Depot Manager - Ford & Stanley Executive

Ford & Stanley Executive

Opportunity Brief: Depot Manager

Ford & Stanley Executive Search (Part of the Ford & Stanley Group) are an award-winning Executive search firm to the UK, North American and European Engineering, Technology, Sustainability & Heavy Manufacturing industries.

Our search directors, search consultants and in-house research team specialise in all vertical & horizontal functions of our clients’ leadership requirements with expertise spanning engineering, commercial, procurement, HR, IT, finance, HSQE, sales, projects, operations and c-suite.

We are trusted by over 100 organisations when they seek to make a leadership appointment, be that a permanent appointment or an interim solution.

We have been appointed on a retained search for a Depot Manager.

Below you will find an ‘opportunity brief’ developed from notes taken during the scoping meeting (Situational Discovery) held between the Business Manager and Research Manager of Ford & Stanley Executive Search along with the Head of Fleet Production and Talent Acquisition Manager of our client. This brief is designed to give candidates a deeper insight into the opportunity inherent within the role, the challenges the role presents and provide access to the detail that sits behind the job specification.

Client Opportunity Statements:

“There is nothing more important to the success of our business than the on-time availability of our trains, allowing our customers to trust us to get them where they need to be on time. Ultimately, without the successful and efficient operation of our depot’s this simply wouldn’t be possible.”

“Integral to the continued success of our Depot is the hiring of a Depot Manager who will offer strong management to one of our most complex and busiest operations. You will need to be able to build strong and lasting relationships with a ‘close knit’ team, understand how to be ‘firm but fair’ and when to step back and empower people to make decisions.”

“With added complexities of a newly acquired fleet of trains and a third-party work force based out of this depot it is important that we hire an individual capable of working in a nimble and fast paced environment. You will be hands on, comfortable with ‘spinning plates’ and able to adapt resource to meet the needs of the business.”

The Opportunity:

Challenges expected within the first 12 months include:

Diversity of all the parts of the depot – Heavy overhaul, day to day maintenance and upgrades all completed in a relatively compact site.
Close knit group of staff, need someone who can build relationships with them but is not afraid to call out when things are not done correctly, firm but fair approach.
3^rd party actively on site working on reliability.

Key deliverables within the first 12 months include:

Has learnt the complexities of the site and ensured that all parts are working in harmony to maximise efficiencies.
Good engagement from the staff and is fully part of the team, empowers the team to look at continuous improvement initiatives.
Made inroads with onsite third party and having a successful introduction of a new fleet.

Essential Hard Skills (Skills & Experience)

Strong understanding of depot operations, open to either passenger, freight, rollingstock or other transferable safety critical environment.
Experienced leader with a proven ability to ‘manage managers’ and large teams of similar size (100+).
Delivered and implemented continuous improvement programs.
Someone with a background and understanding in Rail is beneficial to help gain buy-in from the staff.
Able to strategically ensure the maintenance of strong performance and depot using robust relationships.
Good Engineering understanding via education or ‘time served’ experience.
A strong track record of managing culturally complex operations. Experience with managing unions would be a bonus.

Essential Soft Skills (Attributes and Behaviours)

Excellent communication skills (both written and verbal).
A passion for working with people and driving progression.
A natural gravitas and empathy.
Able to work collaboratively with colleagues across different departments and depots.
A ‘Visual Leader’ who is happy to be site-based and lead teams by example.
Resilient and robust character.

Working Arrangements & Location:

It is expected that the preferred candidate will be present on site 5 days a week to support their team.
On-call responsibilities are required with the role, normally on a 20-day rostering period, which may, from time to time, require attendance and safe/technical decision-making regarding the recovery of failed or damaged assets (Or similarly serious situation).

Ford & Stanley Interview Process:

1^st Stage – Formal Interview. Candidates are assessed on their suitability for the job in the context of the above and challenged on how the opportunity lines up with their career aspirations, motivations, and financial expectations.
2^nd Stage – The ‘shortlist’. Candidates are asked to reflect on 1^st and 2^nd stages, providing evidence and discussion on how they match up to the key hard and soft skill essentials. Package requirements are reiterated and finalised.

Clients Interview Process:

1st Stage interview to be held face to face on site with a member of the people team (TBC) and Head of Fleet Production and potentially an additional director (TBC). It will consist of competency-based questions and an opportunity for both parties to get to know each other.

