Vehicle Preparation Centre (VPC) Manager

About NVD

A family owned business, established in 1980, NVD was set up to assist vehicle manufacturers in the timely and incident free distribution of their products. We've established ourselves as a one stop shop providing the three main pillars of outbound logistics, including transporting, storing and enhancing our customers' vehicles, prior to delivery to their end location. Since 1980 NVD has been at the forefront of pioneering the digitisation of the FVL industry. As early adopters of emerging technology we have been able to introduce huge efficiencies saving time and money for our customers. Our unwavering commitment to progress and continual service improvement remains at the heart of our business today.

Role Purpose

The Vehicle Preparation Centre (VPC) Manager will maintain ultimate responsibility and control over the daily operations of the Baldonnell VPC. Leading a team of over 50 colleagues in an extremely fast paced workshop environment, this role focuses on driving operational excellence through lean principles, process improvements, standardised activities, and waste elimination. The successful candidate will foster a culture of continuous improvement, ensuring the workshop meets organisational standards while maintaining high resilience and determination to overcome daily operational challenges.

Key Responsibilities Operations & Lean Management

• Maintain full responsibility, ownership, and control of the Baldonnell VPC floor operations.
• Review Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) against daily floor practices to eliminate variances and ensure consistent, high standard processes.
• Utilise GEMBA opportunities on the workshop floor to stay closely connected to operations, identify bottlenecks, and drive efficiency.
• Actively collaborate with the group development team to implement continuous improvement ideas and align the workshop with standardized company wide practices.

People & Leadership

• Provide strong leadership and direction to a team of over 50 workshop colleagues, demonstrating excellent people management skills.
• Work closely with the HR department to support training initiatives, including the City & Guilds training centre within the workshop.
• Lead, mentor, and develop supervisors and floor staff to build a cohesive team mindset focused on best practices.

Financial & Commercial Oversight

• Oversee pricing and costing inputs for any new services introduced to the workshop.
• Conduct regular reviews of standard completion times and establish floor level focus groups to identify areas for operational improvement.
• Actively monitor low margin work to determine if efficiencies can be improved internally or if commercial adjustments are required.
• Support subcontractor management and optimisation efforts within the facility.

Stock & Supply Chain Management

• Review and manage the workshop's stores function to ensure full compliance with the official Purchase Order (PO) and accruals processes.
• Oversee strict stores management protocols, including stock handling, material releasing to the floor, and the mitigation of aging stock.
• Conduct supplier reviews locally to ensure the workshop utilises the best suppliers at optimal pricing while leveraging group wide purchasing advantages.

Systems & IT Integration

• Ensure all workshop systems are utilised consistently and correctly by all team members.
• Partner with the IT department and the VPC team to ensure all users are thoroughly trained to understand and operate core systems.
• Support the implementation of a tailored Inform training programme for the various operational roles within the workshop.
• Coordinate cross functionally with multiple corporate departments to ensure smooth business integration.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Experience: Proven experience in workshop management with excellent people management skills.
• Lean Expertise: A strong understanding of workshop management and lean principles (e.g., waste elimination, standardised work, GEMBA).
• Resilience: High resilience and the drive to thrive under pressure within an extremely fast paced workshop environment.
• Leadership Style: Strong capability to influence, motivate, and develop a large team of over 50 colleagues to achieve operational excellence.
• Cross Functional Skills: Excellent communication skills with the ability to coordinate across various organisational departments.

Pay & Benefits

• Salary from €90,000 plus bonus (dependent on experience)
• Pension Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Annual Leave Purchase Programme
• Long Service Awards
• Bike to Work
• Discounted Gym Membership
• Death In Service Benefit
• Digital GP Service

Equal Opportunities Statement

National Vehicle Distribution is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. We value openness, innovation, customer focus, and operational excellence. Our organisation actively promotes equality and prohibits discrimination based on gender, marital/civil status, family status, age, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion, or membership of the Traveller community, in accordance with Irish and UK equality legislation. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals and are dedicated to creating an environment where everyone can thrive and contribute to our shared success.