Fleet Operations Manager

This key role helps to support the Council’s operational service delivery across a wide range of functions. You will be responsible for the management of the council’s Fleet Operations, together with a range of commercial activities. The Fleet Management Team is responsible for the procurement, maintenance and disposal of the Council’s in-house fleet of approx. 300 vehicles, ranging from cars and small vans to specialist HGVs and buses. You will also support delivery against the Council’s declared Climate Emergency by decarbonising the fleet.

The team is responsible for the effective management of the Council’s fleet of vehicles. This includes the procurement, maintenance and disposal of vehicles, provision of workshop facilities and compliance monitoring of fleet activity and services. The Team is also responsible for the delivery of a number of commercial workshop operations, including an MOT service for the public, providing Authorised Testing Facility for DVSA, Taxi Licensing Fitness Testing and Maintenance services to local partners.

What will you be doing?  

• In the role you will solve problems and deliver solutions to meet the requirements of the customer and the Council. You will ensure the timely supply of goods, materials and services to meet operational requirements and balance these within legislative obligations under the terms of its Operating Licence.
• Working closely with the Service Manager, you will have specific responsibility to spend and monitor the budgets for the vehicle replacement programme of £2m capital spend pa and vehicle maintenance trading account of £3m turnover pa.
• You will also be responsible for expenditure and monitoring of a number of contracts for the supply of vehicles and vehicle parts. This includes vehicle parts and consumables - £100k pa, fuel - £700k pa and tyres - £100k pa.
• Day to day, you will line manage 5 direct reports and a team with 16 FTE Office and Workshop based staff. You are also responsible for compliance monitoring and checks in relation to driver licencing & training.
• It will be your responsibility to ensure that systems are developed and followed so that the Council meets its legal obligations in relation to the Operator Licence.
• In liaison with the Transport and Procurement Manager, you will make commercial decisions to maximise the income generation opportunities derived from the fee earning operations of the Fleet Operations Team.

• It is essential that you have proven experience of managing commercial operations, within or outside the public sector. You will also need to have leadership experience and the ability to manage, co-ordinate and plan a team of people.
• You must have a degree or equivalent academic or professional qualification in a relevant discipline, e.g. Institute of Road Transport Engineers.
• You will have a Level 3 Certificate of Profession Competence in National Passenger Transport and National Road Haulage to act as the nominated Transport Manager.
• We require you to have a comprehensive knowledge and be familiar with the relevant legislation and regulatory framework for the provision of the service.
• It is essential that you have financial and commercial acumen and experience of managing budgets and projects with strong negotiating skills and the ability to achieve the most economically advantageous outcome.
• You must have excellent interpersonal skills in order to establish a positive relationship with a wide variety of stakeholders and a customer focused approach.
• You will have knowledge of delivering against equality, diversity and inclusion objectives within relevant service areas.