Chief Engineer - Large Property

Ex-Mil Recruitment Ltd; Greater London; On-site; GBP 51,000 - 69,000; Full time

Job summary

Ex-Mil Recruitment Ltd in London is seeking an experienced Chief Engineer to lead all engineering and maintenance operations within a large, demanding property. You will supervise a multidisciplinary team, manage preventative and reactive maintenance, and ensure safety, reliability and regulatory compliance across mechanical, electrical, HVAC and life-safety systems.

This role is tailored for ex-military engineering leaders with strong people management and operational judgement, offering a

Job description

Chief Engineer – Large Property (284cm) – London - £60,000 per year

Overview

Our client is seeking an experienced Chief Engineer to lead all engineering and maintenance operations within a large, operationally demanding property in London.

DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS RECRUITMENT CONSULTANCY, WE ARE ONLY ABLE TO REPRESENT INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE EX MILITARY.

You will have overall responsibility for ensuring the site's mechanical, electrical, plumbing, HVAC and life-safety systems operate safely, efficiently and reliably, while leading a multidisciplinary maintenance engineering team.

This could be an excellent opportunity for an ex-military engineering leader with experience managing people, plant, facilities and engineering operations within complex, safety-critical environments.

The Role

Reporting directly to the General Manager, you will lead a team including a Deputy Maintenance Manager, Senior Shift Engineer and Shift Engineers.

You’ll take ownership of both preventative and reactive maintenance, ensuring engineering issues are prioritised effectively and resolved before they impact operations.

Responsibilities will also include stakeholder engagement overseeing contractors, renovations and system upgrades, controlling engineering expenditure and ensuring all work meets appropriate safety, environmental and technical standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day engineering and maintenance operations.
• Manage all mechanical, electrical, plumbing, HVAC and life-safety systems.
• Develop and manage the Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) programme.
• Prioritise reactive maintenance and allocate work effectively across the engineering team.
• Ensure plant and facilities remain safe, reliable and fit for purpose.
• Maintain accurate plant, equipment, repair and servicing records.
• Develop and manage energy conservation initiatives.
• Plan internal and external works to maximise planned downtime and minimise disruption.
• Provide technical expertise and engineering leadership.
• Manage contractors and external technical resources.
• Conduct risk assessments and maintain compliance with Health, Safety and Environmental requirements.
• Monitor engineering KPIs and drive continuous improvement.
• Oversee renovations, system upgrades and completed works against agreed specifications.

Engineering Team Leadership

A significant part of the role involves building and maintaining a high-performing engineering function.

You will:

• Lead, coach and develop the maintenance team.
• Set objectives and KPIs and monitor performance.
• Ensure appropriate staffing levels and manage departmental rotas.
• Maintain technical and operational standards across the team.
• Identify training and development requirements.
• Manage performance, sickness and absence appropriately.
• Promote accountability, teamwork and continuous improvement.

Budget & Commercial Responsibility

You’ll also take responsibility for the financial performance of the maintenance function, including:

• Preparing and monitoring maintenance budgets.
• Controlling operating costs.
• Managing capital expenditure.
• Controlling maintenance stock and material expenditure.
• Maintaining records of warranties and service contracts.
• Ensuring engineering resources are deployed effectively.

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for an established engineering leader who can combine technical credibility with strong people management and operational judgement.

You’ll need to be comfortable:

• Leading multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Managing complex plant and building systems.
• Planning preventative and reactive maintenance.
• Managing contractors and technical suppliers.
• Controlling engineering budgets and expenditure.
• Working within Health & Safety and environmental requirements.
• Managing competing operational priorities.
• Responding decisively to urgent engineering issues.
• Working with senior stakeholders and other operational departments.

The position also includes on-call responsibility, requiring an immediate response and full attention when urgent issues arise.

Ideal Ex-Military Backgrounds

This role is particularly well suited to experienced engineering leaders transitioning from or already established outside the Armed Forces, including personnel from:

• REME
• Royal Engineers
• Royal Navy Marine Engineering
• Royal Navy Weapon Engineering
• RAF Engineering
• Defence estate, infrastructure and facilities environments

Senior NCOs, Warrant Officers and Officers who have led engineering teams and held responsibility for maintenance, technical assurance, plant, infrastructure, budgets, contractors and operational availability may have particularly relevant experience.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a substantial engineering operation where reliability, safety, leadership and operational performance are central to the role.

For an experienced military engineering leader, it offers the chance to transfer technical leadership and maintenance-management experience into a senior civilian engineering appointment.