*The Business: Our client is a well-established and growing mechanical services contractor operating across HVAC, refrigeration, electrical and installation works in and around Geelong.
With a strong regional presence and a diverse portfolio spanning service, maintenance, breakdowns and project delivery, the business supports a broad commercial client base across multiple sectors. The company has built a reputation for technical capability, reliability and long-term client relationships, with a clear focus on improving operational performance and scaling sustainably.
Role Overview:*
The Service / Operations Manager is a senior operational leadership role responsible for the performance, profitability, and quality of the business's Installation and Service divisions.
This role exists to ensure labour, materials, and sequencing are aligned across service, maintenance, breakdowns, and installation projects, while maximising labour utilisation, reducing rework and callbacks, and driving accountability
through supervisors and technicians.
This is a hands-on leadership role with direct accountability for operational outcomes, not a desk-based scheduling or coordination position.
Key Responsibilities:
Operational Leadership
* Own all scheduling outcomes across installation projects as well as service, maintenance, and breakdown works
* Convert weekly commercial and project meetings into executable site schedules
* Lead service technicians and project supervisors, setting clear expectations around performance, accountability, and quality standards.
* Ensure all operations are structured, prioritised, and run through project management software (SimPRO)
Labour Utilisation & Scheduling
* Maximise billable labour utilisation across the service team.
* Oversee scheduling accuracy and efficiency to reduce downtime between jobs and eliminate avoidable scheduling errors.
* Actively manage technician deployment to ensure quoted hours, charge-out rates, and utilisation targets are
* achieved.
Quality Assurance & Rework Reduction
* Own and enforce QA processes across all service work.
* Drive technician accountability around workmanship, documentation, and compliance.
Customer & Commercial Management
* Ensure customers/clients are consistently updated on job scope, time, and cost, particularly where work exceeds quoted allowances.
* Manage service-related customer/client escalations and complaints with a focus on resolution and retention.
* Protect margin by ensuring fault-finding, variations, and additional works are correctly communicated and billed.
Safety, Quality & Compliance
* Ensure all projects comply with WHS, HSEQ and regulatory requirements.
* Promote a proactive safety culture across all sites.
* Ensure quality benchmarks are achieved and maintained through to completion.
Systems & Reporting
* Use SimPRO as the primary operational system for scheduling, tracking, reporting, and performance
* management.
* Monitor key operational metrics, including labour utilisation, scheduling errors, callback rates, and rework costs.
* Provide clear visibility to the Director on operational performance and emerging issues.
*Key Accountabilities (KPIs):* This is a high-accountability operational leadership role, not a passive scheduling position. Success in this role is measured by:
* Hour-by-hour labour control
* Scheduling accuracy
* QA outcomes
* Callback rate 85%
* Strong technician and supervisor performance
Required Skills & Experience:
* Proven experience as a Service Manager, Operations Manager, or Senior Service Operations Team Leader
* within HVAC, refrigeration, or a similar trade-based service environment.
* Demonstrated Experience owning the whole of business scheduling outcomes
* Strong understanding of service-based P&L drivers, labour utilisation, and margin control.
* Strong fault-finding and QA capability
* Demonstrated experience running service teams through systems and processes (SimPRO experience highly
* regarded).
* Decisive, organized, and calm under pressure
Why Join?
* Competitive Salary Package
* Senior leadership position with direct access to the Managing Director
* Opportunity to take ownership of a critical operational function
* Strong existing workload and demand
* Ability to implement structure, systems, and improvements
* Stable, locally based business with long-term growth plans
If you are interested, please feel free to apply now. Or if you'd like to hear more, please feel free to give me (Harry) a call on :)