Service Manager - Maintenance Specialist Assets

Your new role

We care about the journeys our customers make, we want them to get home safe and well, and we want to connect our country to benefit our economy, business and our customers. We exist to connect the country, because we believe a connected country is better for everyone.

Join us as a Service Manager where you will set the strategic direction for the delivery of maintenance and repair works to specialist highways assets across the South West region in collaboration with our delivery partners. Reporting to the Head of Service Delivery you will lead a large specialised team ensuring routine maintenance is well planned and all activities are delivered in a timely manner, in line with contractual agreements, and meet the required technical, quality and safety standards.

Effective management of our suppliers is key with the ambition to drive change to achieve the best results for the organisation and our customers. The role will see you develop and maintain the catalogue of available maintenance related services, ensuring service level requirements, emerging demands and customer expectations are reflected in contractual agreements and/or future negotiations.

The role would suit a proven people manager experienced in leading teams across a matrix management organisation with a strong understanding of specialist Highways assets including structures and technology. In return we offer a dynamic and impactful role where you will engage nationally with key stakeholders and delivery partners to shape the programme of maintenance and repair works across the region.

As a flexible working organisation we are pleased to offer this role from our Bristol or Exeter office with regular travel to other Highways England sites. The role has on-call responsibilities during critical incidents.

What you'll be leading on

* To develop and maintain the catalogue of available maintenance related services, ensuring service level requirements, emerging demands and customer expectations are reflected in contractual agreements and/or future negotiations.
* To develop and manage high quality cyclical maintenance work plans and resource plans in line with agreed business goals, outcomes, budget and service level agreements.
* To control and approve all M&R related spend, in line with agreed approvals and escalation processes.
* To ensure the planning cycle takes account of known events and the implications of winter and severe weather and emergency scenarios, and contributes to the optimisation of network availability.
* To provide leadership, direction and line management for a team of professionals, fostering a culture which promotes high performance, recognises and develops talent, and upholds best practice people management - e.g. ensuring timely setting
* To proactively track and monitor service delivery performance, working closely with Service Delivery-On Road colleagues (i.e. Inspectors) and PMO colleagues to understand performance trends, identify risks, analyse root causes for performance issues and develop remedial action plans.
* To proactively manage supplier performance to agreed contractual service level agreements, technical, quality and safety standards, including the investigation of breaches of service level targets and service non-availability, with the instigation of remedial activities.

To be successful

* You will hold an Engineering degree or relevant technical qualifications / accreditations, or relevant experience
* You will have expert knowledge of Highways assets with a strong understanding of technical asset policies and strategies, structures expertise is desirable
* You will have the ability to manage and inspire specialist teams across organisational boundaries
* You will have strong planning and project delivery skills
* You will have strong commercial acumen, with an in-depth understanding of relevant supply chain contracts including NEC contracts
* You will have excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.