Director of Field Service & Logistics
3 days ago
Hemel Hempstead
Location: Hemel Hempstead (Hybrid / Field-based / Regular Travel) Position Type: Permanent, Executive Committee (ExCo) Reporting To: Managing Director, UK & Ireland The Opportunity Are you an inspirational operational leader with a track record of running large-scale, geographically dispersed field service teams? My client is Europe’s largest provider of unattended self-serve convenience retail and digital vending solutions, serving millions of consumers daily across 16 countries. In the UK, they operate a sophisticated 24/7 food, drink, and technology network trusted by over 3,500 corporate, education, healthcare, and high-traffic clients. The UK business is undergoing a major commercial transformation into a highly automated, data-led, unattended retail platform. You will sit directly on the Executive Committee and own the end-to-end strategy, execution, and profitability of the national service and technical field operations . Your Mandate: Key Responsibilities 1. Operational Leadership & Service Strategy • Field & Technical Operations: Lead a large, multi-site national field service workforce across all unattended retail, micro-market, and automated solution platforms., • Performance Cadence: Embed a high-performance, accountable culture driven by clear daily, weekly, and monthly execution metrics., • Compliance & Safety: Maintain absolute operational compliance across all health and safety legislation, food safety standards, and Operator Licence (O Licence) fleet regulations. 1. Technology & Field Service Transformation • Tech-Led Execution: Accelerate the transition toward a predictive, data-driven service model by leveraging telemetry, real-time dashboards, and remote diagnostics., • Efficiency & Logistics: Optimise national field scheduling, routing, and fleet utilisation to improve service density and lower the cost-per-service call., • Continuous Improvement: Standardise technical processes and engineer training to maximise machine uptime, availability, and first-time fix rates. 1. Financial Management & Commercial Growth • P&L & Budget Ownership: Direct accountability for major operational budgets covering Fleet, FTE, and inventory controls to drive EBITDA growth., • Cross-Functional Alignment: Partner with the Procurement & Supply Chain Director and Finance teams to eliminate operational waste, reduce stock loss, and lower the cost-to-serve., • Client Retention & SLAs: Secure high-value account retention by ensuring flawless contractual SLA compliance and robust service recovery plans. What You Bring We are looking for a visible, hands-on executive leader who balances strategic transformation with rigorous, day-to-day execution discipline. Experience & Qualifications: • Executive Field Operations Leadership: A proven track record of managing massive, geographically dispersed field service, engineering, or route-based logistics workforces., • Sector Expertise: Background in automated retail, vending, FMCG, food service, multi-site retail, or scale facilities management., • Transformation & Tech Credentials: Experience leading digital transformation programmes, particularly embedding automated planning tools, telemetry, or predictive maintenance systems., • Commercial Acumen: Strong financial experience managing large operational budgets with a direct understanding of how field efficiency influences P&L outcomes., • Fast-Paced Environments: Experience operating within matrix structures or performance-driven, PE-backed corporate environments is highly desirable. Key Performance Indicators • Performance in this pivotal executive role will be measured against a balanced scorecard:, • Service Excellence: Machine uptime %, SLA compliance %, and first-time fix rates., • Productivity & Efficiency: Route productivity, engineer utilisation, and reduced cost-to-serve., • Financial Impact: Operational EBITDA contribution, strict budget execution, and year-on-year gross margin improvement., • Compliance: Zero-harm health and safety metrics, O Licence compliance, and outstanding audit pass rates. If you are a performance-driven leader looking for the autonomy to shape a business's commercial future, I’d love to hear from you.