Adaptations Technical Lead

About The Role

Reporting to the Adaptations Manager, you will play an important role in helping shape and strengthen the Motability Adaptations Programme. Bringing practical insight into vehicles, adaptations, products and installation practices, you will help ensure that adaptations are supported by appropriate evidence, installed consistently and continue to deliver positive outcomes for customers and the Scheme.

A key part of your role will be working directly with our adaptation installer network. You will monitor and maintain these relationships, spending time with installers to understand how products are fitted in practice, how technical guidance is applied and where opportunities exist to improve quality, consistency, capability and customer outcomes.

You will support the development and ongoing assurance of technical and quality standards across the adaptation partner network, using audits, evidence, performance data and practical observation to identify gaps, agree improvement actions and follow through to sustainable resolution. This will help create greater consistency across the installer network and provide clear evidence that agreed standards are being maintained.

You will help strengthen our understanding of adaptation compatibility and how adaptations interact with the base vehicle. This includes understanding how products are validated, how compatibility is demonstrated and how installation and removal methods can affect vehicle systems, safety, condition and functionality throughout the vehicle lifecycle.

You will help translate OEM requirements, industry standards and technical evidence into clear, practical expectations for manufacturers and installers, supporting consistent application across the programme. Working with the Adaptations Manager and wider industry, you will help turn developing standards and technical requirements into approaches that can be understood, implemented and evidenced in practice.

You will also maintain awareness of emerging vehicle technologies and architectures, including EV systems, connected vehicles, cybersecurity and increasing OEM control of vehicle electrical systems. You will help assess what these developments could mean for future adaptation compatibility, installation methods and customer choice, working with relevant technical stakeholders to identify potential challenges and opportunities early.

Whole-life vehicle impact will be a

n important consideration. You will use customer issues, installation findings, vehicle condition, adaptation removal, refurbishment requirements and de-fleet learning to identify recurring themes and opportunities for improvement. This learning will be fed back into installation practices, compatibility decisions and wider programme development.

You will bring commercial awareness to your technical recommendations, considering customer outcomes and technical requirements alongside cost, partner capability, operational impact, vehicle lifecycle and the long-term sustainability of the Scheme. You will work collaboratively with Commercial, Pricing and other internal teams where specialist commercial input is required.

The role also provides the opportunity to contribute technical insight across the wider Specialised portfolio, including Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs) and Micromobility products, where vehicle integration, safety, installation quality, partner capability or whole-life product performance need to be understood.

Working closely with colleagues and partners, you will turn technical findings, evidence and practical experience into clear recommendations that support informed decision-making and continuous improvement across the Scheme.

About You

You bring experience from one or more areas such as automotive, vehicle conversion, adaptations, engineering, quality assurance, fleet operations, technical services, vehicle remarketing, supplier management or a related environment.

Whether your experience comes from hands-on technical work, engineering, operational delivery, quality improvement or partner management, you are comfortable understanding how vehicles, products and installation methods work together. You are able to identify potential customer, safety, quality, compatibility and vehicle lifecycle considerations and investigate them in a structured way.

You enjoy working directly with partners and building constructive working relationships. You are comfortable spending time in workshops and other field environments, observing how work is carried out, asking thoughtful questions and constructively challenging where something could be improved.

You are comfortable using evidence and performance information to understand how partners are performing against agreed expectations. You can identify gaps, work collaboratively to agree practical improvements and follow actio

ns through to ensure that changes are embedded and sustained.

You are commercially aware and understand that technical decisions need to consider more than the product or installation in isolation. You can consider customer outcomes, cost, operational practicality, partner capability and whole-life vehicle impact when developing recommendations.

You are naturally curious about changes in vehicle technology and interested in understanding what developments in areas such as electrification, vehicle electronics, connected systems and cybersecurity could mean for adaptations in the future. You do not need to be an expert in every emerging technology, but you are comfortable investigating new technical challenges and working with others to understand their implications.

You understand the important role adaptations play in supporting customers' independence, confidence and everyday mobility. You recognise that good technical standards and installation practices should protect the customer and vehicle while supporting the long-term sustainability of the Scheme.

You take a structured and evidence-based approach to your work and are comfortable managing your own priorities while collaborating closely with others and remaining aligned to the direction set by the Adaptations Manager.

Minimum Criteria

• Experience gained in automotive, vehicle conversion, adaptations, engineering, quality, fleet operations, technical services, supplier management, vehicle remarketing or a related environment where you have developed relevant technical or operational expertise.
• A practical understanding of vehicle systems, installation practices, product quality, service delivery or similar technical processes, with the ability to apply this knowledge in real-world settings.
• Experience working with external partners, installers, suppliers, manufacturers, OEMs, technical service providers or similar organisations to achieve shared outcomes.

