Job summary
Auto RARA is looking for an experienced project or production manager to step into a newly created Programme Manager role. This is a senior delivery position focused on creating predictable, no-surprise delivery across our major vehicle restoration and restomod projects.
This is a senior, cross-functional role responsible for connecting customer commitments, project scope, workshop capacity, cost, parts, suppliers, logistics, quality gates and operational decisions into one reliable delivery system.
You will own the integrated plan and current forecast for our most complex vehicle projects, ensuring that teams understand the real priorities, critical parts arrive when needed, vehicles move between departments at the right time and customers receive clear, accurate updates.
This is not a purely administrative project-management role. You will be visible across our operating units, working closely with operational managers, technical leads, skilled craftspeople, customers, suppliers and senior leadership.
Direct classic-vehicle experience would be beneficial, but experience controlling complex, high-value, low-volume engineering or project-based operations is more important.
About Auto RARA
Auto RARA is a growing specialist automotive business delivering high-quality restoration, restomod and complex vehicle programmes.
Having successfully moved beyond the start-up phase, we are strengthening the systems and leadership required to scale. This role will play a central part in creating an integrated delivery and production-control system across our four operating units.
The role
The Head of Project Delivery & Production Control will be accountable for the predictability of major vehicle projects and for the operating system that enables them.
You will ensure that customer commitments, workshop capacity, technical dependencies, costs, parts, suppliers, storage and vehicle movements are planned and controlled as one integrated programme.
A major project may include a multi-discipline restoration, restomod or other complex vehicle programme whose value, duration, uncertainty or cross-site dependency requires formal project control.
Key responsibilitiesMajor project delivery
- Own delivery performance across the major-project portfolio.
- Act as the named delivery owner for the most complex or strategically important vehicle programmes.
- Establish an approved project baseline covering scope, specification, milestones, hours, cost, capacity, parts, suppliers, logistics and quality gates.
- Maintain an integrated project plan and a credible current completion forecast.
- Re-baseline projects following strip-down or investigation when the true condition and scope become clear.
- Coordinate handovers between departments and operating units.
- Ensure vehicles only progress when the preceding quality gate has passed and the receiving department is ready.
Project controls and governance
- Introduce proportionate project controls for different types of work.
- Run concise, decision-focused major-project reviews.
- Track baseline versus actual performance, forecasts, critical paths, risks, issues, actions, decisions and changes.
- Ensure material changes to scope, price or programme are assessed and approved before work proceeds wherever practicable.
- Provide management with a clear view of likely completion dates, margins, resource pressures and customer exposure.
- Challenge unrealistic dates, incomplete estimates and unsupported commitments.
Portfolio planning and production control
- Create a single portfolio view of all major projects.
- Translate project requirements into a rolling capacity and critical-path plan.
- Coordinate priorities across fabrication, body, paint, mechanical, electrical, trim, assembly, testing and other disciplines.
- Identify bottlenecks, excessive work in progress and conflicting priorities.
- Facilitate evidence-based decisions that optimise the whole portfolio rather than individual departments.
- Agree cross-functional priorities with the Managing Director and operational leaders.
- Monitor progress and escalate unresolved resource conflicts.
Customer and commercial control
- Ensure major-project customers receive accurate, timely and consistent updates.
- Communicate work completed, current forecasts, next milestones, required decisions, risks and approved commercial changes.
- Create a no-surprise culture by raising emerging delays, costs or scope issues early.
- Present customers with clear options and a recommended course of action.
- Protect the direct relationship between customers and technical specialists while ensuring dates, costs and scope are communicated from one controlled source.
- Work with Sales and Finance to align estimates, approvals, invoicing milestones and gross-margin forecasts with the work being delivered.
- Support difficult customer conversations with clear evidence and practical recovery plans.
Parts, suppliers and logistics
- Establish need-by and latest order-by dates for critical, high-value, unique and long-lead parts.
- Link parts and supplier commitments directly to the project plan.
- Maintain visibility of external refurbishment, customer-supplied items and shortages that could affect delivery.
- Introduce clear location and custody controls for vehicles, assemblies and project-specific parts.
- Plan inter-unit vehicle movements, customer collections and deliveries.
- Reduce emergency transport, avoidable handling and premature department moves.
- Control storage and department transfers using readiness criteria, available space and bay capacity.
- Intervene where a parts, supplier or logistics exception threatens delivery.
Problem solving and continuous improvement
- Separate immediate containment, project recovery and long-term prevention.
- Lead structured root-cause analysis of recurring operational problems.
- Implement and verify corrective actions.
