Location: Hemel Hempstead (Hybrid / Field-based / Regular Travel)
Position Type: Permanent, Executive Committee (ExCo)
Reporting To: Managing Director, UK & Ireland
The Opportunit y
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 Operation s: Lead a large, multi-site national field service workforce across all unattended retail, micro-market, and automated solution platform s.
* Performance Cadenc e: Embed a high-performance, accountable culture driven by clear daily, weekly, and monthly execution metric s.
* Compliance & Safet y: Maintain absolute operational compliance across all health and safety legislation, food safety standards, and Operator Licence (O Licence) fleet regulation s.
2. Technology & Field Service Transformation
* Tech-Led Executio n: Accelerate the transition toward a predictive, data-driven service model by leveraging telemetry, real-time dashboards, and remote diagnostic s.
* Efficiency & Logistic s: Optimise national field scheduling, routing, and fleet utilisation to improve service density and lower the cost-per-service cal l.
* Continuous Improvemen t: Standardise technical processes and engineer training to maximise machine uptime, availability, and first-time fix rate s.
3. Financial Management & Commercial Growth
* P&L & Budget Ownershi p: Direct accountability for major operational budgets covering Fleet, FTE, and inventory controls to drive EBITDA growt h.
* Cross-Functional Alignmen t: Partner with the Procurement & Supply Chain Director and Finance teams to eliminate operational waste, reduce stock loss, and lower the cost-to-serv e.
* Client Retention & SLA s: Secure high-value account retention by ensuring flawless contractual SLA compliance and robust service recovery plan s.
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 Leadersh ip: A proven track record of managing massive, geographically dispersed field service, engineering, or route-based logistics workforc es.
* Sector Experti se: Background in automated retail, vending, FMCG, food service, multi-site retail, or scale facilities manageme nt.
* Transformation & Tech Credentia ls: Experience leading digital transformation programmes, particularly embedding automated planning tools, telemetry, or predictive maintenance syste ms.
* Commercial Acum en: Strong financial experience managing large operational budgets with a direct understanding of how field efficiency influences P&L outcom es.
* Fast-Paced Environmen ts: Experience operating within matrix structures or performance-driven, PE-backed corporate environments is highly desirab le.
Key Performance Indicators
* Performance in this pivotal executive role will be measured against a balanced scorec ard:
* Service Excelle nce: Machine uptime %, SLA compliance %, and first-time fix ra tes.
* Productivity & Efficie ncy: Route productivity, engineer utilisation, and reduced cost-to-se rve.
* Financial Imp act: Operational EBITDA contribution, strict budget execution, and year-on-year gross margin improvem ent.
* Complia nce: 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.