Experience of quality assurance, technical auditing, performance monitoring or continuous improvement, with the ability to identify gaps against agreed requirements and support practical corrective actions.

The ability to identify technical, customer, quality and operational risks and use evidence and practical insight to develop clear and achievable recommendations.

Strong communication and influencing skills, including the confidence to constructively challenge partners and explain technical or operational topics in a way that is accessible and meaningful to different audiences.

Commercial awareness, with the ability to consider technical recommendations alongside customer outcomes, cost, partner capability, operational impact, Vehicle lifecycle and Scheme sustainability.

The ability to gather, interpret and use technical information, performance data and practical observations to support decision-making and continuous improvement.

An understanding of how adaptation compatibility, installation quality and product design can influence customer experience, safety, vehicle condition and long-term outcomes, including refurbishment requirements and vehicle value.

An interest in emerging automotive technology and the ability to understand how changes in vehicle architecture, electrification, connected systems and Cybersecurity may affect future adaptation compatibility.

The confidence to work independently in the field, manage priorities effectively and make informed judgements while remaining aligned with wider programme objectives and team goals.

A commitment to improving mobility outcomes for customers and an understanding of the important role adaptations play in supporting independence, confidence and everyday life.

About The Company

Motability Operations is a unique organisation, virtually one of a kind. We combine a strong sense of purpose with a real commercial edge to ensure we provide the best possible worry-free mobility solutions to over 860,000 customers and their families across the UK. Customers exchange their higher rate mobility allowance to lease a range of affordable vehicles (cars, wheelchair accessible vehicles, scooters, and powered wheelchairs) with insurance, maintenance and breakdown assistance included. We are the largest car fleet operator in the UK (purchasing around 10% of all the new cars sold in the UK) and work with a network of around 5,000 car dealers and all the major manufacturers. We pride ourselves on delivering outstanding customer service, achieving an independently verified customer satisfaction rating of 9.8 out of 10.

Our Values Are At The Heart Of Everything We Do. They Represent Ambition, And We Look For Our People To Live And Breathe Them Every Day

• We find solutions

We drive change

We care

We operate hybrid working across the organisation where we split our time between working on-site at our offices, and at home, remotely within the UK. We believe hybrid working achieves a good work/life balance for our colleagues, allowing us to connect with each other, collaborate on important work, and perform together to deliver for our customers. It allows us to have the flexibility to work remotely up to 2-days per week whilst also using the great office spaces we have available.

As a Motability Operations Team Member, You Can Expect

• An annual discretionary bonus
• 15% non-contributory pension (9% non-contributory pension during probation period)
• Life assurance at 4 times your basic salary to give you peace of mind that your loved ones will receive some financial help
• Employee Discount Scheme with a huge number of retailers and an app to save on the go
• Discounted Electric/Hybrid Car Salary Sacrifice Scheme
• Access to the Cycle to Work Scheme (we have showers, changing rooms and secure bike sheds on site)
  
  

As well as financial benefits, our staff's health and well-being are very important to us, so we also offer:

• 28 days annual leave with option to purchase and sell days
• Funded Private Medical Insurance cover
• Critical illness insurance
• Free access to healthcare apps, such as Peppy, Unmind, Aviva Digital GP
• Funded health screening for over 50s
• 1 day per year to volunteer – Staff can support a local charity or do a sponsored event whilst being paid for it
• Access to our fully accessible company allotment – Where we grow our own produce for local charitable organisations
• Access to Prayer room and quiet spaces whilst working in the office
  
  

We also understand that not everyone is the same so offer several voluntary benefits that you can select outside the core package, these include;

• Dental Insurance

Health and cancer screenings for you and your partner

Discounted gym memberships

Charitable giving

At Motability Operations, we believe in building a diverse workforce, where our people are empowered to attend work as their true selves, and we encourage people from all backgrounds to apply. We want to sustain a culture that nurtures, where employees are free to flourish and where they’re rewarded equally, regardless of race, nationality or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, age, disability, or gender.

We pride ourselves on being an inclusive employer and as such, all our offices provide first rate disability access. With our hybrid working environment, we do our best to accommodate part-time and flexible working requests where possible, building on our culture of trust, empowerment, and flexibility.

Please note, Motability Operations reserves the right to bring forward the closing date of any of its job vacancies if we receive a suitable number of quality applications from which to make a shortlist. Therefore, we recommend that you apply as soon as possible rather than wait until the published closing date.