Job Description:
Operations Manager
Reports To: Operations Director
Business Unit: Hobart UK Service
Purpose of the Role
The role is accountable for leading a regional service operation, ensuring delivery of financial, operational, and customer service targets. The post holder will manage technicians, drive business growth, maintain key customer relationships, oversee regional budgets, and ensure compliance with health & safety and company policies.
The ideal geographical locaton for this role will be Leeds/Manchester/Sheffield/York, close to good transport links and with regular visits to Peterborough is required.
Key Responsibilities
The responsibilities of this role include, but are not limited to:
Strategic Priorities
- Deliver the annual operating plan and long-term strategic objectives within areas of responsibility, ensuring alignment with business strategy and achievement of organisational goals.
- Drive business growth by ensuring work is commercially viable and that an exceptional level of service is consistently delivered.
- Work closely with Contract Sales teams to identify opportunities and secure new business across the region.
- Build and maintain effective relationships with key national and independent customers to support account retention and growth.
- Monitor competitor activity and identify opportunities to support future business growth.
People Management
- Be the point of contact for your direct reports (Technicians), and manage all people-related activities, including recruitment, performance management, absence management, and employee development.
- Make regular field visits to Technicians to support training, fostering a collaborative approach to skills development and communication.
- Conduct formal performance reviews for direct reports, identify skills gaps, and implement coaching and development plans where required.
- Execute business plans and objectives through regular communication and performance reviews with direct reports.
- Prepare and manage annual technician standby rotas to ensure adequate evening and weekend coverage
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Regional P&L management and expenditure control against budget.
- Technician performance metrics, including:
- Productivity
- First-Time Fix Rate
- Calls Per Day
- Effective workforce planning in collaboration with the Service Delivery Manager to maintain appropriate staffing levels across Service and Installation teams.
- Customer-focused performance metrics.
- Growth in profitability across the Service Division.
- Achievement of revenue targets, including year-on-year growth.
- Achievement of margin targets, including year-on-year growth.
- Customer satisfaction levels, measured through contract renewal rates and customer feedback/complaints.
Health & Safety
- Actively participate and support the company's safety culture and commitment to achieving zero medically treated and lost-time accidents.
- Promote a strong safety culture.
- Support the company's zero-accident objective.
- Attend and contribute to quarterly H&S meetings.
- Ensure compliance with all H&S requirements.
Data Management
- Manage the regional budget and control expenditure to ensure financial targets are achieved and headcount remains within approved levels.
- Analyse service performance and develop improvement plans where necessary to achieve operational targets.
- Monitor the performance of service contracts and implement corrective actions to minimise potential losses.
Resourcing
- Develop effective short- and medium-term resource plans to ensure appropriate technician coverage and service delivery capability
- Capacity management controlling holiday requests and management
Other
- Provide technical support to Technicians, Account Managers, and Credit Control teams, assisting with customer enquiries and issue resolution.
- Support the Service Delivery function as required.
- Participate in the monthly office standby rota.
- Attend management meetings as required, including daily departmental performance reviews.
- Ensure compliance with GDPR and all relevant company policies.
Skills, Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Proven experience leading teams within a commercially focused service, maintenance, or engineering environment.
- Demonstrable experience designing and implementing processes, analysing performance data, identifying improvement opportunities, and delivering sustainable solutions.
- Strong people management skills, ideally including the management of remote field-based teams.
- Ability to produce detailed operational and technical analysis.
- Experience preparing and delivering presentations, business cases, and technical reports.
- Proven track record of leading, motivating, and developing teams, ideally supported by a recognised management qualification.
- Strong commercial awareness with the ability to analyse and interpret business performance data.
- Demonstrable success developing and motivating teams
- Demonstrates ITW core values of Integrity, Respect, Trust, Shared Risk, and Simplicity.
Desirable
- Experience within the commercial catering equipment sector.
- Health and Safety qualification such as IOSH or NEBOSH.
- Practical knowledge and application of Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent continuous improvement methodologies.
