Planning Scheduling Manager

Met Serve Ltd; Reigate; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 43,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Basic Salary

Pension (Royal London)

Group Life Assurance

Group Medical Cash Plan

British Gas discounts

Annual discretionary bonus

Job summary

Met Serve Ltd, trading as Dyno-Rod Plumbing, is seeking a Dispatch Manager to lead the scheduling and logistics team from our office in Reigate. You will optimise the Dynamics 365 Field Service module to plan bookings, manage rotas, and ensure on-time attendance within KPIs.

Join a team of engineers and office staff, driving efficiency, balancing reactive and planned works, and maintaining high service levels with out-of-hours coverage.

Qualifications

• Proven background in dispatching trade services (plumbing, heating, maintenance, or gas).
• Strong hands-on experience using Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) scheduling tools or field service management platforms.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex engineer rotas and out-of-hours schedules.
• Ability to interpret D365 performance reports and dashboards to improve team and engineer efficiency.
• Strong commercial understanding to drive the business forward.

Responsibilities

• Oversee planning, scheduling, and routing of plumbing jobs in the Dynamics 365 field service module.
• Design, implement, and manage the out-of-hours on-call rota for the plumbing engineering team.
• Monitor SLA compliance and KPIs, intercepting issues and re-routing resources as needed.
• Lead, train, and motivate the office-based dispatch team on D365 workflows.

Skills

D365 scheduling

Rota planning

Data literacy

Commercial understanding

Team leadership

Tools

Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365)

Job description

Role Overview

• Salary: £35,000 - £43,000 per annum (depending on experience)
• Working Hours: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Monday to Friday) (working day is either 8am-5pm or 9am-6pm - on a rota'd basis)
• Location: Office-based role
• Reporting to: Internal Operations Manager

The Business

Met Serve Ltd is a Plumbing & Heating Company covering SW London, South Middlesex Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Berkshire, East Dorset and South Wiltshire. We carry out circa 8000 home visits per month; varying from minor repairs to extensive installation works. With offices in Reigate and Basingstoke we are a Business of circa 100 Engineers and 30 Office staff.

Trading as Dyno-Rod Plumbing, we are part of the Dyno-Rod franchise network.

What we Offer our Team

• Basic Salary
• Pension (Royal London)
• Group Life Assurance (post 6 month qualifying period)
• Group Medical Cash Plan (post 6 month qualifying period)
• Access to certain benefits and discounts with British Gas
• Annual discretionary bonus scheme

We are keen advocates of continuous improvement and continuous training. We will always look to help our colleagues develop, whether that be through online or in person training courses or qualification, including external.

Role Purpose

The Dispatch Manager leads the scheduling and logistics team, leveraging Dynamics 365 (D365) Field Service to ensure plumbing bookings are planned efficiently and attended within agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This role acts as the critical link between customers, office staff, and field engineers to maximize daily productivity and ensure seamless out-of-hours coverage.

Key Responsibilities

Booking Planning & Scheduling

• D365 Optimization: Oversee the strategic planning, scheduling, and routing of all plumbing jobs within the Dynamics 365 field service module.
• Route Efficiency: Ensure plumbing engineers are dispatched based on proximity, skill set, and job urgency to minimize travel time.
• Capacity Management: Balance emergency reactive plumbing calls with planned preventative maintenance bookings seamlessly.

On-Call & Rota Management

• Engineer Rotas: Design, implement, and manage the out-of-hours on-call rota for the plumbing engineering team.
• Fair Allocation: Ensure balanced, fair, and compliant distribution of on-call shifts among the engineering workforce.
• Escalation Support: Act as an escalation point during handover periods to ensure out-of-hours emergencies are logged correctly in D365.

KPI & Performance Management

• SLA Compliance: Monitor the D365 live schedule board to guarantee engineers attend bookings within promised time windows.
• Monitor Metrics: Track response times, first-time-fix rates, and daily job completion stats.
• Jeopardy Management: Intervene early when jobs risk breaching KPIs and re-route resources instantly via D365.

Team Leadership & Office Operations

• Staff Management: Line-manage, train, and motivate the office-based dispatch team on D365 system workflows.
• Shift Coverage: Manage office rotas to ensure constant cover during core operational hours.
• Escalation Point: Resolve complex booking conflicts or customer complaints efficiently.

Technical & Experience Requirements

• Industry Experience: Proven background in dispatching trade services (plumbing, heating, maintenance, or gas).
• Software Skills: Strong hands‑on experience using Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) scheduling tools or field service management platforms.
• Rota Planning: Demonstrated experience managing complex engineer rotas and out-of-hours schedules.
• Data Literacy: Ability to interpret D365 performance reports and dashboards to improve team and engineer efficiency.
• Commercial Understanding: Able to understand and see the commercial picture driving the business forward, with a strong ability to make key decisions using their own judgement.

Annual reviews will be carried out to appraise your performance not only to ensure that standards are being maintained but to also ensure that the correct support is offered. The review system also gives a fuller understanding of the Skill set required and what is expected of your role.

We practice a diverse and inclusive recruitment process that ensures equal opportunity for all we work with, irrespective of race, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, age or gender. As an organisation, we encourage applications from all backgrounds and will ensure measures are met when required, to allow a fair process throughout.