Group Chief Engineer

Have you got experience and extensive knowledge in automotive regulations or testing?

Do you possess leadership qualities and a proven track record for delivering quality and excellence in a fast-paced environment?

Can you confidently manage conflicting tasks, delegate, and inspire others to achieve their best?

Are you an effective communicator who can support and maintain strong customer relations?

If you aspire to be a senior manager in automotive testing and regulation, who can motivate future engineers and make a real difference to millions of road users, this is your opportunity. As Group Chief Engineer, you will be at the core of our Operations team, where you will lead our mission for a safer, cleaner future through excellence. Here is Andrew Neil, Head of Midlands Operations, to tell you more.

Further information can be found in our candidate pack and role profile, attached below.

Our work is focused on improving vehicle safety and environmental protection by providing robust testing and certification to national and internationally recognised standards. We are a part of the Department of Transport as the designated UK Vehicle Type Approval Authority. With more than 40 years’ experience, we have become one of the largest and well-respected approval bodies around. This position has been built on a reputation for technical expertise and quality, which is at the heart of everything we do, and what you could be a part of.

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced automotive specialist to lead technical compliance activities in line with UK, UN and EU legislation. This role demands a great degree of knowledge in type approval processes, vehicle technology, and quality standards, alongside strong leadership and customer-facing capabilities.

Your oversight will be pivotal in maintaining technical competence, managing accreditation standards, and driving operational excellence across the VCA’s engineering and certification functions.

Adopting our values, you will deliver quality at pace and will play a key role in the safety and security of millions of road users. Our international operations will enable you to travel in post, experiencing new countries and cultures whilst working alongside a diverse range of customers and the world’s automotive experts.

We are passionate about offering all our colleagues’ equal opportunities to develop and learn new skills that will enable us to thrive together. We also ensure we promote a work-life balance where you can benefit from flexible and hybrid working, regular health and wellbeing webinars and a friendly community of colleagues who will support you to succeed.

• Stewardship of the Agency’s systems, processes and procedures to ensure the Agency is technically competent and future protected for the delivery of its Type Approval services.
• Provide strategic leadership and effective line management to the Central Operations team.
• Create practical solutions to operational and engineering challenges as well as overseeing cross-functional teams that are responsible for implementing those solutions.
• Management of ISO 17020/25 accreditation process including development and maintenance of VCA/VCA Europe wide procedures for compliance with ISO and ISO standards.
• Assist VCA Europe to Manage Technical Service designations with other Approval Authorities.
• Working with Heads of all VCA operations to ensure that all work is carried out in accordance with relevant and current international and VCA internal standards, and external accreditations (UKAS, Accredia, Taiwan, TRIAS, OECD).
• Chair and coordinate the Ops Technical Groups (steering group).
• Matrix management of Chief Engineers and Principal Engineers that seeks to optimise cross-office subject expertise in delivering testing/witnessing services.
• Providing technical “underpinning”, coaching, training and expert advice to all VCA operations, to ensure the Agency has suitably qualified staff, albeit that the in-market engineers report to the local operational business and operational leaders.
• Sponsoring technical competence and process best practice (e.g.…