Vehicle Certification Manager
24 hours ago
Birmingham
Experience: 5-8+ years in automotive aftersales / parts / regulatory compliance / warranty / product safety or equivalent in OEM or major supplier, with experience in both UK & EU markets. Regulatory & Product Safety Compliance Track, interpret, and ensure compliance with UK & EU product safety regulations, directives, and standards (e.g., UKCA/CE marking, E-marking, General Product Safety Regulation, market surveillance). Ensure technical documentation (technical files, risk assessments, test & certification reports, declarations of conformity) is maintained, up to date, and accessible. Parts Sales, Import, and Management Oversee compliance for the sourcing, importation, labelling, storage, and sale of spare parts: ensuring traceability, conformity with safety & quality standards, correct labelling, and origin documentation. Ensure importer roles/duties are fulfilled: verifying conformity assessment, marking, inclusion of instructions & safety information (in correct languages), ensuring legal responsibilities for importers under UK/EU regulations are met. (See EU GSR obligations for importers.) Safety Defects, Recalls & Service Campaigns Identify, assess, and lead investigations into safety defects or product non-conformity. Plan, execute, and track service campaigns and recalls across the UK & EU, including notifications to regulatory bodies & customers, root cause determination, corrective actions, and verification of effectiveness. Ensure public communications, campaign documentation and customer communications meet legal requirements for clarity, coverage, and timeliness. Consumer Rights & Legal Guarantees Ensure aftersales and parts operations comply with consumer protection laws (UK Consumer Rights legislation; EU directives on supply of goods, warranties, repair obligations). Ensure guarantees / warranties are clearly defined, fair, and communicated; ensure that returns, refunds, repairs or replacements are handled in accordance with legal obligations. Stay updated on evolving consumer laws, such as rights to repair, parts availability, dispute resolution mechanisms. Importer / Economic Operator Obligations Clarify and ensure roles (manufacturer, importer, authorised representative, distributor) are properly defined in supply chain contracts, with assigned compliance responsibilities. Fulfill statutory obligations for importers: ensuring that products are safe, conformity assessed, properly marked, labelled, with instructions and contact info, and that records are maintained. (Refer to obligations under General Product Safety Regulation, etc.) Labelling, Marking & Conformity Assessment Ensure spare parts and packaged goods have the correct marking (UKCA / CE as appropriate), labelling (including warnings, contact information, origin, instructions), and that components satisfy their specific conformity requirements. Ensure conformity assessment is carried out correctly: self-declaration vs third-party assessment, use of approved/notified/authorised bodies per UK/EU requirements. Stakeholder & Regulatory Liaison Build and maintain relationships with UK and EU regulatory authorities (market surveillance, safety agencies, customs/import authorities), industry & trade bodies, consumer protection organisations. Coordinate with internal stakeholders: parts / supply chain / procurement, quality, warranty, service network / dealers, legal, customer service, engineering. Risk Management & Process Ownership Maintain a compliance risk register covering product safety, parts non-conformity, consumer complaints, import duties, supplier compliance. Develop and maintain aftersales compliance processes & policies: recall management procedures, parts traceability, importer / supplier agreements, warranty / guarantee workflows, internal audit / quality checks. Auditing, Monitoring & Reporting Conduct regular internal and external audits or inspections (including supplier audits) to verify compliance in parts quality, labelling, technical documentation, warranty claims. Track and report key metrics: number of recalls / safety campaigns, time to initiate, cost of non-compliance, number of consumer complaints, parts defect rates, import compliance issues, audit non-conformances. Provide reports and briefings to senior management on compliance status, risk exposures, regulatory changes, improvement plans.