing and nurturing talent. Whether you decide to join our Customer and Property Management team or Central Support Office – you know you will be joining a company who consistently deliver excellent results within an exciting, fast-paced industry.
You have the opportunity to make a difference
Working for a small organisation means you are not just a number. Each team member’s performance is recognised and makes an impact on the day to day workings of our business. We seek people who are enthusiastic and continually promote a positive working environment, and are rewarded for doing so! We thrive on team spirit and supporting each other to achieve our goals – at urbanest, we share success as a company. Taking responsibility to deliver against set objectives and achieving outstanding results will pave the way to learning and development opportunities. Working for a market-leading company who have a strong focus on the future is an exciting opportunity for anyone, not just those looking to join the student accommodation industry. We are always researching innovative ways to improve the systems and processes we have in place and how this can benefit our teams and residents.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
At urbanest we are committed to promoting equality and diversity within our team and creating an environment in which all employees are treated with respect and dignity. We have an Ethics and Equal Opportunities and Dignity at Work policy, which is available for all employees for guidance and clarity. Urbanest will not tolerate unlawful discrimination, harassment and bullying based upon the following protected characteristics; age, disability, gender-reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
Please click here to see urbanest’s Ex-Offenders Policy.
BENEFITS
From the start, we will offer you a competitive salary and benefits package, regularly benchmarking ourselves against competitors within the industry.
YOU & YOUR FAMILY
Many of our benefits are aimed at supporting you and your family, if they are important to you – they are important to us! We offer a 7% contribution towards your pension scheme where you contribute a minimum of 5% to help you prepare for the later years, easy access to a range of online ISAs, including an Investment ISA (where you can hold money in cash or choose to invest), a Lifetime ISA and a Junior ISA. There is also a General Investment Account (GIA) available if you have maxed out on your annual ISA allowance, generous parental leave policies, life assurance and much, much more. Your health, wellbeing and happiness is a priority. If you need time away from work to rest and recharge or travel the world – book some annual leave and go have fun.
We run regular financial wellbeing seminars, including pre-retirement planning – which aim to provide useful help, support and options to consider in these current financial challenging times. Your physical wellbeing is also key and we offer a significantly discounted gym membership to allow you to exercise before or after work and to also provide you with an option local to you at home.
We provide eye-care vouchers whenever you require and run events to promote the importance of mental health in the workplace. Our Employee Assistance Programme is there to support our employees and their family members, inside and outside of work. We offer an anonymous, 24/7, free service delivered by trained professionals who are there to assist you. Whether your concern is money, health or family issues – help is at hand. We get it – London transport is busy and expensive. Our very popular Travel to Work Loan scheme and Cycle to Work loan scheme will help you save money on commuting to and from work. Last but not least, for the savvy-shoppers, urbanest offers access to a total rewards portal, giving you access to money saving vouchers for cinemas, restaurants, high-street retailers and more!
OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU
Learning is important. Once you leave school, college or university, learning should never stop. At urbanest, we offer extensive opportunities for personal and professional development internally and externally. Whether you’re attending training events, undertaking a course of study or shadowing other departments, we will support you every step of the way.
Ark University Bursary Programme
In 2018 urbanest joined forces with Ark, an education charity that supports children from all walks of life, with access to a great education. The Ark bursary programme provides bursaries to high-achieving year 13 Ark students who have made a positive contribution to their school and community and are going on to study at UK universities. The majority of bursaries are for students that demonstrate high financial need, as shown by being eligible for free school meals within the last 6 years, as well as meeting other relevant eligibility criteria. We wanted to support Ark’s cause by providing bursaries to these remarkable students. These bursaries included financial support towards living costs and a room in one of our central London properties.
From 2018, Urbanest have provided 5 students every year, with a bursary for the duration of their university course in London.
“Supporting students is at the heart of everything we do at urbanest, which is why we are so pleased to announce the launch of this new bursary scheme. The bursary is our way of giving back to the local community and providing young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds with opportunities they might not otherwise have.” Mark Smithers, Customer Experience Director. Our Operations Director, Karl Velinor, along with other managers and volunteers from across the business has supported Ark in selecting the successful students. We look forward to welcoming our Ark students into our properties and supporting them throughout their time with us! Find out more on Ark’s website: https://arkonline.org/news/ark-students-given-access-free-university-accommodation-thanks-urbanest
Mission
10,000 urbanest beds by 2025
Vision
A living experience better than yesterday; even better tomorrow.
Values
At urbanest, our values are at the heart of every decision we make. We recruit and build our teams with great people who champion and drive these values across our business.
Integrity
We do the right thing
Development
We learn and improve
Energy
We CAN do it
Achievement
We see it, own it, solve it
Support
We are there for each other