Head of Fleet Operations and Maintenance

South Western News UK; Greater London; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free duty and leisure travel on SWR

Free leisure travel for spouse/partner

75% discount on other train companies

Full training and development support

Excellent pension scheme

Job summary

South Western Railway is seeking a Head of Fleet Operations and Maintenance to lead maintenance centres, operations and outstations, driving fleet performance and reliability. You will champion a safety-first culture, digital adoption, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver value and customer-focused service across the network.

The role demands strategic leadership, strong financial acumen, and a commitment to developing a high-performing, inclusive team.

Qualifications

• Degree level qualification in engineering or business.
• Proven leadership and interpersonal communication skills.
• Strategic thinking with ability to engage senior stakeholders.
• Strong organisation, communication and delivery capabilities.
• Commercial awareness and negotiation at all levels.
• Ability to inspire and develop others and manage budgets.

Responsibilities

• Safety and performance: ensure safety and improve train performance, punctuality and reliability.
• Innovation and Technology: lead digital adoption and data-driven maintenance strategies.
• External and Internal Stakeholder Engagement: represent the fleet function at senior levels with partners and regulators.
• Our People: build an inclusive, high-performing team culture and focus on engagement and development.
• Financial Sustainability: drive cost efficiencies and support Opex/Capex planning.
• Change Leadership: steer through industry transformation and integration activities.
• Customer: deliver high-quality, reliable, well-presented fleet to enhance journeys.
• Sustainability and Social Value: reduce environmental impact and strengthen community value.
• Business and Partnerships: collaborate across functions to meet KPIs and reporting needs.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Strategic thinking

Organisation

Commercial awareness

Negotiation

Financial acumen

People development

Education

Degree in engineering or business

Job description

Who are we?

South Western Railway (SWR) operates over 1,500 services each weekday across the network and employs more than 5,000 people. We provide easy and convenient mobility, connecting people and communities in South West London, southern counties of England, and the Isle of Wight.

Join our team and help us continue to bring people together to get the most out of life.

About the job

The Head of Fleet Operations and Maintenance is a pivotal leadership role within South Western Rail, responsible for overseeing Train Maintenance Centres, operations and outstations stabling locations. This strategic position drives excellence in maintenance and fleet performance, ensuring operational reliability and service quality across the network.

At the heart of this role is exceptional people leadership. The Head of Fleet Operations and Maintenance leads a large, diverse, and multidisciplinary team, fostering a high-performance culture built on trust, collaboration and continuous development. By empowering individuals and teams, the role cultivates accountability, innovation and a shared commitment to safety and customer satisfaction.

This leader brings track and train technologies together, acting as the principal liaison between internal departments and external partners. They champion cross-functional integration, ensuring seamless communication and delivery across the business. With a focus on asset optimisation and long-term value creation, the role promotes a people-first approach, prioritising wellbeing, inclusion and professional growth to drive sustainable success.

Your main responsibilities will be:

Safety and performance: Ensure the safety of colleagues, customers, and assets through robust maintenance practices and a safety-first culture. Drive improvements in train performance, punctuality, and reliability by reducing technical defects and service cancellations.

Innovation and Technology:Lead the adoption of cutting-edge digital technologies and data-driven maintenance strategies. Embed a culture of innovation across the fleet function.

External and Internal Stakeholder Engagement:Represent the fleet function at senior level, building strong relationships with internal departments, industry partners and regulatory bodies.

Our People: Build and sustain an inclusive, high-performing team culture that attracts, develops and retains top talent. Champion employee engagement, wellbeing, and leadership development to support long-term organisational growth.

Financial Sustainability:Deliver cost efficiencies through smarter maintenance practices, supply chain optimisation and collaborative industry partnerships. Contribute to long-term financial planning (Opex and Capex) to support the region's business objectives.

Change Leadership: Lead the fleet maintenance function through significant industry transformation, including the integration of the Wessex region and the transition to Great British Railways. Ensure operational continuity and team resilience during periods of change.

Customer: Deliver a consistently high-quality, reliable and well-presented fleet that enhances the customer journey. Set new standards for fleet maintenance that ensures SWR is an industry-leading operator.

Sustainability and Social Value: Lead initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of fleet operations, including energy and carbon reduction plans. Strengthen SWR's social value by contributing to community engagement and sustainable transport goals.

Business and Partnerships: Engage across all functions within the business to support businessplanning, forecasting, business reporting and delivering against KPIs, both internally and externally.

You'll need to be:

• Degree level qualified in an appropriate engineering or business discipline.
  Proven leadership skills and excellent interpersonal communication skills.
  Ability to act strategically and interact with senior colleagues and equivalent external stakeholders.
  Excellent communication skills; verbal, written and listening.
  Demonstrate good organisation skills including the ability to prioritise effectively, delegate and deliverhigh quality work to deadlines.
  Able to evidence strong commercial awareness, negotiation at all levels and are customer orientated.
  Presents ideas and recommendations in a clear and convincing manner to influence others to make theright decisions for the organisation.
  Ability to inspire and develop others to deliver business goals and achieve their potential.
  Possess excellent financial acumen.

Desirable

• A technical knowledge of traction and rolling stock.

• A good knowledge of train maintenance depots or comparable production environment.

• Good general understanding of the UK rail industry.

• Clear visible understanding of safety issues related to public transport vehicles or systems.

• Experience of working within a train operating company or industry infrastructure environment

About the location

Wimbledon Traincare Depot is a short walk from Wimbledon Park station and recently welcomed its first Class 701 train, marking a significant milestone in the £1bn transformation of suburban travel. Our current fleet operating on the suburban network (Class 455 and 458 trains) will be replaced over a 2 year period with 90 brand new 701's. Drivers, maintenance and other depot colleagues are currently in training to develop the new skills needed for the next generation of trains that will be fitted with all new modern technology. Wimbledon depot will eventually become the new maintenance home for the entire Class 701 fleet.

Working pattern

Working an average of 37 hours per week over 5 days

Normally Mon-Fri, 0900-1700, however will manage hours, days and locations as business needs dictate.

The Reward

In return we offer a competitive salary and a variety of valuable benefits, including:

• Free duty and leisure travel on SWR services for employees

• Free leisure travel for spouse/partner and dependants (criteria dependent)

• 75% discount on many other train operating companies

• Full training and support with development

• Excellent pension scheme

We all belong at SWR. Our vision is to provide an inclusive environment for all colleagues, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment.

We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA+, ethnicity, religion, and disability. We maintain a zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.

We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.

If you require additionalsupport to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition, for example, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below. We encourage you to share any additional needs you may require so we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.

https://exceptionalindividuals.com/neurodiversity/

https://www.healthassured.org/blog/neurodiversity/