2nd Stage interview will be on-site with a member of the people team, Head of Fleet Production and Engineering Director. The second stage interview will primarily be a scenario-based interview complete with an overview of Depot operations.

Good to know:

This role is pivotal to the business’s continued success, the Depot Manager will be required to provide leadership to a team of circa 150 people to ensure the safety, cost-effective, and efficient operation of the Depot. You will be accountable of the delivery of a safe, reliable, and compliant railway in line with the set SLAs and Quality/Availability targets.
Depot is operating well and performing as they should without any real issues. The number one target is to maintain this performance and ensure they continue to stay on top of maintenance and safety requirements. Having said that, continuous improvement is always welcomed and encouraged!
Although the site is performing well, they have identified a need for a subtle improvement to culture within the teams as there are certain pressures present.
The role reports to the Head of Fleet Production and has 2 direct reports.
Accountable for delivering depot and fleet performance in line with the 7.1 metrics (these are via delay minutes, train cancellations, and short train formations), examining trends, and implementing action plans to address them.
Ensure all relevant Group, Industry and Safety standards are met and all relevant procedures are followed, including monitoring compliance with safety systems and responsibilities, to enable the depot to operate within legal and operational requirements.
Lead and develop a cost-effective, motivated and customer-focused workforce and promote a culture that encourages continuous improvement at all levels.
Previous experience of leading and managing a depot through change. Lots of positive changes within the business with the ability for people to have an opinion and create change.
Maintaining effective working relations with all local trade unions and staff representatives.
The depot is ‘compact’ and an extremely complex depot. There are a large range of heavy overhaul, maintenance and examinations completed at a relatively closely packed site, and this comes with its own challenges.
The depot also has the added element of third-party staff directly onsite working on reliability issues with newer rolling stock.
It’s good to know that the unions are present at the site, which the incumbent will need to build relationships with to overcome any challenges or problems that arise.
The depot has a strong culture, with a ‘family’ feel and extremely close-knit team.

Role Budget:

Competitive Salary

Supporting benefits

Great pension scheme provided by Railway Pensions.
Free travel on company’s rail services, extended to spouse and dependants for leisure and education purposes. 75% off other TOC’s.
Discounts on goods
Access to the Transport Benevolent Fund.
Access to Employee Assistance Programme.
Option to buy extra annual leave.
Cycle to work scheme.
In-house occupational health department.

Executive Search Delivery Team:

Emma Barlow – Senior Research Associate (Networking, Research, Search, Longlisting, Shortlisting, Data & Market Intel).
Tom Norton – Business Manager (Headhunting, Networking, Search, Interviews, Client Advisory, Negotiations)
Oliver Nunn – Research Manager (Headhunting, Search, Interviews, Longlisting, Shortlisting, Market Intel, Benchmarking, Offer Management)
Ralitsa Kuzeva – Executive Assistant (Diary Management, Coordination, Candidate Experience)

About Ford & Stanley Executive Search:

Ford & Stanley Talent Services Group are in the business of people and performance. Our mission is to create one million better workdays through facilitating great recruitment, leadership and occupational mental fitness. We support our clients in their most challenging business areas – recruiting, developing and retaining the best talent from shop floor to boardroom.

Ford & Stanley TalentWise – Business specialising in blue-collar trade & technical services – permanent and temporary.
Ford & Stanley Recruitment – Business specialising in white collar spanning all company functions with specialist verticals within Digital, Rail Engineering, Civils & Infrastructure, General Manufacturing, Supply Chain & Logistics both permanent and contract.
Ford & Stanley Executive Search – Business specialising in Executive Search & Executive Interim Solutions in the UK, North America, Middle East and Europe.
Ford & Stanley Genius Performance – Performance is always accelerated when good people are coached, inspired, trained and focused in the right way.

Ford & Stanley Talent Services Group Ltd is a Disability Confident employer that is committed to a policy of equal opportunities for all opportunity seekers. We shall adhere to such a policy at all times and will review on an on-going basis all aspects of recruitment to avoid unlawful or undesirable discrimination. We will treat everyone equally irrespective sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, age, disability, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief or political beliefs and we place an obligation upon all staff to respect and act in accordance with the policy.

Services advertised by Ford & Stanley are that of an employment consultancy business.