Overview
Location: Colchester, Essex
Contract: Full-Time, Temporary*
Duration: 6-12 Months
Rate: £500 per day Umbrella PAYE
Closing Date: Wednesday 3rd June 2026
Interviews: W/C 8th June 2026
Target Start Date: W/C 6th July 2026
Essex County Council (ECC) are delighted to be supporting Amphora Colchester in recruiting a Mobilisation Manager on a full-time, temporary basis. Due to the nature of this role, a background in Grounds Maintenance (Private Sector) is highly desirable.
Job Purpose
To lead and deliver the safe, timely, and cost-effective mobilisation of the Amphora grounds maintenance service, ensuring continuity of service, compliance with statutory obligations, technical standards and readiness for “day one” operations following insourcing.
The postholder will manage all Amphora mobilisation activities and work closely with Colchester City Council’s steering group to successfully commence services on the 1 Nov 2027. This will likely include areas such as service design, TUPE, selection and procurement of fleet and plant, kit and equipment, depots, IT systems, staffing, health & safety, volunteer support and operational readiness.
Key Responsibilities
* Mobilisation Planning & Governance
* Leading Amphora’s mobilisation and service readiness activities.
* Contribute to maintaining a detailed mobilisation plan, programme, and risk register.
* Escalating issues into Amphora and making/obtaining strategic and operational decisions on behalf of Amphora.
* Ensure Amphora mobilisation milestones are delivered on time and within budget.
* Determining optimum service delivery requirements and procuring the associated fleet, plant, kit and equipment in time for go live.
* Coordinate dependencies across HR, fleet, IT, procurement, finance, safety, and technical operations.
Workforce & TUPE Management
* Support TUPE transfer processes, including:
* Due diligence
* Employee consultation
* Engagement with trade unions
* Work with HR to confirm: Terms and conditions; Structures; Training and competency requirements
* Support induction and onboarding of transferred and new staff.
Fleet, Plant & Depot Readiness
* Coordinate mobilisation of: Vehicles; Plant and equipment; Fuel and maintenance arrangements
* Ensure: Fleet/ compliance (insurance, MOT, PUWER/LOLER FEPA, Health and Safety regulations where applicable); Depot readiness (access, welfare, storage, security)
Essential: Key Skills & Experience
* Proven experience leading service mobilisation in grounds maintenance/horticultural (or other place-based services)
* Experience of insourcing from an external contractor
* Knowledge of: Teckal / LATCo environments; Grounds maintenance horticultural operations
* Strong understanding of: Local authority service delivery; TUPE and workforce transitions
* Excellent project management and organisational skills
* Strong stakeholder management and communication skills
* Ability to work at pace under political and public scrutiny
What You Should Do Next
If you are interested in finding out more about this role, we would love to hear from you. Please apply via the Working for Essex website. If you have any queries relating to this post or would like to see the full Job Description, please email Ashleigh.Drake@essex.gov.uk
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