Senior Manufacturing Maintenance Manager

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Key Information

Job title –   Senior Manufacturing Manager
Grade-  Band 4
Salary-  Circa £85,000
Location -  London  (primarily depots in Acton, Ruislip and West Kensington)
Contract Type – Permanent- TFL

Overview of project/role

Logistics and Manufacturing (L&M) manages a wide range of activities within Transport for London including its in-house manufacturing and train overhaul teams, the engineering train, HGV and van fleets, warehousing and track access.

The Senior Manufacturing Manager is responsible for leading manufacturing operations within L&M – including overhauling, manufacturing and fabricating railway points and crossings, carpentry, plant equipment and a wide range of train components including electronics, electro-mechanical and pneumatics - from wheels, brakes and motors, through radios and door motors to signalling equipment - in one of London’s largest manufacturing businesses employing around 450 highly skilled people.

Following a retirement, we are looking for someone to oversee end-to-end management of production processes and multiple operational facilities, ensuring safety, asset quality, cost and delivery requirements are met. This role involves strategic oversight of and responsibility for capacity planning, budgetary control, forecasting, scheduling, manufacturing make-or-buy decisions, tendering for work from outside parties and leading a diverse, multidisciplinary team to meet business objectives and regulatory requirements. The postholder will need to ensure efficient and compliant operations while driving innovation and continuous improvement ensuring the manufacturing facilities are value for money, and of course provide strong visible leadership as part of an inclusive SMT in L&M and more widely in TfL.

It's a challenging job, but one that is very rewarding, and we are looking for someone who can build on our heritage, experience and the skills of our team as we evolve and grow to meet the current and future needs of TfL.

Key Accountabilities

• Lead the production manufacturing processes of Track, Fleet, Signalling, Engineering Vehicle, piece parts and Plant equipment, ensuring operational efficiency and high-quality output in compliance with customer specifications and London Underground (LU) engineering and assurance standards in a safe working environment.
• Accountable for the delivery of multiple business critical activities in partnership with Maintenance and Capital Projects, holding customer reviews with procurement, commercial and customers to ensure the fleet meet the customer timetables and the local delivery schedules and targets are met and reported to the senior team.
• Oversee the management and modernisation of manufacturing facilities to meet current and future demands. Ensuring the facilities have all the legal requirements covered for specific plant equipment.
• Ensure all operations comply with current legislation, industry regulations, safety standards and environmental policies, with a competence programme that can demonstrate compliance.
• Lead by example ensuring appropriate standards are met for the management of safety and risk, compliance with statutory obligations whilst embedding the vision and culture to improve safety year on year across the network upholding the prevention of all injuries or harm to customers, employees and others as a core company value.
• Lead the asset manufacturing tendering process, including evaluating supplier proposals, negotiating contracts and managing relationships with vendors.
• Develop and implement capacity plans to meet production schedules, this encompasses long and short term planning capacity for the workforce to ensure manufacturing resources align with production demand.

• Monitor expenditure and financial performance, providing regular forecasts and reports to senior leadership and identify opportunities for cost savings.
• Identify and address operational bottlenecks to ensure smooth workflow and timely delivery, manage pinch point single source of failure machinery.
• Lead forecasting and scheduling processes to predict production requirements, resource needs and potential challenges for machinery and staffing. Ensure a flexible workforce can be utilised across the workshops to reduce down time.
• Utilise and manage Non Permanent Labour for peaks of productivity, managing a level core staff number and any increase covered with NPL. 
• Lead development programmes within workshops ensuring technology and industry best practices are challenged for future proofing the shop floor methodology.
• Drive business improvements and methodologies such as lean and six sigma focusing on best practice and safety to improve productivity and efficiency.
• Stay updated on industry trends and innovations to enhance competitiveness and operational excellence. Attend manufacturing and Engineering Vehicle industry events to fully understand the future opportunities.
• Leading organisational / business change in the context of financial challenges.
• Conduct detailed analysis to determine make-or-buy strategies for key components and systems working with the change team to provide to Finance and senior managers to determine the best approach.

