Make your mark with Colas Rail UK
At Colas Rail, differences matter. Join a team where being your authentic self is respected, encouraged, and vital to our success. At Colas Rail you'll be at home. You'll be welcomed into an inclusive team where there's a role for every talent and a close-knit, familial culture. You will also get the opportunity to help us transform transportation, set new standards, and dare to be different.
This is true because...
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We value everyone as part of the same team.
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We treat everyone as equals - and everyone is approachable, from the CEO down.
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We put you in control of your career to lead and grow in any way you want.
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We have a culture of care, from safe working environments to diversity and inclusion.
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We're renowned for innovation, adopting new ideas, and daring to be different.
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We are building a more sustainable future and our projects impact infrastructure for generations.
About Us
Step into the world of Colas Rail, where a century of expertise merges with a daring spirit to shape the future of rail infrastructure.
At Colas Rail, we deliver transport solutions for sustainable mobility. We are a leading rail infrastructure business with on track plant and freight capabilities. As a subsidiary of the Colas Group, we are part of over a hundred years' experience in delivering major innovations across our sector. Every day, thousands of trains run on tracks built, designed, or maintained by Colas Rail.
Leading by our Values
Our values, Respect, Commitment, Pioneering and Sharing are at the heart of everything we do. These values feed into our main strategies and accompany us daily in realising our ambitions.
We Respect our employees, celebrate diversity and foster a culture of safety, care and respect for everyone we interact with. We care about our employee’s wellbeing and create an environment of inclusivity and support.
We Commit by showing up wholeheartedly. When we commit together, we invest in everyone’s success. We invest in our customers, our teams and our colleagues, and we lead with safety, integrity, passion, purpose, ethics and transparency.
We Share as we all hold knowledge that could and should be shared, enabling us to grow and making us a strong collective. We have a passion for excellence, celebrating achievements and nurturing talent.
We Pioneer to push boundaries, imagine what does not yet exist and dare to do what others do not. We innovate with ambition, and we find solutions.
Even if you don't meet every requirement, please don't rule yourself out, we still encourage you to apply if your skills, values, and experience align to the role.
To support the Fleet Manager in the safe, reliable and efficient management of the Rail Milling fleet, ensuring the delivery of operational, maintenance and commercial objectives.
The Assistant Fleet Manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Rail Milling operation through four Machine Supervisors, ensuring that machines, people and resources are deployed effectively to maximise fleet availability, productivity and safety. The role provides leadership, technical guidance and operational oversight whilst driving continuous improvement, workforce development and customer satisfaction.
Leadership & People Management
- Lead, manage and support four Machine Supervisors, ensuring consistent standards of leadership, safety and performance across the Rail Milling fleet.
- Set clear expectations and monitor team performance against agreed objectives and company standards.
- Conduct performance reviews, PDRs, competency assessments and development planning for direct reports.
- Coach and mentor Machine Supervisors, developing future leaders within the business.
- Promote a positive safety culture, teamwork and professional behaviours throughout the Rail Milling operation.
- Deputise for the Fleet Manager when required.
Operational Management
- Manage the day-to-day operation of the Rail Milling fleet to ensure safe, efficient and reliable delivery of customer requirements.
- Coordinate operational and maintenance activities through the Machine Supervisors.
- Ensure machine availability, utilisation and productivity targets are achieved.
- Manage on-call responsibilities and provide leadership during operational incidents and breakdowns.
- Ensure effective communication between Operations, Engineering, Planning and Customer teams.
Maintenance & Asset Management
- Oversee planned maintenance, corrective maintenance and engineering improvements across the fleet.
- Ensure defects are prioritised, managed and closed in accordance with company procedures.
- Monitor fleet reliability and performance data to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
- Ensure FAMS records, maintenance documentation and statutory inspections are completed accurately and on time.
- Oversee stock management of tools, spare parts and consumables to support fleet availability.
Safety, Compliance & Assurance
- Ensure compliance with Company SHEQ standards, Network Rail requirements and relevant legislation.
- Carry out safety tours, audits and inspections across the Rail Milling operation.
- Lead or support investigations into accidents, incidents and near misses, ensuring effective corrective actions are implemented.
- Ensure safe systems of work are consistently applied and maintained.
- Monitor compliance with competence, medical and Sentinel requirements.
Planning & Resource Management
- Manage labour resources to ensure effective coverage across all Rail Milling operations.
- Oversee rostering, travel and accommodation arrangements to achieve efficient utilisation of resources and cost control.
- Monitor operational expenditure, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
Customer & Stakeholder Management
- Act as the primary operational contact for Network Rail and other customers.
- Build and maintain effective relationships with customer representatives and internal stakeholders.
- Ensure customer issues are managed promptly and professionally.
Continuous Improvement
- Lead continuous improvement initiatives to improve fleet reliability, safety and operational efficiency.
- Drive innovation in maintenance practices, operational processes and training.
- Analyse operational performance data and implement improvement plans.
Operational Assurance
- Ensure all operational reports, Daily Work Returns, FAMS records, defect reports and performance information are accurate and submitted on time.
- Monitor operational KPIs and provide performance reports to the Fleet Manager.
- Ensure maintenance outages are effectively planned, delivered and reviewed.
The job holder will have a proven track record in both operational and maintenance of On Track Machines, knowledge of Rail Milling would be desirable. The role requires the holder to have served a recognised apprenticeship and hold transferrable qualifications. It is also a requirement to hold an unrestricted Sentinel PTS and have a full medical.
The ideal person will have –
- Recognised engineering apprenticeship or equivalent technical qualification.
- Both operational and Maintenance experience on the Linsinger Rail Miller.
- Significant experience in railway engineering, maintenance or On Track Machine operations.
- Previous management experience leading supervisors or operational teams.
- Strong understanding of railway operations, maintenance planning and asset management.
- Experience of managing safety-critical operations.
- Good understanding of Network Rail standards and industry legislation.
- Excellent leadership, communication and decision-making skills.
- Competent in Microsoft Office and FAMS (or equivalent asset management system).
- Full UK driving licence.
- PTS and relevant operational competencies.
- Assessor and Trainer qualifications (or willingness to work towards).
Competitive Salary
26 days Annual Leave
Industry leading Life Assurance
Healthcare Cash Plan
Wellbeing Employee Assistant Programme
Pension Scheme
Eye Care Vouchers
Long Service Award
Season Ticket Loan
Occupational Health Service
This is an exciting opportunity to build a career in the rail industry. We’d particularly encourage applications from women, or those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently underrepresented in our workforce.
We are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. We believe that diversity drives innovation and creativity, and we actively seek to create an environment where everyone feels welcome, heard, valued and respected. Regardless of background, disability, age, race, religion, or gender, everyone is welcome at Colas Rail.
We strive to promote equity and eliminate discrimination, actively seeking to create a workforce reflective of communities we serve. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, offering flexible and inclusive adjustments to the interview process.
As part of a positive action drive to address under-representation we encourage applications from women, ethnically diverse individuals and people with disabilities, along with all candidates who identify with protected characteristic groups under the Equality Act 2010.
We are proudly part of the Disability Confidence Scheme, and as such we operate a Guaranteed Interview Scheme if you meet the minimum requirements.
On joining Colas Rail you’ll have access to our growing Employee Network Groups including Railbow (representing the LGBTQ+ community), BeyonDisability (representing those with disabilities) and Cross Culture (representing people from ethnic backgrounds). Everyone is welcome to join our network groups whether you are part of the community or an ally.
Work life balance is important to us; flexible working options are available where feasible and dependant on the role. Please discuss this during the interview process.
Join us in making a positive impact! Apply and be part of a team that values diversity and embraces unique perspectives.
