Building Services Engineer Lead (North London Hertfordshire and Essex)

At Acorn, people are at the heart of everything we do. With over 40 years’ experience delivering market‑leading engineering and compliance services across London and the South East, we have built a reputation based on trust, technical excellence, and long‑term partnerships with our clients. We are seeking an experienced and driven Lead Engineer to join our team. In this role, you will take ownership of technical delivery, lead a team of engineers, and play a key role in shaping engineering standards and best practices across the business. This position is also focused on supporting the Contracts Manager in delivering exceptional service to our clients, while ensuring our engineering workforce is well‑supported, effective, and aligned to business objectives. This is an opportunity for a hands‑on leader who enjoys solving complex problems, mentoring others, and driving high‑quality engineering services.

Location: North London, Hertfordshire and East Essex

Salary: up to £50000 depending on experience plus overtime and callout

Hours: 41.25 hours a week

Company Benefits:

• Company Events
• Wellbeing Benefits – 24 hours turnaround GP appointment for the whole family
• 25 days holiday (not including bank holidays)
• Van and fuel card

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and supervise a team of engineers to ensure the effective delivery of reactive and planned preventive maintenance across allocated sites
• Coordinate daily workloads with the scheduling team, ensuring works are completed safely, efficiently, and within agreed timeframes / SLAs and business KPIs
• Provide technical support and guidance to engineers, maintaining high standards of workmanship and compliance
• Ensure all works are carried out in accordance with company procedures, statutory regulations, and Health & Safety requirements, including adherence to RAMS and safe systems of work
• Monitor the quality of completed works and ensure accurate completion of maintenance records, documentation, and certification
• Complete self‑audits at regular intervals and ensure the logbooks are maintained
• Provide regular operational updates to the Contracts Manager, highlighting risks, resource requirements, and performance issues
• Support the planning of maintenance activities, shutdowns, and project works where required
• Promote safe working practices and support the development and performance of engineers within the team
• Monitor materials, tools, and equipment to ensure compliance and availability

What we are looking for:

• Experienced and technically competent engineer with strong leadership capabilities
• Good knowledge of the SFG20
• Proven track record in building services maintenance
• Ability to manage engineers effectively, maintain high safety and quality standards, and communicate confidently with both internal teams and external stakeholders
• Highly organised, proactive, and capable of managing multiple priorities while ensuring the consistent delivery of high‑quality maintenance services

Personal Background and Interpersonal Skills:

• Good understanding of Health & Safety requirements and safe working practices
• Ability to organise workloads, lead a team, and manage day‑to‑day priorities
• Effective communication skills with the ability to liaise with clients, contractors, and internal teams
• IT literacy and full UK driving licence
• Experience working within multi‑site or facilities maintenance environments
• Experience managing subcontractors and supporting team development
• Recognised apprenticeship or equivalent in a relevant engineering discipline
• NVQ Level 3 (or equivalent) in Electrical, Mechanical, HVAC, or Building Services
• IOSH Managing Safely (or equivalent)
• Relevant technical certification appropriate to discipline (e.g., 18th Edition, F‑Gas)
• Proven experience as a Senior or Lead Engineer in a relevant environment
• Strong technical background in M&E
• Experience leading or mentoring engineering teams
• Strong organisational and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to balance operational delivery with leadership responsibilities
• Excellent communication and problem‑solving skills
• Experience working in a client‑facing or service delivery environment
• Knowledge of industry standards and compliance requirements
• Experience supporting field‑based engineering teams

Career Prospects at Acorn:

Acorn is committed to developing its people for the long term. Many of our engineers progress into senior engineering, specialist, or management roles as they grow within the business. We actively encourage skill development, increased responsibility, and career progression for individuals who show commitment, reliability, and a strong customer‑focused approach. As our service offering and client base continue to grow, there are ongoing opportunities for overtime, role development, and exposure to a wide variety of technically interesting sites and systems.

Why Join Acorn?

• A stable, well‑established company with over four decades of industry experience
• A supportive, knowledgeable internal team that understands engineering roles
• A strong focus on teamwork, professionalism, and safety
• Genuine long‑term career progression opportunities
• PPM‑led work across varied sites in the local and surrounding counties

Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, colour, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability.