Engineering Supervisor

Arriva Merseyside Limited; Sefton; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Arriva Merseyside Limited is seeking an Engineering Supervisor (progression to Assistant Engineering Manager) in Southport. The role develops engineering leadership with a focus on delivering safe, efficient maintenance and fleet availability.

You will support the Engineering Manager, supervise a team, plan workload, and drive improvements while ensuring compliance with health, safety and DVSA standards. A clear development pathway leads toward an AEM role.

Qualifications

• Strong engineering background with maintenance experience.
• Recognised apprenticeship or related degree/diploma.
• Knowledge of Health & Safety legislation and best practices.
• Experience supervising and motivating a team in a busy operation.
• Desire to progress to Assistant Engineering Manager.

Responsibilities

• Support the Engineering Manager in daily operations of the engineering function.
• Supervise the engineering team to ensure safe, timely maintenance and repairs of the fleet.
• Assist in workload planning and resource allocation for optimum garage performance.
• Maintain accurate work records and ensure proper sign-off procedures.
• Deliver regular team briefings and shift handovers; monitor maintenance performance.

Skills

Team supervision

Engineering background

Health & safety knowledge

Communication skills

Problem-solving

Education

Apprenticeship/engineering qualification

Job description

Engineering Supervisor (Progression to Assistant Engineering Manager)

Location: Southport

Salary: £45,000 per annum

Purpose of the Role

This role offers an exciting opportunity for an aspiring Assistant Engineering Manager to learn, grow, and support the Engineering Manager in delivering an efficient and effective engineering operation. The successful candidate will contribute to achieving operational targets set by Arriva UK Bus and the DVSA, ensuring vehicle availability and compliance, while maintaining budgetary and performance standards. You will play a key part in ensuring the garage consistently meets Peak Vehicle Requirement (PVR), operates within core KPI metrics, and maintains regulatory and safety compliance. This is a development-focused position with a clear pathway toward becoming an Assistant Engineering Manager.

Health & Safety: Everyone’s Responsibility

All employees are expected to prioritise health and safety by acting responsibly, considering the risks in all work activities, and never engaging in behaviour that could put themselves, others, or the business at risk. Health & Safety responsibilities are detailed in the Arriva HS&E Management System.

Key Responsibilities

• Operations & Supervision
  • Support the Engineering Manager in the daily running of the engineering operation.
  • Supervise and support the engineering team to ensure safe, timely, and efficient maintenance, servicing, repairs, and cleaning of the fleet.
  • Assist in workload planning and resource allocation to ensure optimum garage performance.
  • Maintain accurate work documentation and oversee proper sign-off procedures.
  • Deliver regular team briefings and shift handovers using Team Talk Boards.
  • Monitor and assist in reducing vehicle breakdowns and lost mileage by focusing on preventative maintenance and performance improvement.
• Health, Safety & Compliance
  • Ensure staff compliance with health & safety standards, environmental policies, and statutory regulations.
  • Actively monitor safe working practices, including those of contractors and visitors.
  • Assist the Engineering Manager in fostering a culture of continuous safety awareness and compliance.
• Fleet & Customer Service
  • Ensure the depot consistently meets PVR, delivering clean, roadworthy vehicles that exceed statutory standards.
  • Support the delivery of contractual obligations through effective fleet availability planning.
• People Management
  • Assist in all aspects of people management, including recruitment, onboarding, performance reviews, absence management, and employee relations.
  • Support the development of team members through training, coaching, and identifying skills gaps.
  • Maintain open communication with staff and relay feedback to the Engineering Manager.
• Quality & Continuous Improvement
  • Uphold high-quality engineering standards by promoting individual and team accountability.
  • Encourage and support continuous improvement and efficiency initiatives throughout the depot.
  • Identify areas of underperformance and contribute to action plans to improve outcomes.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

• Strong engineering background, ideally within heavy vehicles or plant machinery, with experience in maintenance, servicing, or overhaul.
• Recognised apprenticeship, vocational qualification, or relevant degree/diploma in engineering, vehicle maintenance, or a related field.
• Sound knowledge of Health & Safety legislation and commitment to best practice.
• Proven ability to supervise and motivate a team in a fast-paced, operational environment.
• Excellent communication, organisation, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong attention to detail and a commitment to high standards.
• Desire and capability to progress to the role of Assistant Engineering Manager.

Desirable

• Previous experience in the bus or HGV industry.
• Understanding of DVSA and regulatory vehicle standards.
• Experience with engineering KPIs, budget management, and fleet availability planning.

Join Arriva and Drive Your Career Forward

This role provides the perfect platform to build your career in engineering leadership. If you are motivated, safety-conscious, and eager to take the next step in your development, we’d love to hear from you. Arriva is a leading provider of passenger transport across Europe, employing around 34,400 people and delivering around 1.6 billion passenger journeys. With buses, trains, coaches, trams, waterbuses, bike‑sharing systems, on‑demand transport solutions and a rolling stock leasing company, Arriva proudly connects people and communities safely, reliably and sustainably across 11 countries, delivering these services in a better way, every day. The activities of Arriva are divided into four business units: UK Bus, UK Trains, The Netherlands and Mainland Europe. Arriva has passenger transport operations in the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom, and also operates a rolling stock leasing company in Romania.