Skills, Knowledge & Experience

Skills

• Strong, inclusive and inspirational leadership skills at a senior level to ensure effective team development and address challenges/barriers that impact on people leadership
• Proven ability to communicate with colleagues at all levels, including both external and internal stakeholders
• Strong business/financial acumen and commercial awareness in relation to development and delivery of operational business plans
• Ability to speedily analyse complex operational situations and formulate appropriate plans and projects to drive improvement. Utilising data and structured problem solving techniques
• Adaptive approach with the ability to operate holistically in the context of being part of a wider organisation
• Ability to assess priorities and understand the best use of available resources within the team

Knowledge

• Business degree, relevant professional qualification or equivalent along with relevant experience with managing a workshop / manufacturing / similar production facility
• Leading organisational/business change in the context of financial challenge
• Strong business focus with commitment to driving performance, reliability and financial efficiency
• In-depth knowledge of railway (or similar) industry standards and relevant health and safety legislation, guidance and good practice
• Knowledge of relevant procurement; managing contractual and supplier interfaces; legal aspects; financial management and controls
• Awareness of how to effectively operate in a complex industrial relations (IR) environment

Experience

• Proven experience of manufacturing management in an equivalent scale
• Proven leadership and management experience of managing performance through multi-disciplined teams in an operational and fast-paced environment
• Proven effective control of large-scale budgets and deployment of specialist manufacturing and maintenance teams
• Delivery of comprehensive operational plans and related business plans
• Experience of working within a complex multi-union environment
• Successful delivery of change initiatives (people, processes and technology) in an operational environment
• Relevant experience in a senior manufacturing role in a complex operations environment, ideally within the railway industry.

Application Process 

• Please apply using your CV. PDF format preferred and do not include any photographs or images.
• Please apply using your CV and a Two page covering letter setting out how you match a strong cross section of the Knowledge, Skills and Experience set out above, and how you can bring that to support and drive improvements in our manufacturing business. PDF format preferred and do not include any photographs or images. 

The closing date for applications xx xx xx  We may close this advert early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.

OPTIONAL Fixed term contract/Secondment opportunity for x months [if appropriate]
As a fixed term contractor we can offer you a choice of pension arrangements. If you choose not to take our final salary pension scheme you will be paid an allowance on top of your salary, subject to Tax and National Insurance. We will share all the details with you at offer stage and the choice will be yours based on your circumstances. Depending on what you choose you can add up-to 14% to your salary.

OPTIONAL 
Secondment wording: A X month secondment opportunity, with the possibility of permanency.  
If you are successful in securing this secondment opportunity, you will need to be released from your existing role, so please ensure that you make your line manager aware of your application.

Equality, diversity and inclusion
We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We want to represent the city we serve, which will help us become a more innovative and efficient organisation. Our goal is to make our recruitment as inclusive as possible. We are a disability confident employer who guarantee an interview to any disabled candidate who meets all of the essential criteria. 
 
Benefits  
In return for your commitment and expertise, you will enjoy excellent benefits and scope to grow.  Rewards vary according to the level of role but mostly include the below:
 
Final salary pension scheme 
Free travel for you on the TfL network 
Reimbursement of 75% of the cost of a standard class Ticket for National Rail travel from home or 75% reimbursement on a 28-day flexi ticket
30 days annual leave plus public and bank holidays 
TfL is committed to work-life balance, operating a hybrid working approach where business and role requirements allow
Private healthcare discounted scheme (optional) 
Tax-efficient cycle-to-work programme
Retail, health, leisure and travel offers 
Discounted Eurostar travel
 
Hybrid working within this role enables a balance of 50 per cent of time split between the office and home over a 4 week period. Hybrid working arrangements can evolve subject to business requirements. 

We will make every effort to give you as much notice as possible, however some interviews/assessments could be organised at short notice.