Maintenance Assurance Manager

Position Overview

This role is primarily responsible for ensuring a safe and reliable passenger service, with a specific focus on assurance, compliance, and safety for all maintenance workstreams, including maintenance contractors.

Key responsibilities include overseeing the maintenance strategies, compliance, and quality assurance of passenger service. This role ensures that all maintenance activities adhere to railway standards, safety regulations, and contractual requirements.

Roles and Responsibility

• Develop and implement comprehensive assurance and compliance strategies to ensure safe and reliable train operations.
• Ensuring the maintenance contractors competence management system meets required standard and fulfils the regulatory requirements.
• Carry out or review the training needs analysis for both in-house and outsourced staff.
• Ensuring that the required engineering standards, maintenance plan, maintenance instructions, risk assessments and safe systems of work documentation have been developed following the required standards and adhered to during the delivery of maintenance services.
• Ensuring a timely and in-depth review of the manufacturers and suppliers’ assurance and RAMS plans and ensuring improvements or updates with agreed timeframes when needed.
• Analyse data to identify trends, potential issues, and areas for improvement.
• Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) related to assurance, compliance and safety.
• Identify areas of improvement related to assurance, compliance and safety. Initiate the required improvement plans and ensure timely implementation.
• Participate in testing-commissioning and the trial operations liaising with the associated team, paying specific attention to the assurance and compliance.
• Liaise closely with the safety and quality team to ensure audits and inspections are carried out in an organised, timely, and productive manner.
• Perform Rail Incident Officer/Train Operations Liaison Officer duties as necessary.
• Undertake audits and inspections of contractors to ensure compliance and the delivery of world-class maintenance. Provide recommendations to achieve the desired improvements.
• Initiate improvement plans, including the introduction of new technologies and best practices for enhanced service delivery.
• In conjunction with the safety team, ensure that all incidents, including near misses, are properly recorded and investigated to determine the root causes.
• Ensure that all potential risks are identified, mitigated, and reported as per organisational procedures.
• Prepare and present maintenance assurance reports to project stakeholders and senior management.
• Carry out any other task or work assigned by the Head of Rolling Stock.
  
  

Desirable Qualifications, Skills And Experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or diploma in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
  
  

Professional Qualifications

• Professional qualification or certification from a related professional body, e.g., the Institution of Mechanical Engineering or others, is an advantage.
  
  

Experience

• 10 years or more of relevant, demonstrable industry experience, including maintenance management, preferably in railway or transportation projects.
• Strong understanding of railway systems, including rolling stock and infrastructure.
• Proven track record in developing and implementing assurance & compliance strategies.
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills.
• Knowledge of maintenance management (e.g., CMMS) and safety standards.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Anticipation, analysis, identification, and problem-solving capacity
• Stakeholder management with internal and external customers
  
  

Specific Requirements

• Out-of-hours attendance, exceptional duty, or travelling.
• On-Call responsibility