Depot Supervisor - Engineering

Join our Wigan depot as a Depot Supervisor and take the lead in ensuring safe, reliable and efficient delivery of seasonal fleet maintenance requirements. Managing a team of 6-8 maintenance staff, this role is suited to an experienced maintenance supervisor or maintenance manager from a workshop, depot, fleet, plant, heavy engineering, HGV, utilities, manufacturing, aviation ground support or similar maintenance environment. Previous rail experience is beneficial but not essential, with rail-specific knowledge and requirements developed through training and operational exposure.

Main Responsibilities:

• Lead and manage a depot team of 6–8 maintenance staff, allocating work, monitoring progress, supporting competence development and ensuring safe, efficient completion of planned and reactive maintenance activities.
• Plan and control daily depot workload, balancing safety, resource availability, asset priorities, defect rectification and seasonal readiness requirements.
• Drive a clear maintenance rhythm for the depot, including daily briefings, work allocation, defect review, parts availability checks, job close-out and escalation of blockers.
• Monitor daily site activities, manage job progress and elevate issues to the Maintenance Manager as required.
• Conduct site inductions, toolbox talks, routine safety inspections and local safety briefings.
• Maintain accurate records of labour, materials, parts, plant and equipment usage to support cost control, maintenance planning and customer reporting.
• Maintain accurate records of work carried out, including parts used, defects identified, actions completed and follow-up requirements, in line with company and regulatory documentation standards.
• Work with the Maintenance Manager, FAMS team and wider support functions to ensure maintenance records are accurate, complete and closed in line with company and customer requirements.
• Act as the local depot point of contact for customer and internal operational queries, ensuring issues are communicated clearly, owned appropriately and escalated when required.
• Ensure health and safety procedures are followed and safe working practices are maintained within the depot and any associated on-site working environments.
• Support the delivery and improvement of maintenance plans, standard work instructions, depot processes and reliability actions.
• Work closely with operations, planning, stores, engineering support and senior maintenance management to resolve issues affecting asset availability and depot performance.
• Contribute to continuous improvement activity by identifying recurring defects, reporting reliability trends and suggesting practical maintenance or process improvements.
• Ensure depot activity is carried out in line with company safety, environmental, quality and rail compliance requirements, with support provided for rail-specific standards where required.
• Work effectively with other departments within GBRf to support safe, reliable and efficient delivery of the seasonal maintenance function.

Skills and Experience:

• Experience supervising or managing maintenance activity within a workshop, depot, fleet, plant, manufacturing, utilities, aviation, HGV, heavy engineering or similar maintenance environment.
• Strong practical understanding of planned maintenance, reactive defect management, job prioritisation and safe systems of work.
• Proven ability to lead small to medium-sized maintenance teams, including work allocation, performance management, coaching and day-to-day supervision.
• Good mechanical and/or electrical understanding, with confidence working around complex equipment, machinery, vehicles or specialist plant.
• Demonstrable understanding of maintenance activity in relation to site operations, asset availability, operational targets and customer requirements.
• Strong leadership, organisational and interpersonal skills.
• Strong safety leadership, including briefings, toolbox talks, near-miss reporting, hazard identification and routine workplace inspections.
• Competent in reporting, documentation, job close-out, record keeping and use of digital maintenance or mobile workforce management systems.
• Able to manage competing priorities in a live operational environment while maintaining standards, safety and delivery focus.
• Excellent attention to detail and consistent adherence to procedures.
• Good communication skills, with the ability to work with maintenance staff, operational teams, customers, suppliers and senior managers.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a wider team.
• Flexibility to work shifts, weekends, unsociable hours or on-call arrangements where required, particularly during seasonal delivery periods.
• Previous experience in rail, rolling stock, OTM, seasonal fleet, plant, HGV, agricultural, military, utilities or specialist vehicle maintenance is desirable.
• Knowledge of hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, mechanical or control systems is desirable.
• Familiarity with seasonal asset deployment is desirable.
• Experience with environmental or regulated operations, including spraying, water systems, chemicals, COSHH or similar controls, is desirable.
• Knowledge of rail safety protocols, including RISQS, Sentinel, Railway Group Standards, Network Rail requirements or applicable rail legislation, is desirable.
• Training and familiarisation will be provided where required.

Personal Profile:

• A practical, organised and visible maintenance leader who is comfortable taking ownership of a depot team and driving standards every day.
• Confident in managing small to medium-sized teams of maintenance-based staff.
• Able to create structure in a busy maintenance environment, ensuring work is planned, allocated, followed up and properly recorded.
• Confident dealing with people, performance, safety conversations and operational pressure without losing focus on quality or compliance.
• Comfortable learning rail-specific requirements and applying them consistently once trained.
• Strong attention to detail, with a clear understanding that accurate maintenance records are as important as the physical work completed.
• Able to build effective working relationships with maintainers, managers, operational teams, customers and support functions.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to make sound decisions under pressure.
• Good communication and teamwork abilities.
• Relevant engineering qualification, such as NVQ Level 3 in Mechanical/Electrical Engineering, City & Guilds, HNC, HND or equivalent experience, is desirable.
• Experience working from technical drawings, specifications, maintenance instructions or diagnostic information is desirable.
• Suited to someone who takes pride in running a tidy, safe, disciplined and reliable maintenance operation.

About GB Railfreight:

GB Railfreight are proud to be one of the UK's fastest-growing rail freight companies, recognised for our reliability, growth, and commitment to delivering high-quality service. For over 20 years, we've been so much more than just trains — we're a dedicated team, committed to working together to deliver reliable, sustainable freight services and build strong partnerships across industries nationwide.

Key Benefits of Working With Us:

• A competitive salary, annual leave package of 25 days plus bank holidays (or equivalent for Operational staff where bank holidays are worked) and enrollment into our Industry-Wide Defined Contribution Pension Scheme.
• A generous healthcare package.
• An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) - providing confidential support including counselling support, wellbeing resources and access to a 24/7 GP service.
• An online benefits portal offering hundreds of discounts at nationwide retailers.
• An electric vehicle scheme (available after your first 12 months).
• Regular social events, including days out for you and your family.
• Training and development opportunities, including internal courses and external certifications through our industry-renowned development programs.

Inclusion Without Exclusion:

At GB Railfreight, we recognise that a more diverse range of people leads to greater innovation. We recruit and develop people best suited to the role requirements, regardless of background. Our aim is to create a diverse workforce that reflects wider society. We champion diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing in the workplace, in alignment with our values.