Technical Support & Service Manager

Job Title: Technical Support & Service Manager
Location: Lewes, East Sussex
Salary: £40 - £50k plus discretionary company performance bonus
Working pattern: Full-time, office-based, five days per week; UK site visits and occasional international travel
Our Client is a worldwide, leading manufacturer of passenger information systems for the public transport industry. All design and development, and the majority of production, is carried out at our head office in East Sussex.
With a great friendly open environment in our Technical Support department and are looking for talented professionals to join us at an exciting time of growth and technological and organisational change.
Brief Summary
Our client have experienced significant growth over the past three years, increasing both the size of our customer base and the range and complexity of the products and services we support. As our hardware, software and connected systems continue to evolve, we are looking for a talented Technical Support & Service Manager to lead our UK Technical Support team during an exciting period of growth, technological change and continuous improvement.
The successful candidate will lead a team of approximately eight Support Engineers, supporting both hardware and software across our UK customer base, while also providing technical escalation support for international customers when required.
We are looking for someone with strong technical aptitude and the motivation to develop an in-depth understanding of our products, software, systems and processes. The successful candidate will provide credible, hands-on technical leadership, support the investigation of complex and recurring issues, and ensure the team delivers a consistent, responsive and customer-focused service.
Reporting to the Head of Account Management, this is a full-time, office-based role at our Lewes head office, five days per week. The successful candidate will work closely with the newly established Account Management team and other departments to improve coordination, customer satisfaction and the overall customer experience. UK customer site visits and occasional international travel will also be required
Requirements
- Manage the UK Technical Support team of approximately eight Support Engineers, including planning workload and priorities.
- Build a strong working knowledge of our hardware, software, connected systems and support processes.
- Provide hands-on technical guidance and take ownership of complex or recurring customer issues.
- Oversee the diagnosis of hardware, software, configuration, installation and networking faults.
- Analyse the company’s UK support requirements, both short and long term, and recommend changes or improvements where necessary.
- Review existing department processes for customer response and servicing, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and service quality.
- Review warranty and repair processes, alongside call-out, installation and servicing practices and charges.
- Ensure customer queries, feedback and complaints are addressed effectively and progressed through the ticketing system.
- Manage installation and retrofit projects, including site visits, on-bus installation work, commissioning and customer training.
- Identify recurring issues and ensure appropriate root-cause analysis and corrective action are coordinated with the relevant departments.
- Monitor team performance, ticket progress, recurring faults and customer risks, taking action where required.
- Ensure Support team members receive appropriate technical training, and oversee recruitment and development within the department.
- Work closely with Technical, Software, Engineering, Production, Repairs, Sales, Finance and Account Management to resolve issues and achieve company objectives.
- Work closely with our customers to ensure their requirements are understood and addressed in a timely manner.
- Act as the escalation point for occasional technical queries from customers outside the UK.
- Maintain a safe and secure working environment for the Technical Support team
Essential Skills
- Previous experience managing a team in a dynamic, customer-facing technical environment
- Experience working in a technical support, engineering, field service, systems support or similarly technical environment.
- Strong technical aptitude and the ability to develop an in-depth understanding of our hardware, software and connected systems.
- A practical understanding of networking and connected systems, including IP addressing, Ethernet, routers, mobile communications and remote connectivity.
- Strong analytical and structured problem-solving skills, with experience investigating complex or recurring technical issues.
- Experience managing complex customer issues and communicating confidently with customers and internal stakeholders at all levels.
- The ability to remain technically involved while managing team workload, priorities and performance.
- Previous experience using a ticketing-style support system.
- Good technical knowledge, supported by a relevant qualification or equivalent practical experience in engineering, electronics, or a related discipline.
- A proactive and flexible approach to problem-solving, with strong planning and organisational skills.
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
- A collaborative approach and the ability to work effectively across departments.
- High level of familiarity with Windows and the Microsoft Office Suite.
- Willingness to travel occasionally within the UK and overseas.
Desired Skills
* Experience within the public transport, automotive, manufacturing, electronics or vehicle-technology industries.
* A background in electronics, electrical engineering, automotive engineering or another relevant engineering discipline.
* Experience with vehicle electrical systems, wiring diagrams, installation or commissioning.
* Knowledge of serial communications, including RS232 and RS485.
* Knowledge of networking and connected systems, including Ethernet, IP addressing, routers, mobile communications, SIM connectivity and remote device-management systems.
* Experience delivering technical training or developing technical support documentation.
* Experience managing installations, retrofit programmes or field-service activity.
* Experience with maintenance and support contracts.
* Foreign-language skills would be beneficial but are not essential.
What you’re expected to do
* Oversee the response to and resolution of customers’ technical queries, becoming directly involved in complex or escalated issues when required.
* Plan the workload and priorities of the UK Technical Support team and monitor day-to-day performance.
* Provide hands-on technical guidance and support the investigation of complex or recurring issues.
* Ensure customer queries are accurately logged, prioritised, monitored and progressed through the ticketing system.
* Diagnose and coordinate the resolution of hardware, software, configuration, installation and connectivity issues.
* Identify recurring issues and coordinate root-cause investigations and corrective actions with the relevant departments.
* Manage installation and retrofit projects, including scheduling site visits, on-bus installation work, commissioning and customer training.
* Work with Technical, Software and Engineering teams to investigate product defects and recurring technical issues.
* Monitor support performance, including response times, ticket ageing, escalations and recurring customer issues.
* Analyse repair, warranty, support and financial data to identify trends and recommend improvements.
* Review and improve departmental processes, technical documentation, troubleshooting guidance and escalation routes.
* Ensure technical knowledge and support procedures are documented and shared effectively within the team.
* Recruit, train and develop UK Support Engineers, identifying and addressing technical skills gaps.
* Provide occasional technical guidance and escalation support to customers, subsidiaries and agents outside the UK.
* Coordinate with Account Management, Production, Repairs, Sales, Finance and other departments on customer issues and cross-functional initiatives.
* Support the review and development of maintenance and service contracts.
* Carry out any other duties reasonably required by the Head of Account Management.
Employee Benefits
- Competitive Salary
- 25 days annual leave increasing with length of service up to a maximum of 30 days, plus bank holidays
- Private Medical Insurance
- 6% Employer Pension Contribution
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Discretionary Company Performance Bonus
- Long Service Employee Recognition Scheme
- Enhanced Family Leave
- Company Events
TPA Recruit is a specialist recruitment agency acting on behalf of our client to source and assess suitable candidates for this position. All applications will be reviewed and processed by our team, who will liaise directly with shortlisted individuals throughout the hiring process
Only candidates based in UK and eligible to work in UK are allowed