Regional Service Manager (Fire Safety and Reactive W...

Job Title: Regional Service Manager Location: London and the South Salary: Negotiable, dependent on experience Overview Our client is a UK provider of life safety service and maintenance, specialising in fire detection, emergency lighting and associated compliance-critical systems. They support customers in keeping buildings safe, compliant and fully operational through disciplined engineering standards, dependable attendance and clear communication. The Regional Service Manager plays a pivotal leadership role at the centre of this operation. This position is responsible for leading the engineering team, owning regional planning and service standards, acting as the primary escalation point for customers, and providing clear operational oversight and reporting to senior stakeholders. This role directly impacts customer confidence, compliance outcomes, retention, reputation and profitability. Key Responsibilities * Lead, coach and performance-manage a team of service engineers and subcontractors to deliver against agreed KPIs (utilisation, response times, first-time-fix, OTIF, customer satisfaction). * Take full ownership of service delivery performance across the region, ensuring work is planned, resourced and prioritised effectively across both planned and reactive demand. * Oversee scheduling and coordination, ensuring engineer diaries are structured to maximise productivity while protecting compliance commitments and customer-critical attendance windows. * Maintain strong technical governance, ensuring correct methods, product knowledge and service standards are applied consistently across all activities. * Ensure compliance with relevant regulations and British Standards by setting expectations, verifying documentation quality (reports, certificates, close-outs) and maintaining robust output controls. * Act as the escalation point for customer issues and complaints, owning resolution plans, communication cadence and outcomes to protect customer confidence and retention. * Drive a “right first time” culture by analysing trends in defects, repeat visits, outstanding reports and customer feedback, identifying root causes and implementing corrective actions. * Conduct routine quality and service audits (site visits, job file reviews, report checks) to ensure consistent standards and continuous improvement. * Complete engineer 1:1s, appraisals and competency reviews, setting clear expectations and supporting structured development plans. * Maintain accurate operational controls including approvals, timesheets, materials/stock discipline, job completion quality and right-first-time invoicing support. * Provide clear and timely management information to stakeholders, including performance trends, risks, capacity constraints and resourcing requirements. * Support Account and Sales Managers with technical input to ensure clarity of scope, serviceability and delivery alignment. * Recruit, onboard and retain engineers and subcontractors as regional demand grows, ensuring capability, compliance and cultural alignment. * Implement and maintain a structured training and competency framework for the regional engineering team to ensure compliance readiness and consistent service quality. Skills & Experience Required * Proven experience leading a field-based service team delivering KPI and SLA performance across planned and reactive works. * Strong service planning, coordination and productivity management capability. * Credible technical background overseeing life safety systems, particularly complex fire safety systems. * Sound working knowledge of relevant British Standards and regulatory expectations. * Ability to proactively manage and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders. * Calm, decisive and accountable under pressure. * Strong leadership presence, setting standards, building trust and communicating confidently at all levels