Engineering Workshop & Site Services Manager

Location: Bicester 
Salary: £60,000 to £65,000 + £500 per month car allowance, DOE
Hours: Monday to Friday, days, 8:00am to 5:00pm core hours

My client is looking to appoint an experienced Engineering Workshop & Site Services Manager to lead a busy practical engineering operation covering fabrication, welding, machining, repair, refurbishment, installation and customer site work.

This is a senior hands-on leadership role suited to someone who has already managed a mixed engineering workshop, engineering services business or similar practical environment. The successful candidate will need strong fabrication and welding understanding, supported by enough machining knowledge to plan varied workshop activity including one-off jobs, batch work, repairs, refurbishment and urgent customer requirements.

This is not an automotive production, assembly or high-volume manufacturing management role. The environment is varied, practical and service-led, with responsibility for both in-house workshop priorities and the planning of customer site activity.

The role

As Engineering Workshop & Site Services Manager, you will lead a skilled team of approximately 10 tradespeople, including fabricators, welders, machinists, fitters and installers.

You will plan and prioritise workshop workload, allocate labour, coordinate fitters and welders for customer site work, manage urgent requirements and make sure standards are maintained across quality, delivery, health and safety, and team performance.

The role would suit someone from a fabrication, welding, machining, mechanical engineering services, industrial maintenance, pump/gearbox refurbishment, repair or site installation background.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day activity of a busy engineering workshop.
• Manage a team of approximately 10 skilled tradespeople.
• Plan workshop workload and allocate labour effectively.
• Coordinate fitters, welders and installers for customer site work.
• Balance planned workshop jobs with urgent repairs, breakdowns and site requirements.
• Monitor job progress, priorities, quality and delivery expectations.
• Maintain strong health and safety standards across workshop and site activity.
• Manage team standards, performance and behaviour.
• Communicate clearly with the Managing Director, internal teams and customers where required.
• Keep the workshop organised, productive and commercially focused.

Experience required

Applicants must have experience managing a relevant engineering workshop, engineering services or site-support environment.

Relevant backgrounds may include:

• Fabrication and welding businesses
• Engineering services companies
• Machine shops carrying out varied one-off, repair or batch work
• Industrial maintenance and mechanical service providers
• Pump, gearbox or mechanical refurbishment businesses
• Food, FMCG, utilities or process engineering contractors
• Businesses carrying out both workshop and customer site engineering work

A strong fabrication and welding background would be particularly useful, as much of the customer site work is fabrication-led. Machining knowledge is also important, but this is more about understanding varied practical engineering jobs than managing a high-volume CNC production environment.

Candidates from automotive will only be suitable if their background is genuinely relevant to fabrication, welding, machining, repair, refurbishment, site installation or practical engineering services.

The person

My client is looking for someone organised, practical and commercially aware, with the confidence to lead experienced tradespeople and make sensible decisions when priorities change.

You will need to be comfortable balancing workshop jobs, customer site work, urgent repairs and breakdown requirements. This role will suit someone who can keep standards high, communicate clearly and bring structure to a busy engineering workshop and site services operation.

Package

• £60,000 to £65,000 basic salary
• £500 per month car allowance
• Monday to Friday, days
• Core hours 8:00am to 5:00pm
• Flexibility required around customer work, urgent jobs and operational priorities