National Operations Manager - Smr

The Aa; Bridgnorth; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days leave

Pension scheme (7%)

Free AA breakdown membership

GP access and wellbeing support

Employee discounts

Job summary

The AA is seeking an experienced Operations Manager for SMR Indoor Operations to lead the indoor control environment, ensuring effective day-to-day management of workload, dispatch and customer exceptions. You will partner with field operations, planning, technology and commercial teams to align resources with demand and drive improvements.

As a senior operations leader, you will foster a high-performing team culture, deliver continuous improvement, and balance service, productivity and cost in

Qualifications

• Proven operational leadership in a fast-paced service/dispatch environment.
• Experience leading and developing people managers and teams.
• Strong track record in improving performance, service delivery and outcomes.
• Experience managing work-in-progress, workload and capacity in a complex operation.

Responsibilities

• Lead indoor SMR operation with clear accountability for performance and customer outcomes.
• Develop managers and colleagues responsible for dispatch, WIP, operational support and exception handling.
• Establish daily rhythms to actively manage workload, capacity, service risks and customer issues.
• Maintain oversight of WIP, identify aged or at-risk jobs and drive timely interventions.
• Ensure effective dispatch and workload management to optimise Mobile Mechanic capacity and productivity.
• Collaborate with field leaders to manage performance and operational constraints.

Skills

Operational leadership

People management

Analytical skills

Stakeholder management

Communication

Continuous improvement

Commercial awareness

Decisiveness

Tools

Workforce management tools

Scheduling software

CRM platforms

Job description

Job Description

As Operations Manager - SMR Indoor Operations, you will lead the operational control environment supporting our Mobile Mechanic and wider SMR activity.

You will be responsible for ensuring the indoor operation delivers effective day-to-day management of workload, technician support, dispatch activity, work in progress and customer exceptions. You will create clear operational rhythms, establish strong ownership and ensure emerging risks are identified and acted upon quickly.

Working closely with field operations, planning, technology, customer teams and commercial stakeholders, you will help ensure the right work reaches the right resource at the right time and that issues affecting delivery are resolved with pace.

This is an opportunity for an experienced operational leader who is comfortable working in a high-volume, performance-led environment and can combine strong people leadership with operational discipline, customer focus and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the indoor SMR operation, creating clear accountability for operational performance, customer outcomes and colleague experience.
• Lead and develop managers and colleagues responsible for SMR dispatch, work-in-progress management, operational support and customer exception handling.
• Establish effective daily operational rhythms, ensuring workload, resource availability, capacity, service risks and customer issues are actively managed.
• Maintain strong oversight of SMR work in progress, identifying aged or at-risk jobs and driving timely intervention to reduce broken promises and poor customer outcomes.
• Ensure effective dispatch and workload management, supporting the optimum use of Mobile Mechanic capacity and improving technician productivity.
• Work closely with field operational leaders to provide joined-up management of technician performance, availability and operational constraints.
• Use management information and real-time performance data to understand demand, capacity and service performance, translating insight into clear actions.
• Identify systemic causes of operational failure and work with Planning, Technology, Product and other stakeholders to deliver sustainable improvements.
• Strengthen customer recovery processes, ensuring exceptions and service failures are owned, resolved quickly and used to drive future learning.
• Lead continuous improvement across indoor SMR processes, reducing unnecessary manual intervention and creating simpler, more scalable ways of working.
• Ensure colleagues understand operational priorities, service expectations and their individual accountability for delivering a high-quality customer experience.
• Manage resources effectively, balancing customer service, colleague capacity, productivity and cost.
• Build strong relationships across Road Operations and Car Care, ensuring indoor operations remain closely connected to the wider SMR strategy and transformation roadmap.
• Maintain appropriate operational controls, governance and escalation routes, ensuring risks are visible and acted upon with pace.

Qualifications

You’ll Bring

• Proven operational leadership experience within a fast-paced service, contact centre, dispatch, scheduling or operational control environment.
• Experience of successfully leading and developing people managers and operational teams.
• A strong track record of improving operational performance, service delivery and customer outcomes.
• Experience managing work-in-progress, workload, capacity or resource deployment within a complex operation.
• Strong analytical capability, with the ability to use operational MI and real-time data to identify emerging issues and drive action.
• The ability to remain calm and decisive when managing competing operational priorities and customer service risks.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to challenge, influence and align teams across different functions.
• A practical continuous-improvement mindset, with experience identifying root causes and implementing sustainable operational solutions.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to create clarity and accountability across a busy operational environment.
• Commercial awareness and the ability to balance service, productivity, customer and cost considerations.

Nice to Have

• Experience within Service, Maintenance and Repair (SMR), automotive services or roadside operations.
• Experience leading dispatch, scheduling, contact centre or central operational support functions.
• Experience working within a growing or transforming operation.
• Familiarity with workforce management, scheduling or CRM platforms.
• Experience of improving operational processes through technology, automation or system change.

Additional Information

Belonging at The AA

At The AA, we value the unique perspectives, experiences and ideas that our people bring. We've nurtured a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected and empowered to do their best work.

Through our employee communities and inclusion initiatives, we’ve created opportunities for people to connect, share experiences and influence positive change across the business. This is a place where your voice matters and where you can belong, grow and succeed.

Driven by People, Rewarded by Benefits

We believe in rewarding our people. That's why we offer a comprehensive benefits package including;

• 25 days' annual leave plus bank holidays, the option to buy additional holiday
• Up to 7% employer pension contribution
• Free AA breakdown membership from Day One with 50% discount for family and friends, discounts on AA products including car and home insurance
• 24/7 GP access and wellbeing support for you and your family
• A wide range of employee discounts, including our popular car salary sacrifice scheme