Senior Technical Service Manager
Permanent opportunity
Stockport/Macclesfield
We are working with an established coatings business within the Speciality Coatings sector.
Following internal change and continued growth within NPD and compliance functions, they are seeking a Senior Technical Service Manager to provide clear direction, strong people leadership, and technical service delivery within their laboratories.
This role has a strong people-management focus and will suit someone who can hit the balance of being a people leader and also driving results.
The Technical Services team is experienced and hard-working and will benefit from consistent leadership, structured prioritisation, and empathetic/pastoral support from management.
What you’ll do:
Reporting into the NPD Director, you will lead and coordinate technical service activities alongside short-term, customer-driven NPD projects.
You will act as a key interface between customers, sales, NPD, and supply chain, ensuring technical priorities are realistic, achievable, and aligned with business needs. This will aid workflow control and ensure expectations are well set and then met.
Working within a small, established team, your responsibilities will include:
Line management of the Technical Services team (2 direct reports and 1 apprentice), with a strong focus on coaching, pastoral care, and capability developmentCreating structure around workload planning and prioritisation in a fast-paced, customer-led environmentManaging and prioritising technical service requests and short-term NPD activity to give an order and prioritisation that works for all stakeholdersChallenging stakeholders constructively where required to ensure the right outcomes for the team and the businessActing as a customer-facing technical lead and relationship builder, supporting issue resolution and expectation management internally and externallySupporting and delivering customer-specific NPD work alongside longer-term development activityEnsuring laboratory testing is completed to agreed standards and aligned with customer and regulatory requirementsMaintaining KPI performance and driving continuous improvement across technical servicesEnsuring safe working practices, compliance, and training requirements are met at all timesSupporting production and customer trials as required
You will work closely with the NPD Director, Supply Chain, Sales, and other Technical Managers, helping to manage upwards as well as across the business to ensure technical delivery remains realistic and sustainable in the right timeframes.
Your background:
We are seeking someone with a strong scientific background and proven experience in laboratory-based technical services, R&D, or QC environments, who is equally comfortable leading people and engaging with stakeholders.
The ideal candidate will bring:
A degree (or higher) in a science-based disciplineSolid experience in laboratory testing, R&D, QC, or technical servicesProven people management experience, with the ability to lead sensitively through changeA tenacious and assertive approach when required, balanced with empathy and strong communicationExperience prioritising and delegating work in a fast-moving, customer-driven environmentStrong analytical and problem-solving skills, with attention to data quality and process improvementThe ability to write, follow, and improve SOPsConfidence managing customer relationships and working cross-functionally across the business
Experience with design of experiments, basic statistical analysis, or formal project management methodologies would be advantageous but is not essential.
Package & working pattern:
Salary budget flexible but indicated in the £50,000’s upwardly negotiable for exceptional candidatesStrong pension offerPrivate healthcareProfit-related pay Flexible working hours with the ability to bank up to 13 additional days per yearHybrid working, with up to one day per week from home (typically Fridays)
This is an opportunity to join a highly experienced, long-standing workforce within an employee-owned business where feedback is listened to, safety is championed, and employees are actively involved in shaping the working environment.
On this occasion, LiCa Scientific is acting as an employment agency.