Regional Engineering and Facilities Manager in Reading, Berkshire in England

Regional Engineering and Facilities Manager

Why this opportunity?

Make your mark - Take ownership of a critical regional function, influencing engineering standards, investment decisions and the future development of multiple facilities.

Think beyond engineering - Work alongside senior leadership and operational teams, gaining exposure to a wider European organisation and contributing to strategic business initiatives.

Work in an essential industry - Help maintain the infrastructure that keeps critical food and pharmaceutical supply chains moving.

Drive improvements - Lead projects, modernise systems, introduce smarter maintenance practices and improve efficiency, reliability and sustainability.

Take ownership - Enjoy the autonomy to make decisions, develop your teams and deliver meaningful results across the region.

What will you be doing?

As Regional Engineering and Facilities Manager, you'll be responsible for the performance, reliability and continuous improvement of engineering and facilities across multiple cold storage warehouse locations.

You'll combine technical expertise with a strategic approach, ensuring critical equipment, refrigeration systems and building infrastructure support demanding 24/7 operations.

You’ll

• Take ownership of engineering and facilities across multiple sites, ensuring buildings, refrigeration systems, utilities and equipment operate reliably and efficiently.
• Lead, develop and motivate engineering teams, building a culture of accountability, technical capability and high performance.
• Drive preventative and predictive maintenance programmes to minimise breakdowns, reduce downtime and maximise asset reliability.
• Oversee refrigeration infrastructure, including ammonia, CO2 and Freon-based systems, ensuring the highest standards of maintenance and operational control.
• Lead engineering projects, equipment upgrades and facility improvements, managing capital investment and maintenance budgets to deliver results within agreed timescales and costs.
• Ensure facilities meet all relevant health, safety, environmental and cold-chain compliance requirements, maintaining a proactive approach to audits and risk management.
• Manage contractors, suppliers and service providers, negotiating agreements, monitoring performance and ensuring value for money.
• Use engineering KPIs, CMMS and monitoring systems to identify opportunities for improvement, increase equipment uptime and modernise maintenance practices.
• Drive energy efficiency, sustainability and technology initiatives, supporting the organisation's wider growth and decarbonisation objectives.
• Work closely with operational teams, senior management and Group Engineering to align priorities, manage risks and support business continuity.

What are we looking for?

We're looking for someone who combines strong engineering and facilities management experience with genuine leadership ability and a proactive, commercially minded approach.

You'll be comfortable operating at both a strategic and operational level, making decisions, challenging existing practices and balancing reliability, cost, safety and business performance.

You’ll ideally have

• A proven track record in engineering, facilities or maintenance management, ideally within cold storage, temperature-controlled logistics, warehousing or a similar industrial environment.
• Strong technical knowledge of refrigeration systems, ideally including ammonia, CO2 and Freon-based installations.
• Experience managing engineering and facilities across multiple sites, supporting complex infrastructure and 24/7 operations.
• A strong background in leading, coaching and developing engineering teams, setting standards and managing performance.
• Experience with preventative and predictive maintenance, asset management and equipment reliability.
• A track record of delivering engineering projects, capital investments and facility improvements.
• Experience managing budgets, controlling expenditure, negotiating supplier contracts and improving operational efficiency.
• Good knowledge of health and safety, environmental legislation and relevant engineering compliance standards.
• Familiarity with CMMS platforms, facility monitoring systems and digital engineering technologies.
• Strong problem-solving, communication and stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to influence at all levels.
• A proactive mindset, commercial awareness and a genuine passion for continuous improvement, technology and sustainability.

A degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Facilities Management or a related technical discipline would be advantageous, as would relevant refrigeration, project management or safety qualifications.

Experience within an international or multi-site organisation would also be beneficial.

The opportunity

This is an opportunity to build something, not simply maintain it.

You’ll be joining a growing internatio

Barker Ross Group values and promotes equality.

No terminology in this advert is intended to discriminate against any of the protected characteristics that fall under the Equality Act 2010.

We encourage and welcome applications from all sections of society and are more than happy to discuss reasonable adjustments and/or additional arrangements as required to support your application.

For the purposes of the Conduct Regulations 2003, when advertising permanent vacancies we are acting as an Employment Agency, and when advertising temporary/contract vacancies we are acting as an Employment Business