- Capture lessons from completed and troubled projects.
- Convert lessons learned into improved standards, estimating assumptions, stage gates and planning rules.
- Identify systemic risks relating to capacity, skills, suppliers, facilities, storage and the multi-site operating model.
- Recommend improvements to processes, systems, team structures and the longer-term operational footprint.
Leadership
- Build trust with skilled craftspeople and technical leaders.
- Combine respect for craftsmanship with disciplined commitments and transparent information.
- Create a culture where problems are raised early and actions are owned through to completion.
- Coach managers and technical leads in estimating, planning, risk management, dependency control and constructive escalation.
- Help develop the future production-control and logistics coordination capability required as Auto RARA grows.
- Implement practical tools and systems without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
Experience required
You should have significant experience in complex, high-value, low-volume engineering, restoration, manufacturing, overhaul, refit or project-based operations.
Essential experience includes:
- End-to-end delivery of complex, multi-discipline programmes.
- Managing uncertain scope, technical dependencies, customers, suppliers and constrained specialist resources.
- Practical project controls covering scope, schedule, cost, capacity, risk, issues, decisions, changes and forecasting.
- Production planning or operations control across several competing projects.
- Planning parts, materials, suppliers and logistics against project need dates.
- Customer-facing responsibility for progress updates, difficult messages, commercial changes and recovery plans.
- Leading through influence across functional or matrix teams.
- Working with experienced technical specialists and skilled operational teams.
- Designing and embedding improved operating processes.
Skills and capabilities
You will be able to:
- Build a credible integrated plan from incomplete information.
- Make uncertainty clear and improve the forecast as more information becomes available.
- Understand critical paths, bottlenecks, capacity constraints and work in progress.
- Balance detailed project issues with wider portfolio priorities.
- Challenge unrealistic assumptions constructively.
- Protect customer trust, margin and delivery credibility.
- Communicate calmly and clearly with customers, senior leaders, craftspeople and suppliers.
- Work confidently with spreadsheets, project-management systems or ERP platforms.
- Use reliable data without introducing unnecessary administration.
- Apply structured root-cause problem solving.
- Establish clear accountability and follow actions through to completion.
- Remain composed when several urgent issues compete for attention.
Qualifications and practical requirements
- Relevant degree, professional qualification, technical apprenticeship or equivalent practical career experience.
- Full UK driving licence.
- Willingness to travel regularly between Auto RARA operating units, suppliers and customer locations.
- Able to work predominantly on site.
- Flexibility to work around critical project milestones, customer requirements, collections and vehicle movements when required.
Desirable experience
Experience in one or more of the following would be beneficial:
- Classic vehicle restoration.
- Specialist automotive.
- Motorsport.
- Low-volume vehicle manufacture.
- Aerospace.
- Engineering maintenance, repair and overhaul.
- Yacht refit.
- Bespoke manufacturing.
- Other high-value, project-based craft or engineering environments.
- APM, PMI, PRINCE2 or similar project-management training.
- Lean, Lean Six Sigma, A3 or structured problem-solving methods.
- Multi-site operations.
- Stores and location control.
- Transport and logistics planning.
- Production-control system implementation.
- Establishing a project-delivery office, PMO or production-control function.
Personal style
The successful candidate will be:
- Respectful of craftsmanship and specialist technical expertise.
- Comfortable asking difficult questions and requiring clear commitments.
- Direct, fair and low-ego.
- Proactive and no-surprise in their approach.
- Willing to raise bad news early, bring options and recommend a course of action.
- Visible and practical in the workshop.
- Confident in customer, supplier and management discussions.
- Persistent about standards and follow-through.
- Alert to the risk of process becoming bureaucracy.
- Motivated by building a scalable operating system and developing others.
What success will look like
Customers trust the plan and hear about changes early.
Teams understand the real priorities and what must be ready next.
Vehicles move only when the next department is prepared.
Critical parts arrive when they are required.
Senior leaders have a credible view of the current forecast and can make decisions before problems become crises.
Recurring problems reduce because their root causes are addressed rather than simply contained.
Working arrangements
- Permanent, full-time position.
- Predominantly site-based.
- Regular presence required across Auto RARA’s four operating units.
- Occasional travel to customers, suppliers, subcontractors and industry partners.
- Flexibility required around key project milestones and vehicle movements.
- Salary competitive and dependent on experience.
Benefits
Add your confirmed benefits here, for example:
- Competitive salary based on experience.
- Company pension.
- On-site parking.
- Professional development opportunities.
- Access to unique and significant automotive projects.
Pay: £65,000.00-£75,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
