Group Engineering Director in Diss

As part of the Transport Made Simple Group’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT), the Group Engineering Director will provide leadership, strategic vision and direction to the Engineering function. Supported by two regional Heads of Engineering, the postholder will be accountable for ensuring that a sufficient number of roadworthy vehicles are available for operational needs each day, and for ensuring that on the day breakdowns and incidents are responded to quickly and professionally, minimising loss of scheduled mileage at every opportunity. The postholder will also need to be confident in overseeing the implementation of engineering-related projects across the Transport Made Simple Group, many of which will be technology, system and process related. Transport Made Simple has a medium term aspiration to achieve Earned Recognition status, and the postholder will be required to implement the engineering aspects of this. We also undertake external engineering work for other lorry and bus / coach operators (and some members of the public via our light vehicle garage in Diss), and the postholder will be commercially accountable for this activity, with the aim of significantly increasing commercial revenue during their first year in post.

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a fast-growing, technology-led operator, where you can make a significant difference to the delivery of high quality public transport across East Anglia. With a strong engineering management team already in place, this role is more about systems, processes, technology and consistency than about getting into the finer detail of repairing buses. A wide range of candidates will be considered for this role, and direct PSV / HGV engineering experience is not a pre-requisite.

The Transport Made Simple Group is one of the UK’s largest independently owned bus and coach operators. Our vision is to deliver reliable, sustainable public transport, which meets the needs of the communities we serve, whilst being a great place to work too. Everything we do is underpinned by our four values of Growth, Excellence, Integrity and Efficiency, which guide our day-to-day operations and longer-term decision-making. We’re a team of 800 colleagues, with a fleet of 400 buses, coaches and minibuses, and we operate from a strategic network of depots across East Anglia, the Midlands and Greater London. Our Central Connect local bus network has an annual ridership of more than 10 million passengers, delivered in partnership with sixteen Local Transport Authorities. Alongside running local bus services, we provide home-to-school, rail replacement and Demand Responsive Transport services, operate corporate and event shuttle buses and run our own programme of holidays and day trips. We also hire out our buses and coaches to a range of clients, from schools, colleges and local businesses to major names in the travel and tourism industry, such as Leger Holidays, Flixbus and PGL. Our solutions go beyond moving people - we also support commercial fleet operators across East Anglia with reactive and pre-planned maintenance solutions from our accredited workshops, offering heavy and light vehicle MOTs, bodywork repairs and resprays, heavy recovery and breakdown response, including 24/7/365 roadside tyre assistance provided by sister company Lion Tyres Essex.

Main Duties of the Role:

• Take overall responsibility and accountability for the Group’s engineering function, ensuring that all engineering activities are conducted safely and in compliance with relevant legislation.
• Line manage our two regional Heads of Engineering, who each oversee a small portfolio of regional bus depots across East Anglia, ensuring that they are providing sufficient safe, legal and compliant vehicles to meet each day’s operational requirement.
• Oversee at a strategic level the relationships the Group has with external engineering, breakdown response and recovery contractors, ensuring that high quality, good value service is provided to our vehicles at all times.
• Oversee at a strategic level the support provided by the Engineering department to the Group’s Operations Control Centre, resolving escalated issues where they occur.
• Project manage the implementation of engineering improvement projects, some of which you will proactively self-identify and others the SLT will collectively decide are desirable.
• Own the ongoing roll-out of TMSOps, our own in-house digital fleet and operational management system, working with our Technology Director and in-house team of app and web developers to guide their development activity so that the system meets the needs of the Engineering department.
• Ensure that accurate records are maintained of all vehicle maintenance activities, including proactive / preventative maintenance, and servicing, using the TMSOps system.
• Oversee, and be commercially accountable for, the Group’s commercial engineering activities, reporting weekly on revenue generation and implementing a range of strategies to grow revenue significantly from a range of clients.
• Provide commercial development support to the Group’s part-owned subsidiary Lion Tyres (Essex), implementing a range of strategies to grow revenue and make the subsidiary less dependent on internal work (i.e. more self-sufficient).
• Sit on the Group’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT), which meets fortnightly, and make strategic contributions through this forum to all aspects of the Group’s activities.
• Provide mutually reciprocated support to the Group Operations Director (and other SLT members as required) with the handling and investigation of complex and serious complaints from colleagues, clients, passengers and other stakeholders.

About our Engineering Department:

We operate six workshops across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, each with an Engineering Manager or Engineering Supervisor in place. These supervisory colleagues report in to two Heads of Engineering, each with defined geographic scopes. Additional analyst and support resource is in place to support with parts ordering, external engineering bookings and general administration. Six vehicles based in the East Midlands are maintained using an external maintenance provider, and contracts are in place nationwide for vehicle recoveries and roadside response. We also have our own fleet of roadside response vehicles, including a heavy recovery vehicle. Lion Tyres, a subsidiary of the Group, operate three fully equipped bespoke roadside tyre fitting vehicles on a range of contract and reactive work. Our Diss site houses an ATF (testing two days a week) and a four bay bodyshop, which delivers both internal and external respray and accident repair works.

Why Join Us?

• Opportunity to be part of a fast-growing, digital first business.
• Flat organisational structure with minimal corporate bureaucracy.
• Access to a company vehicle (including salary sacrifice options for an electric vehicle, including personal use).
• Apple iPhone and Macbook provided for work and personal use.
• We also offer all of our colleagues a range of workplace benefits, including free travel across the Central Connect bus network and other participating local bus operators, discounted day trips, holidays, coach hire and garage services / MOTs, free on-site parking and tea and coffee and free uniform and PPE.

Person Specification:

We are looking for someone who is:

• Technically minded, with the ability to understand engineering concepts.
• An excellent leader, and genuinely colleague and customer focused.
• Commercially minded, with the ability to deliver sustainable revenue growth.
• Calm and logical under pressure, with strong attention to detail.
• Experienced in designing, implementing and then monitoring and revising systems and processes.
• Experienced in project management and successful change implementation.
• Extremely confident using IT and computers, including learning new / bespoke systems.
• Able to communicate clearly in writing and by telephone.
• Organised and capable of managing both reactive and planned work.

Desirable but not essential:

• Education to Degree level in a relevant subject.
• PSV or HGV Transport Manager Certificate of Professional Competence.

Postholders who join the business without a PSV driving licence or PSV Transport Manager Certificate of Professional Competence will have the opportunity to complete these qualifications whilst employed by us. We are committed to investing in our colleagues and will provide other training and development opportunities, including refresher training for relevant qualifications, during your employment.