De-Fleet and Return Programme Team Leader

At Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, our employees are at the heart of our business. Our colleagues provide a range of financial solutions designed around the changing needs of our diverse customers. It doesn’t matter the colour of your skin, the beliefs you value, the people you love or the tattoos you wear, we support you for being you.

Through the doors of Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, you will find a passionate team working to support our customers and our colleagues. We ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to learn and develop. We want to celebrate your individuality, embrace your personality and welcome you into our culture. It’s the differences of our colleagues that enable us to thrive. We believe our backgrounds, skills and cultures contribute to our shared culture and help us deliver outstanding Customer Experience. Inclusion is the driving force behind our ethos.

At MBFS, we are proud to be a Menopause Friendly Accredited Employer, reflecting our ongoing commitment to creating a supportive and inclusive workplace. We offer wellbeing support options and resources for colleagues experiencing menopause and to those who are supporting someone through it.

In this role, you will be responsible for the delivery of MBFS’ end-to-end De-Fleet, Return Programme and logistics processes, including post-maturity vehicle returns, vehicle inspections and asset transfers. Leading a team of De-Fleet and Return Programme Administrators, the role is accountable for delivering an efficient, effective and high-quality service to external customers and internal stakeholders, ensuring compliance, operational excellence, and a seamless customer experience throughout the vehicle return lifecycle.

Main Accountabilities

• People Management: Lead, manage and develop a team of De-Fleet and Return Programme Administrators and a Co-ordinator, effectively planning and prioritising workloads to ensure service levels, operational targets and customer expectations are consistently achieved. Drive a high-performance culture through regular coaching, training, PDRs, 1-2-1s and performance management activities, ensuring colleagues have the capability and support required to succeed. Foster a culture of innovation, continuous improvement and customer excellence, continually enhancing processes and the customer experience throughout the agreement maturity and vehicle return journey. Motivate and engage the team to achieve and exceed departmental objectives, quality standards and customer service expectations. Support the delivery of business change initiatives and projects, ensuring departmental changes are effectively embedded with minimal disruption to service delivery. Monitor team performance against key operational, quality and customer experience metrics, implementing corrective actions and development plans where required. Promote a positive, collaborative and inclusive working environment that reflects MBFS values and supports colleague engagement and wellbeing.
• Operational Excellence: Support the Asset Return Manager in the implementation of the evolving De-Fleet strategy; including developing the policies, procedures and standards necessary to deliver class-leading service. Develop and continuously refine a reporting suite that provides clarity on the effectiveness of De-Fleet and Return Programme processes. Ensure business controls and process/procedure guides are in place and being used appropriately, including sign-off levels. Quality Assurance – Monitor and report team performance against quality assurance measures to ensure a high level of quality across all business processes. Where quality standards have not been met, manage individuals in line with the Performance Management Framework. Identify and report any Data Protection or FCA breaches through the REBEL process or risk log and take appropriate remediation actions where required. Support the Asset Return Manager in the development of relationships with the Retail Network to ensure the promotion and penetration of the Return Programme across the network.
• Supplier Management: Manage and monitor the performance of Logistics, Vehicle Inspection and Fleet Solutions partners, as well as the V5 Management Partner, against agreed service levels and asset return KPIs. Act as a key point of contact for escalations and operational queries, driving continuous improvement in supplier performance, charge file accuracy, processing efficiency and customer outcomes while ensuring delivery of MBFS objectives.
• MBC/MBV: Develop and maintain strong relationships with MBC and MBV to ensure Customer Experience is maximised throughout the asset return, De-Fleet and Return Programme journey.
• Customer Escalation & Stakeholder Management: Act as the primary escalation point for complex customer, retailer and supplier issues, ensuring timely resolution and positive customer outcomes. Work closely with internal teams, including Remarketing, Recoveries, Customer Services and Operations, to ensure the effective handover of vehicles and cases throughout the asset return lifecycle. Coordinate cross-functional activities to support timely asset recovery, vehicle disposal and stock management, ensuring adherence to stock management policies, internal controls and governance requirements. Facilitate collaboration between internal departments, retailers and suppliers to ensure efficient case progression, minimise asset retention risk and deliver positive customer and business outcomes.

About you

• Experience managing vehicle return, asset recovery, de-fleet or logistics operations.
• Experience of leading, developing and motivating teams, fostering a high-performance culture focused on accountability, collaboration, inclusion and continuous improvement.
• Experience of supplier performance management, including KPI governance and service reviews.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret operational data and performance trends.
• Experience managing customer escalations and complaint resolution.
• Knowledge of FCA requirements, Consumer Duty outcomes and cross cutting rules and Data Protection regulations.
• Proven ability to drive process improvement and operational efficiencies.
• Strong stakeholder management skills across retailers, suppliers and corporate functions.

What’s in it for you?

We’ll offer you a competitive salary and discretionary bonus structure. We also hope you’ll love our products as much as we do, with access to our colleague car schemes. On top of that, you’ll be able to join our pension scheme and you’ll get a flexible benefit pot that can be used to find the benefits that are right for you.

We’re here to support you – we offer access to colleague wellbeing resources, including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and the Inclusion Advocates as well as flexible opportunities to support work life balance. We’ll also encourage your development, with the training and knowledge you need to reach your potential.

Through the doors of Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, you’ll find a passionate team working to put our customers first. We know that to keep this team motivated, we need to ensure that everyone has equal opportunity to learn and develop. We celebrate a culture of appreciation and respect, where everyone is valued for who they are. We believe our backgrounds, experiences and cultures contribute to our shared experience and shape who we are and what we do. The diversity of our colleagues reflects the diversity of our customers. This diversity is the driving force behind our ideas.

What’s next?

Please be assured that we’re here to support you throughout the recruitment process and beyond, and reasonable adjustments are available to any candidates who need them. We’re also open to working flexibly and are happy to discuss flexible working options.