Department Manager: Spares and Services

SUMMARY:
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POSITION INFO:

 a { text-decoration: none; color: #464feb; } tr th, tr td { border: 1px solid #e6e6e6; } tr th { background-color: #f5f5f5; } Role Purpose

The Manager: Spares and Services is responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of the Spares and Services Department. The role ensures the efficient sourcing, warehousing, sales, delivery, and technical support of spare parts, services, field services, and refurbishments. The position plays a critical role in minimizing customer downtime, supporting sales growth, maintaining service excellence, and ensuring profitable and compliant operations.

Key Responsibilities 1. Departmental Leadership and Management

• Provide strategic direction and day?to?day operational leadership for the Spares and Services Department, encompassing sourcing, warehousing, sales, technical support, and field services.
• Lead, mentor, and manage a multidisciplinary team of 6 technical and commercial staff, driving performance, accountability, and continuous skills development.
• Establish departmental goals, KPIs, budgets, and performance metrics aligned with overall business objectives.
• Foster a culture of service excellence, continuous improvement, safety, and cost awareness.

2. Commercial Operations: Costing, Quoting and Order Processing

• Oversee and ensure accuracy and timeliness of:
  • Costing and quoting of customer spare part requirements.
  • Drive repair requirements.
  • Equipment refurbishment projects.
  • Customer field service interventions.
• Ensure all quotations are commercially viable, competitively priced, and aligned with contractual agreements.
• Approve high?value or complex quotations and ensure clear scope definitions to limit risk.

3. Order Fulfilment, Expediting, and Logistics

• Expedite all confirmed sales orders to ensure on?time delivery and service execution.
• Monitor order status from placement through dispatch, delivery, installation, or service completion.
• Coordinate with warehousing, logistics providers, and internal stakeholders to resolve delays.
• Monitor customer invoicing, collections, and reconciliation in collaboration with finance.

4. Downtime Reduction and Customer Support Strategy

• Develop and implement strategies to reduce customer downtime through:
  • Rapid spare part deployment.
  • Critical spares stocking strategies.
  • Preventative maintenance planning.
• Maintain close collaboration with the Sales Engineering Department (7 members) to:
  • Address customer?requested equipment modifications.
  • Support design improvements and serviceability enhancements.
• Serve as a technical escalation point for complex customer issues.

5. Regional and Field Services Management

• Provide technical and operational support to regionally deployed Sales Engineers (5 members).
• Oversee, coordinate, and manage Field Services teams, including:
  • Training programs (technical, safety, procedural).
  • Staffing and personnel planning.
  • Tooling specification, procurement, and maintenance.
  • Fleet and vehicle suitability, readiness, and compliance.
  • Site?specific safety requirements and client compliance standards.
  • Off?site work planning, logistics, and risk assessments.
• Ensure all field activities comply with health, safety, environmental, and client requirements.

6. Customer Supply Agreements

• Negotiate, implement, and maintain Customer Supply and Service Agreements.
• Ensure contractual obligations are clearly defined, documented, and operationally executable.
• Monitor agreement performance, pricing adherence, service levels, and renewal requirements.

7. Sales and Lifecycle Cost Support

• Support the Sales Department by providing:
  • Projected equipment maintenance budgets.
  • Lifecycle costing models.
  • Spare parts consumption forecasts.
• Assist in pre?sales discussions where serviceability, maintenance cost, and uptime commitments are critical decision factors.

8. Systems, Processes, and Continuous Improvement

• Maintain a logical, practical, and scalable part numbering system to support inventory accuracy and traceability.
• Develop, implement, and refine process flows for:
  • Quotations
  • Order processing
  • Repairs and refurbishments
  • Field services execution
• Identify inefficiencies and lead continuous improvement initiatives across departmental operations.
• Ensure accurate documentation, reporting, and audit readiness.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Customer downtime reduction and response times
• On?time delivery and service completion rates
• Quotation turnaround times and margin achievement
• Customer satisfaction and contract compliance
• Inventory accuracy and spares availability
• Team productivity, capability development, and safety compliance

Qualifications and Experience

• Technical qualification in Mechanical, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering (or equivalent).
• Minimum 7–10 years’ experience in spares, services, or maintenance management within an industrial or engineering environment.
• Proven leadership experience managing multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong commercial acumen with experience in costing, contracts, and lifecycle costing.
• Solid understanding of field services, logistics, and inventory management.

Key Skills and Competencies

• Strong leadership and people management skills
• Commercial and financial awareness
• Advanced problem?solving and decision?making ability
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to work under pressure and manage multiple priorities
• Strong focus on safety, quality, and customer satisfaction