Depot Manager

Chiltern Railways; Wembley; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Chiltern Railways in Wembley seeks a Depot Manager to lead rolling stock maintenance, servicing and depot operations. You will own strategic direction, drive safety and quality, and align performance with wider business goals.

You will manage budgets, lead a culture shift toward excellence, and work with internal teams and external partners to meet fleet targets while ensuring regulatory compliance and high standards of reliability.

Qualifications

• ONC NVQ Level 4 or higher.
• Significant experience in managing traction and rolling stock maintenance operations, including budget and team leadership.
• Demonstrated success in leading cultural change programs and improving operational maturity.
• Strong understanding of railway safety standards and regulatory requirements.
• Excellent communication skills for engaging effectively at all levels, both internally and externally.
• Analytical skills with the ability to solve complex technical and operational challenges.
• Strong experience with union engagement, chairing meetings, consultations, and negotiations.
• Proficiency with IT systems relevant to fleet maintenance and depot management.
• Commitment to continuous personal and team development.

Responsibilities

• Act as the senior-most authority on site, accountable for safety, performance, quality and customer service metrics.
• Develop and execute the depot strategy in alignment with long-term business and fleet plans.
• Provide inspirational leadership, establishing clear expectations, driving accountability, and championing continuous improvement.
• Drive a positive culture change program, embedding proactive safety behaviours, engagement, and collaboration.
• Lead cultural change to embed proactive safety behaviours and promote a high-performance, engaged workforce.
• Ensure safe systems of work are established, maintained, and followed for all depot activities, providing assurance through audits.
• Investigate and lead audits, inspections, and investigations to drive compliance, learning and continuous improvement.
• Manage depot workload delivery to meet maintenance plans for Chiltern Railways and other customers.
• Maintain appropriate staffing levels, skill competencies, and training plans to deliver operational needs now and in the future.
• Own the full depot budget, including staffing, tooling, facilities, materials, and revenue generation opportunities.
• Build strong strategic relationships with internal stakeholders and external partners to achieve targets.
• Oversee contractor compliance, safety practices, and delivery quality.
• Maintain accurate asset condition data to support asset management planning and long-term fleet performance.
• Support depot improvements by providing input on infrastructure changes from an end-user perspective.
• Ensure compliance with all health, safety, environmental, and railway standards by collaborating with relevant team.
• Chair and represent the depot for local consultations, influence engagement, and negotiation meetings with staff representatives and trade union.
• Undertake general and statutory inspections as required.
• Participate in the engineering on-call rota, providing senior support for unplanned events.
• Cover other roles in the engineering team, and deputise for Head of Fleet Delivery as required.

Skills

Leadership

Budget management

Communication skills

Analytical skills

Union engagement

IT systems proficiency

Education

ONC NVQ Level 4 or higher

Degree in engineering or management

Tools

Fleet maintenance IT systems

Job description

Role: Depot Manager

Location: Wembley

Contract Type: Permanent

Salary: Competitive

Job Purpose

Provide senior leadership for all rolling stock maintenance, servicing, and depot operations at Chiltern Railways. Own the strategic direction of the depot, driving a transformational culture shift focused on safety, quality, performance, and operational excellence. Align depot performance with wider business goals while ensuring compliance with legal, regulatory, and company standards

Key Accountabilities

• Act as the senior-most authority on site, accountable for achieving all safety, performance, quality, and customer service metrics
• Develop and execute the depot strategy in alignment with long-term business and fleet plans
• Provide inspirational leadership, establishing clear expectations, driving accountability, and championing continuous improvement
• Drive a positive culture change program, embedding proactive safety behaviours, engagement, and collaboration
• Lead cultural change to embed proactive safety behaviours and promote a high-performance, engaged workforce
• Ensure safe systems of work are established, maintained, and followed for all depot activities, providing assurance through audits and feedback to individuals
• Investigate and lead audits, inspections, and investigations to drive compliance, learning, and continuous improvement
• Manage depot workload delivery to meet maintenance plans for Chiltern Railways and other customers, ensuring high-quality output and compliance with standards
• Maintain appropriate staffing levels, skill competencies, and training plans to deliver operational needs now and in the future
• Own the full depot budget, including staffing, tooling, facilities, materials, and revenue generation opportunities
• Build strong strategic relationships with internal stakeholders (e.g. Safety Team, HR, Performance, Operations) and external partners (e.g., Network Rail, ROSCOs, contractors, suppliers) to achieve depot and fleet targets
• Oversee contractor compliance, safety practices, and delivery quality
• Maintain accurate asset condition data to support asset management planning and long-term fleet performance
• Support depot improvements by providing input on infrastructure changes from an end-user perspective
• Ensure compliance with all health, safety, environmental, and railway standards by collaborating with relevant team
• Chair and represent the depot for local consultations, influence engagement, and negotiation meetings with staff representatives and trade union
• Undertake general and statutory inspections as required
• Participate in the engineering on-call rota, providing senior support for unplanned events
• Cover other roles in the engineering team, and deputise for Head of Fleet Delivery as required

Personal Specification

Essential

• ONC NVQ Level 4 or higher
• Significant experience in managing traction and rolling stock maintenance operations, including budget and team leadership
• Demonstrated success in leading cultural change programs and improving operational maturity
• Strong understanding of railway safety standards and regulatory requirements
• Excellent communication skills for engaging effectively at all levels, both internally and externally
• Analytical skills with the ability to solve complex technical and operational challengesStrong experience with union engagement, chairing meetings, consultations, and negotiations
• Proficiency with IT systems relevant to fleet maintenance and depot management
• Commitment to continuous personal and team development

Desirable

• Degree in engineering, management, or a relevant discipline