Air Conditioning / Refrigeration Technical Services Manager

Air Conditioning / Refrigeration Technical Services ManagerIf you're a Senior Refrigeration or Air Conditioning Engineer who's done years on the road - the traffic, the wear and tear on your hands, the unpredictable finish times - this is the role that gets you off the tools and home for dinner, without losing the seniority your experience has earned you.Our client is an ambitious, fast-growing residential air conditioning installer. Every completed installation feed into their maintenance department, and as they scale, that function needs senior technical depth it doesn't currently have. This role owns the technical and operational judgment behind every service and maintenance job - diagnosing issues, reviewing Engineer reports, deciding on parts and next steps, and being the answer when the team hits something they can't resolve themselves. Day-to-day booking and logging of calls is handled by their admin team. This role is what happens after the call is booked.You'll oversee and direct the work of their field-based Service Engineers allocating jobs, setting priorities, and holding the team accountable for the standard and pace of their work. This is a position of real authority, not just technical advice from the sidelines.You'll be based at their premises, not on the road. They finish at 4:30pm.Initial phase (target: c. 2 months): You'll work closely with the Commercial Director as they refine the department's workflows and systems. Your input is the ground truth here - what comes up routinely, where jobs actually go wrong, what a correct technical decision looks like in practice. They build the workflow and automation around what you tell them; you're not expected to design the systems yourself.From there: You run the technical and operational side of the department day-to-day, reporting to the Managing Director.What This Role Is Not:Not a call-booking or data-entry role - that's covered by the existing admin teamNot a field role - your engineering days are behind you; your judgment isn'tNot a trainee role - they're looking for depth of experience from day oneBenefits They Offers:Career growth opportunitiesManufacturer and industry training20 days holiday plus bank holidaysTime off over ChristmasPensionOffice-based hours; Finish at 4:30pmSalary and Hours:£60,000 - £65,000 depending on experienceFT; 40hrs per weekStart: 8:30am; Finish: 4:30pmOffice-Based (NOT remote)Key ResponsibilitiesTechnical Ownership:Review Engineer job sheets and reports, and decide what action each one needsDiagnose faults accurately - distinguish product/manufacturing defects from installation or usage issuesOrder parts based on accurate diagnosis, not guessworkAllocate and oversee work for the field-based Service Engineers, holding them accountable for the standard and pace of their workOwn warranty decisions both ways - confirming cover and remedy for customers, and pursuing valid claims back to suppliers where a fault is genuinely a manufacturing defectSpeak directly with customers on technical matters when a query needs senior expertiseFeed verified fault patterns back to the Factory Manager where a pattern points to a manufacturing issueTeam Support:Be the go-to for technical questions the admin/booking team can't answer themselvesSupport and upskill the team handling call booking and logging - you're not doing their job, you're the depth behind itSystems Input (Initial Phase):Work with the Commercial Director to map how service and maintenance jobs actually flow todayFlag where current process or data entry breaks down and whySign off that new workflows reflect real-world practice before they go liveDepartment Ownership (from approx month 3):Own technical and operational decision-making for the service and maintenance functionOwn the maintenance contract programme - renewals, attach rate, scheduled workSet the standard for job sheet quality and fault reporting across the teamResults Expected:Accurate fault diagnosis with minimal misdiagnosis/reworkField Engineers' work meets the standard and pace this role holds them toWarranty decisions are correct and defensible both ways - customer remedy and supplier recoveryNew workflows signed off in phase one actually reflect how jobs really work, with no go-live surprisesStandards To Be Met:Every job sheet reviewed and actioned within 24-48hours of receiptNo customer-facing technical query goes unanswered without follow-up within two daysGenuine manufacturing defects are flagged to the Factory Manager, not absorbed silently as one-offsRequirements:Senior, demonstrable technical knowledge of refrigeration and air conditioning systems - this is the non-negotiableYears of field experience is exactly what our client is looking for - this role exists for people who've earned the right to come off the roadExperience reviewing Engineer reports/job sheets and making accurate diagnostic and parts decisions from themComfortable explaining technical reasoning clearly to a non-technical teamAble to articulate process and workflow clearly, even without designing it yourselfExperience handling warranty claims, ideally both customer-facing and with manufacturer/supplierOther Requirements:Full UK driving licence - There may be the odd requirement to visit a customer premisesF-Gas Category 1 certification - Would be an advantage but not essential if expiredActively fit - Putting out materials and spare parts for Service-based EngineersTPBN1_UKTJ