Hire Manager

The Workdry Group; Bedford; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus scheme

25 days holiday

Holiday buying

Private Medical Insurance (PMI)

Medical cash plan

Pension scheme

Life assurance 3x salary

Employee discounts

EAP & Mental Health Support

Referral scheme (up to £1,000)

Cycle to work scheme

Training & development

Job summary

Selwood, part of The Workdry International Group, invites applications for a Hire Manager at our Bedford branch. You will lead and coordinate the branch hire operation, meeting customer hire requests and product requirements while driving profitability and team performance.

You’ll provide leadership to the Hire Desk team, coach colleagues, and ensure safety standards are embedded in all activities. Strong organising and negotiation skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Previous experience in a supervisory role within a rental business or similar environment.
• Experience of running a busy hire desk in a fast-paced setting.
• Experience with different software packages and rental systems.
• Intermediate Microsoft Office skills (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams).
• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently.
• Strong planning and organizing skills with prioritisation ability.
• Able to multi-task and respond to internal/external queries quickly.
• Professional, positive communication with teams under pressure.
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills to encourage unplanned sales.
• Experience in logistics, construction or water utilities is beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Oversee coordination of hire desk activities including inquiries, quotations, contracts and extensions.
• Ensure all hire contracts and paperwork are recorded and accessible.
• Plan and schedule branch transport.
• Maintain high standard of customer service by the hire desk team.
• Provide day-to-day direction and support to the team.
• Lead and motivate a high-performing team to maximise productivity and quality.
• Champion a strong health and safety culture across branch activities.

Skills

Supervisory experience

Hire desk management

Rental software experience

Microsoft Office

Planning and organizing

Multi-tasking

Communication skills

Negotiation

Logistics knowledge

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Rental systems

Job description

Selwood is the UK’s leading pump rental solutions company and part of the Workdry International Group, delivering reliable, tailored pumping solutions to the Water, Environmental and Construction sectors for over 70 years.

Our success is built on the strength of our people. Across our nationwide network of branches, we work together with honesty, respect and teamwork—sharing ideas, supporting one another and always striving to improve. Safety is at the heart of everything we do, ensuring our people and the communities we work in get home safe every day, while our work helps protect vital resources for future generations.

It’s an exciting time to join Selwood as we continue to grow. We’re committed to investing in our people—developing the skills, knowledge and career opportunities that help our teams succeed and build long-term careers with us.

About The Role

To support ou r Bedfordbranch, which goes from strength to strength due to the hard work and commitment of our branch staff, we are looking to welcome a Hire Manager to the te am.

As Hire Manager, you'll lead and c oordinate the branch Hire operation, working alongside Branch teams to fulfill customer hire requests and product requirements. You'll be utilising your expert knowledge to contribute towards Company profit and branch targets, alongside providing leadership and line management to the Hire Desk team.

Main Responsibilities:

• Oversee the coordination of all hire desk activities including customer enquiries, quotations, contracts and hire extensions.
• Ensure all hire contracts and other systems and paperwork are accurately recorded and available.
• Overseeing the planning and scheduling of branch transport.
• Ensure a high standard of customer service is delivered by the hire desk team.
• Provide day-to-day direction and support to your team
• Lead, coach, and motivate a high-performing team to maximise productivity, engagement, performance, and quality.
• Lead and champion a strong health and safety culture, ensuring it is embedded in all branch activities.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Previous experience of working in a supervisory role, within a rental business (or similar environment).
• Experience of running a busy hire desk within a fast-paced environment.
  
• Experience of working with different types of software packages and rental systems.
• Intermediate Microsoft Office skills (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Teams video calls).
• Self-motivated, with the ability to work independently and without direct supervision.
• Strong planning and organising skills, with the ability to re-prioritise customer hires and jobs at short notice.
• Able to multi-task, to respond to multiple queries from internal and external stakeholders, with the ability to resolve all issues and ensure a prompt resolution for internal teams and customers.
• Able to always communicate in a professional and positive manner, with the ability to engage with Hire and Branch teams when under pressure.
• Strong negotiation / influencing skills, and confident in using own knowledge of company products to encourage unplanned sales from customers.
• Experience of working in logistics, construction or water utilities would be beneficial.

What we can offer you

We understand balancing work and life commitments isn’t always easy, that’s why we’ve designed our benefits package to support you in all areas of life.

• Eligible for company bonus scheme (annual and quarterly payments)
• 25 days holiday (plus length of service increases) + 8 Bank Holidays
• Holiday buying (up to an additional week)
• Private Medical Insurance (PMI) for yourself
• Medical cash plan for yourself – reimburse health costs e.g. dentist or optician, access to 24hour online GP services, discounted gym memberships
• Pension scheme with contribution based on total earnings not just salary
• Life assurance protection at 3 x salary
• Employee discount scheme (discounts/vouchers for supermarkets, high street shops, holidays and more)
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) & access to Mental Health First Aiders
• Employee referral scheme (up to £1,000 per referral)
• Cycle to work scheme
• Support for development and training
  

EDI Statement

Workdry International Ltd is committed to encouraging equality, diversity, and inclusion among our workforce, and eliminating unlawful discrimination.

As part of your recruitment journey, we are happy to support requests for reasonable adjustments.

At the heart of our company values we prioritise our people and encourage them to be innovative, entrepreneurial and put the customer at the centre of all we do.