Fleet Availability Team Leader

Fleet Availability Team Leader Location: Trowbridge, Wiltshire Hours: 37.5 per week Salary: Competitive, dependent on experience Are you an experienced HGV professional with a strong understanding of vehicle maintenance, breakdown management and repair operations? Are you ready to lead a team, take ownership of operational challenges and make a tangible difference to vehicle availability? We are looking for a proactive Fleet Availability Team Leader to join an established vehicle operations business in Trowbridge. This is an opportunity for someone with a heavy vehicle technical background and strong leadership skills to play a key role in reducing vehicle downtime, improving service performance and delivering an excellent customer experience.

The Role

As Fleet Availability Team Leader, you will lead a team responsible for managing vehicles that are off the road due to breakdowns, accidents, defects, repair delays and maintenance issues. Your focus will be on ensuring every case has a clear action plan, appropriate ownership and a realistic target for resolution. You will drive progress, challenge delays and coordinate with repairers and service partners to get vehicles back into operation as quickly and safely as possible. This is a hands-on operational leadership position, combining team management and coaching with technical problem-solving, supplier coordination and customer communication.

Key Responsibilities

* Lead, coach and motivate a team, establishing clear priorities and accountability for resolving off-road vehicle cases. * Oversee vehicle breakdowns, repairs, recovery, accident damage, defects and maintenance-related downtime. * Ensure every case has a defined action plan, clear next steps, an assigned owner and a target resolution date. * Work closely with HGV repair workshops, dealerships, recovery agents, bodyshops, tyre providers and other service partners to accelerate repairs. * Challenge suppliers on delays, parts availability, diagnostic progress and repair completion dates, escalating performance issues where necessary. * Monitor live cases and aged off-road vehicles, identifying obstacles and ensuring overdue actions are addressed promptly. * Support team members with complex technical cases, difficult supplier conversations and urgent customer issues. * Ensure customers and internal stakeholders receive clear, timely and accurate updates on vehicle status and expected completion dates. * Work collaboratively with maintenance, customer service, rental and account management teams to resolve issues and minimise disruption. * Monitor key performance indicators, including vehicle downtime, repair cycle times, supplier response times and overdue cases. * Identify recurring problems and implement practical improvements to processes, supplier performance and vehicle availability. * Maintain accurate case records, system updates and supplier information. * Support the onboarding of new customers, ensuring vehicle availability is considered in operational planning and decision-making.

About You

You will be an experienced automotive or heavy vehicle professional who combines sound technical knowledge with the ability to lead people, manage competing priorities and drive problems through to resolution. You will ideally bring: * Experience within HGV, heavy commercial vehicle or fleet maintenance operations. * A recognised qualification in Heavy Vehicle Maintenance, such as IMI, City & Guilds or an appropriate manufacturer/OEM qualification. * Level 3 Heavy Vehicle Maintenance preferred; Level 2 is the minimum requirement. * Experience in a workshop, commercial vehicle service environment, fleet maintenance, breakdown management, accident management or a closely related operation. * Experience coordinating repair work and working with external service providers, repair networks or recovery companies. * Previous team leadership, supervisory or management experience, with the ability to coach colleagues and maintain accountability. * Strong supplier management skills, including the confidence to challenge delays, negotiate practical solutions and escalate issues when necessary. * Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to turn incomplete information into clear actions. * The ability to manage multiple live cases, prioritise effectively and remain calm under pressure. * Clear, confident communication skills and a strong customer-focused approach. * A proactive mindset, with a genuine sense of urgency and ownership. What We're Looking For The successful candidate will be someone who takes responsibility rather than waiting for problems to resolve themselves. You will be comfortable making decisions, following up on commitments and keeping cases moving, even when dealing with difficult suppliers or complex technical issues. You will also understand the commercial and operational impact of vehicles being unavailable and be motivated by finding practical solutions that improve service delivery. The Opportunity This is a chance to bring your HGV expertise into a leadership role where your decisions and actions will directly influence vehicle availability, customer satisfaction and operational performance. If you have the relevant heavy vehicle background, enjoy solving problems and can motivate a team to deliver results, we would welcome a conversation. Apply today to find out more about this opportunity