Head of Fleet Maintenance

We have a fantastic opportunity for an experienced strategic and commercially aware Head of Fleet Maintenance to join and lead our national fleet team.

The Head of Fleet Maintenance will have a strong strategic background and technical knowledge to oversee fleet standards, performance and efficiency.

Maintenance of our fleet of 1,500 ambulances and specialist vans is devolved to local business units, with most heavy work outsourced. So, this central role, reporting to the MD, is focused on setting technical and quality standards, developing processes and ensuring consistency, overseeing strategy, and implementing value-adding initiatives.

Benefits for the role include

• Remote with national travel
• Competitive Salary plus Car allowance
• 33 days annual leave (inclusive of bank holidays).
• Life Assurance – providing colleagues and their family financial peace of mind and protection to the value of £5,000.
• Private Medical Healthcare
• 24/7 online/telephone GP Consultation and access to prescriptions.
• 2nd opinion medical support following diagnosis or where a colleague is on a treatment pathway.
• Cash-plan benefits, providing colleagues the option of protecting themselves in case of illness and recuperation, including dental, optical, chiropody.
• Access to mental health and physiotherapy consultations.
• Access to legal advice on domestic issues e.g. motoring offences, wills and probate, and personal injury.
• Financial guidance re retirement planning, tax savings and state benefits.
• Long Service Recognition Scheme – recognising colleagues for their continued service after 5 years and at 5-year intervals with an increase in annual leave.
• Values-based Internal Recognition Scheme with financial reward, which will lead to an annual recognition event.

Role Responsibilities

• Be the technical authority and source of assurance for all fleet and equipment maintenance related matters, ensuring safety and compliance
• Provide recommendations on vehicle specifications, procurement, and replacement to improve reliability and ensure they meet staff, patient, and client requirements
• Monitor vehicle performance, reliability, and whole-life costs
• Develop strategies to increase efficiency, reduce downtime, extend asset life, and reduce maintenance / repair costs
• Create SOPs and method statements for maintenance activities, ensuring safety and compliance
• Manage the EV strategy, including vehicles and charging infrastructure
• Devise KPIs and service level agreements (SLAs) for external suppliers and regularly audit performance
• Approve major repairs and ensure commercial value
• Ensure all fleet systems and supporting software are fit for purpose, optimised, and effectively utilised
• Use system data to generate actionable insights on vehicle performance, driver behaviour, and operational efficiency
• Ensure regional fleet teams work together in a collegiate way to provide resilience and share best practice
• Undertake a skills gap analysis and create a training plan to ensure every fleet employee meets appropriate standards
• Review and challenge fleet delivery, financial, and safety performance
• Ensure all vehicles meet legal and regulatory standards (DVSA, HSE, etc.)
• Regularly audit work being carried out either internally or externally to ensure standards are adhered to
• Manage fleet maintenance and operating budgets, analyse spend across outsourced providers and identify cost efficiencies
• Support procurement decisions with data-driven insights
• Lead a team which manages fleet allocation and cascades across the business

• Support the finance team in overall fleet strategy and procurement planning

Most of the heavy maintenance and repairs are outsourced to external providers, and day-to-day fleet maintenance completed by Regional Fleet teams, this role is critical in ensuring consistency across the Company with quality, cost control, and performance optimisation.

Do you have what it takes?

• Extensive technical and mechanical expertise across either vans, HGVs, and/or PSVs, with the ability to operate as a subject matter expert
• Professional engineering or fleet-related qualifications (or equivalent experience)
• Ability to assess mechanical faults, diagnostics, and repair quality
• In-depth understanding of vehicle systems, common faults, and repair processes
• Ability to evaluate outsourced maintenance quality and cost-effectiveness
• Strong analytical capability with experience interpreting telematics and fleet data
• Familiarity with fleet management systems and compliance tools
• Proven experience in senior engineering or technical leadership roles
• In-depth knowledge of fleet compliance, safety legislation, and regulatory standards
• Continuous improvement methodologies and track record
• Excellent problem-solving skills
• Experience using data and systems to drive performance improvements
• Strong leadership and communication skills

About Us

EMED Group is an established healthcare logistics provider that enables access to health and social care through our four specialist divisions. We are one of the largest health and care partners to the NHS with 4,000 colleagues across over 60 bases UK-wide.

EMED Group is committed to pro-actively improving the wellbeing of our communities by providing access to vital health and social care services across the UK.

EMED Group are committed to providing equal opportunities and we endeavour to provide an inclusive and safe working culture for all.

Originally posted on Himalayas