Garage Manager

Muller UK & Ireland; Manchester; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Up to 10% annual bonus

Life Assurance policy

Private Medical Insurance

25 days holiday + bank holidays

Enhanced parental leave

Enhanced bereavement leave

Pension matched up to 8%

Müller Rewards discounts

IT equipment provided

Concessionary products

Career progression

Job summary

Müller Milk & Ingredients Distribution in Manchester seeks a proactive Garage Manager to lead our Vehicle Maintenance Unit, ensuring maintenance safety, efficiency, and compliance across the depot to maximise fleet uptime.

The role requires strong technical knowledge of HGVs and transport engineering, plus budgeting and stakeholder management. We offer a competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, and clear career progression at the Manchester site.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in fleet maintenance leadership.
• Knowledge of DVSA compliance and vehicle legislation.
• Experience with budgeting and resource planning.
• Strong problem solving and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day operation of the Vehicle Maintenance Unit, ensuring all maintenance activities are completed safely and to high standards.
• Manage workshop resources, labour allocation, and repair schedules to maximise fleet availability.
• Ensure all vehicles and workshop activities remain compliant with DVSA, licence, health and safety, and company standards.
• Drive a proactive preventative maintenance culture to improve reliability and reduce costs.
• Monitor workshop performance, budget spend, and KPIs.
• Lead, coach, and develop engineering and workshop teams with a culture of accountability.
• Investigate vehicle failures and root causes, implementing corrective actions.
• Build relationships with internal and external stakeholders and suppliers.
• Maintain high housekeeping, safety, quality, and audit readiness.
• Support fleet replacement, vehicle specs, and engineering improvements.

Skills

HGV maintenance

Trailer maintenance

Defect management

Engineering best practices

Leadership

Stakeholder management

IT skills

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Outlook

PowerPoint

Job description

Garage Manager - Müller Milk & Ingredients Distribution | Manchester

Lead the Team Behind the Fleet

We're looking for a proactive and experienced Garage Manager to join our Transport Department based at our Manchester Depot. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone with strong technical knowledge and leadership skills to take charge of our Vehicle Maintenance Unit (VMU), ensuring our fleet is safe, compliant, and operating at peak performance.

Location: Manchester - M17 1TU

Contract: Full Time / Permanent

Salary: Competitive (monthly paid)

Hours: 40 hours per week

What You'll Be Doing

• Lead the day-to-day operation of the Vehicle Maintenance Unit, ensuring all maintenance activities are completed safely, efficiently, and to the highest standards.
• Manage workshop resources, labour allocation, and repair schedules to maximise fleet availability and minimise downtime.
• Ensure all vehicles, trailers, and workshop activities remain fully compliant with DVSA, Operator Licence, health and safety, and company standards.
• Drive a proactive preventative maintenance culture, identifying opportunities to improve reliability and reduce operating costs.
• Monitor workshop performance, productivity, maintenance spend, and key fleet engineering KPIs.
• Lead, coach, and develop engineering and workshop teams, creating a culture of accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement.
• Investigate vehicle failures, defects, incidents, and engineering-related root causes, implementing corrective actions where required.
• Build effective working relationships with internal stakeholders, customers, suppliers, manufacturers, and third-party service providers
• Maintain high standards of housekeeping, safety, quality, and audit readiness across all workshop activities.
• Support fleet replacement, vehicle specification, and engineering improvement initiatives to enhance operational performance.

What We're Looking For

• Previous management experience within a fleet maintenance, transport engineering, commercial vehicle, or workshop environment.
• Technical knowledge of HGVs, trailers, vehicle maintenance systems, defect management, and engineering best practices.
• An understanding of fleet compliance, preventative maintenance planning, vehicle legislation, and operational risk management.
• Experience managing workshop performance, budgets, resource planning, and productivity.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Good IT skills, including Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
• Knowledge of transport and logistics operations and the critical role engineering plays in delivering customer service and operational efficiency.

Benefits

• Up to 10% annual bonus
• 4 x Life Assurance policy
• Private Medical Insurance
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays (rising with service)
• Enhanced Maternity & Paternity Family Leave
• Enhanced Bereavement Leave
• Pension Employer Contribution Scheme (matched up to 8%)
• Exclusive access to Müller Rewards, offering a variety of online and in-store discounts
• Business Supplied IT Equipment
• Concessionary products
• Career Progression and Development Opportunities
• Free parking