Service Manager

We're recruiting a Service Manager for a well-established manufacturer of containment equipment and clean air systems, supporting the Pharmaceutical, Healthcare, Food & Beverage, Precision Engineering, and Material Handling industries.

The Service Manager will be responsible for leading and developing the service function, ensuring customers receive a high-quality, responsive and technically capable service throughout the lifecycle of their equipment and systems.

This is a key management position combining service operations, engineering, customer management and commercial responsibility. The successful candidate will lead a team of service engineers and coordinators, manage planned and reactive maintenance activities, and work closely with customers to develop long-term service relationships.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage the day-to-day operation of the service department.
• Lead, motivate and develop a team of service engineers and support staff.
• Plan and coordinate planned preventative maintenance (PPM), breakdown and reactive service activities.
• Ensure service engineers are appropriately scheduled and resources are allocated effectively.
• Act as a senior point of contact for key customers and service contracts.
• Manage customer enquiries, technical issues and escalations through to successful resolution.
• Develop and maintain strong customer relationships.
• Monitor service performance against agreed KPIs, SLAs and contractual requirements.
• Manage service contracts, renewals and ongoing customer requirements.
• Identify opportunities for additional service, maintenance, upgrades and retrofit work.
• Prepare and review quotations for service, repair and upgrade activities.
• Work closely with engineering, projects, sales and manufacturing teams to ensure a joined-up customer experience.
• Ensure service activities are completed in accordance with relevant health & safety, quality and engineering standards.
• Review service reports and ensure documentation is completed accurately and on time.
• Investigate recurring technical issues and identify opportunities to improve equipment reliability.
• Manage subcontractors and external service providers where required.
• Monitor departmental costs, margins and profitability.
• Support the development of service processes, procedures and best practices.
• Assist with the development of long-term service strategies and preventative maintenance programmes.
• Ensure engineers maintain appropriate technical competencies, certifications and training.

Technical Environment:

The role would suit someone with experience within an engineering environment involving products or systems such as:

• Clean air and air handling systems
• Isolation and containment systems
• Cleanrooms and controlled environments
• Containment equipment
• HVAC / ventilation systems
• Filtration systems
• Pressure-controlled environments
• Laboratory or pharmaceutical engineering
• Life sciences and healthcare environments
• Industrial air quality systems
• Specialist engineering equipment

Experience working with mechanical, electrical, controls or HVAC-related equipment would be advantageous.

Candidate Profile:

The ideal candidate will have previous experience managing a service, maintenance or after-sales engineering function, ideally within a technical engineering or capital equipment environment.

You will be a strong people manager with the ability to balance operational priorities with customer and commercial requirements.

Essential Experience:

• Previous experience in a Service Manager, Service Engineering Manager, Aftermarket Manager or similar role.
• Experience managing field-based engineering/service teams.
• Strong understanding of planned and reactive maintenance.
• Experience managing customer relationships and service contracts.
• Commercial awareness, including quotations, budgets and service margins.
• Strong organisational and planning skills.
• Excellent communication and customer-facing abilities.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, engineers and customer requirements simultaneously.
• Strong understanding of health & safety and quality within an engineering environment.

Desirable Experience:

• Experience within clean air, isolation, containment, HVAC or controlled environments.
• Experience working with pharmaceutical, life sciences, healthcare, laboratory or other highly regulated industries.
• Engineering qualification or technical background.
• Experience with service management software or ERP systems.
• Experience developing preventative maintenance and service contract strategies.
• Experience with equipment upgrades, modifications and retrofit projects.

Key Competencies:

• Leadership and team management
• Customer relationship management
• Technical problem solving
• Commercial awareness
• Service planning and resource management
• Contract management
• Health & safety awareness
• Continuous improvement
• Strong communication skills
• Ability to work under pressure and prioritise effectively

WCL ID: 7901