Workshop Controller

Avon and Somerset Police; West of England; On-site; GBP 34,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Shift Allowance 12.50%

Job summary

Avon and Somerset Police seeks an experienced Workshop Controller to lead a team of Motor Vehicle Technicians across our Avonmouth and satellite workshop locations. You will manage daily operations, ensuring high uptime for emergency vehicles and providing technical guidance to staff.

You will oversee service, preventative maintenance and repairs, coordinate with suppliers and dealers, and deputise for the Workshop Manager as required.

Qualifications

• Experience leading a workshop team in a vehicle service environment.
• Proven ability to service and repair fleet vehicles including emergency equipment.
• Ability to plan and coordinate multiple workshop locations.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily workshop activities and allocate jobs to technicians.
• Apply technical knowledge to service and repair fleet vehicles.
• Participate in planning meetings with workshop management team.
• Build relationships with suppliers and manage third-party body shops and dealers.
• Escalate issues to Workshop Manager and support frontline officers.
• Reconciling jobs and ensuring accurate labour and parts allocation.
• Review vehicle availability and expedite repairs to minimise downtime.
• Champion health, safety and staff wellbeing across workshops.

Skills

Team leadership

Technical knowledge

Diagnostics

Fleet maintenance

Problem solving

Tools

Fleet management software

Job description

Are you an experienced Workshop Controller or Motor Vehicle Technician that is looking for your next challenge? Could you help to keep our varied emergency vehicle fleet on the road?

This/These post(s) attract allowances - Shift Allowance. Shift percentage - 12.50%. Hours per week - 37. Closing date - 09/10/2026, 12:00.

An opportunity has become available within our Transport Services Department for a Workshop Controller to join our team. In Avon and Somerset Police, our Workshop Controllers are responsible for a team of Motor Vehicle Technicians operating from both our main vehicle workshop at Avonmouth and our satellite vehicle workshops across the force area. You will lead your team to provide an exemplary service, maintaining and repairing all fleet vehicles, including the latest vehicles with integrated emergency equipment fitted.

Whilst you’ll run the day-to-day operation, you’ll have the support of your peer Workshop Controllers and the Workshop Manager. This role will be based at our Avonmouth workshop, with extensive travel and the requirement to work from other workshop locations in the force area. You will have use of a pool vehicle for any business mileage.

We strive to achieve very high standards and a first-time fix across our fleet – safety cannot be compromised on our emergency response vehicle fleet. You’ll play a critical role maximising vehicle uptime and providing the highest levels of support to frontline officers and staff. prioritising vehicles accordingly. You will also manage capacity across multiple workshops and direct vehicles and staff accordingly to service demand.

Main responsibilities of the role:

• To manage and lead workshop staff on a daily basis, allocating jobs, making decisions and proactively identifying solutions to problems, using your product knowledge to make best use of all available resources and opportunities.
• To apply your technical knowledge and skills to effectively service, preventatively maintain and repair all types of fleet vehicles, including cars, commercial vehicles, plant and equipment. As a vehicle repair and maintenance subject matter expert, you will provide technical and diagnostic assistance and guidance to workshop staff, ensuring that maintenance standards and recommended repair methods are applied consistently, in line with wider industry best practice.
• To participate in regular workshop planning meetings with the wider workshop management team.
• To build strong working relationships with suppliers, holding regular review meetings with our external body shop and franchised dealer network suppliers – by working together you’ll ensure maximum fleet availability of our critical emergency service vehicles.
• To act as the first point of escalation for both frontline police officers and staff and Transport Services colleagues, resolving queries as appropriate and escalating concerns to the Workshop Manager where required.
• Reconciling electronic job cards on our fleet management software, ensuring that labour and parts are allocated correctly.
• To manage warranty claims with suppliers, working alongside colleagues in workshop stores to ensure the effective reclaim of warranty costs where possible.
• To review and report vehicle availability, ensuring that problem vehicle repairs are expedited as much as possible to minimise vehicle downtime.
• To champion and support your teams’ health, training and wellbeing, completing structured 121 meetings, providing first-line welfare support and providing coaching and development where necessary.
• To ensure that our workshops are operated in a safe and legal manner, working closely with our forcewide Health & Safety team. The Workshop Controller will be required to undertake routine Health & Safety checks and manage building and equipment faults and repairs, rectifying issues in a timely manner.
• To deputise for the Workshop Manager as required.
• Whilst this role will be based at Avonmouth workshop (which will