Workshop Manager

Al Ghurair Investment LLC; Dubai; On-site; AED 134,000 - 201,000; Full time

Job summary

Al Ghurair Investment LLC seeks an experienced Workshop Operations Supervisor to manage day-to-day automotive workshop activities in Dubai. You will oversee preventive maintenance, repairs, and pre-delivery inspections across a large fleet, ensuring safety and efficiency.

The ideal candidate has 6–10 years in automotive workshops, with supervisory experience, strong diagnostic skills, and proficiency in ERP and Excel. Fluency in English is essential; Arabic is a plus.

Qualifications

• Diploma or Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical/Automobile Engineering or equivalent.
• 6–10 years automotive workshop experience with supervisory responsibilities.
• Proven track record managing large fleets or multi‑bay workshops.

Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day workshop operations including preventive maintenance, repairs, and pre-delivery inspections across the fleet.
• Plan and allocate daily job cards to technicians based on skill and priority, monitor progress to meet TAT.
• Drive fleet availability by minimising VOR days and controlling repeat repairs.
• Track downtime with corrective action plans and report findings.
• Diagnose faults and guide technicians on root-cause resolution.
• Control workshop cost per vehicle through productivity, warranty recovery and parts use.
• Coordinate with spare parts and procurement to maintain stock of fast-moving items.
• Manage external vendors/garages for specialised jobs and verify invoices.
• Ensure compliance with RTA and safety/HSE standards; maintain records in ERP.
• Supervise, train and appraise technicians and shift teams; plan manpower and rosters.
• Prepare periodic reports on productivity and budget adherence; support annual maintenance budgeting.

Skills

Leadership

Diagnostics

Fleet management

Vendor negotiation

ERP systems

MS Excel

Education

Diploma or Bachelor’s in Mechanical/Automobile Engineering

Tools

ERP systems

MS Excel

Job description

Responsibilities

Manage day-to-day operations of the workshop covering scheduled preventive maintenance breakdown repairs accident repairs and pre-delivery inspections across the fleet.

Plan and allocate daily job cards to technicians based on skill, workload and priority, monitor progress to ensure turnaround time (TAT) targets are met.

Drive fleet availability by minimising Vehicle Off Road (VOR) days and controlling repeat repairs.

Track and report downtime reasons with corrective action plans.

Diagnose complex mechanical, electrical, engine, transmission, AC and suspension faults and guide technicians on root-cause resolution rather than part-swapping.

Control workshop cost per vehicle cost per kilometre through labour productivity, warranty recovery, repair‑vs‑replace decisions and reduction of unnecessary part consumption.

Coordinate with the spare parts and procurement team to maintain optimum stock of fast‑moving items, approve part requisitions and validate consumption against job cards.

Manage external vendors and third‑party garages for specialised jobs (body shop, paint, tyres, upholstery, recovery) including quality checks and invoice verification.

Ensure full compliance with RTA, relevant transport authority requirements, vehicle registration, passing and inspection schedules.

Enforce HSE standards within the workshop, safe working practices, PPE usage, tool and equipment safety, waste oil and hazardous material disposal and incident reporting.

Maintain accurate records in the fleet management system (ERP), job cards, service history, warranty claims, part issuance and technician time booking.

Supervise, train and appraise technicians, mechanics, service advisors and helpers, identify skill gaps and run on‑the‑job training.

Manage manpower planning, shift rosters, overtime control and leave planning to maintain 24/7 or extended‑hours coverage where applicable.

Prepare and present periodic reports on workshop productivity (TAT, cost breakdown trends and fleet health) to management.

Support annual maintenance budgeting and monitor actual spend against budget.

Handle escalations from operations drivers and internal customers and close them within agreed service levels.

Qualifications

Diploma or Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical / Automobile Engineering, or an equivalent trade qualification (ITI / technical certification) with strong hands‑on experience.

6–10 years of automotive workshop experience, with at least 2–4 years in a supervisory or managerial capacity (adjust as required for Supervisor vs Manager level).

Proven experience managing a large vehicle fleet or a multi‑bay workshop; experience in taxi, rental, logistics, or passenger transport fleets is strongly preferred.

Strong technical diagnostic ability across petrol/hybrid/diesel vehicles; exposure to EV or hybrid maintenance is an added advantage.

Working knowledge of fleet management systems / ERP platforms and digital job card processes.

Demonstrated track record of improving TAT, reducing VOR, and controlling maintenance cost per vehicle.

Solid understanding of HSE regulations, workshop safety standards, and local transport authority compliance requirements.

Strong people management skills with experience leading multicultural, blue‑collar teams.

Good commercial acumen for vendor negotiation, warranty claims, and parts cost control.

Proficiency in MS Excel and reporting; ability to work with data to drive decisions.

Valid UAE driving licence preferred.

Fluency in English; Hindi/Urdu or Arabic an advantage for team communication.

Willingness to work in shifts and respond to operational emergencies.