Aftersales - Placement Student

Aftersales and Ownership 12 Month Placement Student

It’s not about cars. It’s about people. Our human-centric focus is what makes us different from all other car companies, and it’s at the heart of everything we create. If you want to join us in our mission to build and grow our teams with talented people who want to make a true difference.

What’s in it for you?
People are at the heart of our business. We want you to innovate, challenge and build a future career at Volvo Cars. In return we offer a salary of £23,000 per annum, flexible working hours, plus some hybrid working based on the team structure, and 22 days annual leave plus 4 fixed and 4 flexible bank holidays which you can use to support your personal beliefs at any time of the year. Health & wellbeing initiatives, charitable giving days alongside personal growth and career development opportunities. In addition, we offer a fast-track opportunity at the end of your qualification into key business areas, and access to ongoing support from industry-leading experts, backed by continual learning opportunities.

What you’ll do: 

During your placement, you will provide support to subject matter experts within the team as they make key strategic decisions that will shape the future of Volvo Car UK. You’ll contribute significantly to the success and future of the brand by delivering fresh ideas and viewpoints and challenging current assumptions to meet the needs of future customers – so an innovative mindset is essential.  We are currently recruiting for an innovative and driven 12-month placement student within our Aftersales & Ownership Team to join us from July 2025.

The Aftersales & Ownership provides the ‘shop window’ and the foundations for our brand, our products and our services. We aim to lead in the automotive world by having the best franchise partners in the best locations, while developing an evolving business model and providing the foundations of our service business built around making our customers lives less complicated.

Reporting to the Senior Aftersales & Ownership Manager UK, you will support the Aftersales Ownership, Delivery and Performance teams with all administration, coordinator and adhoc projects to ensure the smooth running of the department.

This role is vital for the smooth running of the Aftersales & Ownership Team, and you will be involved with the coordination and implementation of processes and projects, with the opportunity to be part of an integral team. You will gain valuable skills and experience in all aspects of Network Operations and Project Management including:

• Supporting the various members of the Aftersales and Ownership team, in preparing weekly/monthly management data, reports, market intelligence and producing supporting slide packs.
• Creation and maintenance of the Aftersales and ownership monthly management reporting pack.
• Assisting with the development of an Aftersales and Ownership Power Bi balanced scorecard
• Support our wholesale/trade parts e-com project onboarding and management/usage reporting.
• Administrative duties including raising of purchase orders, submitting invoices for payment and assisting with cost centre management in terms of forecasting and accruals process.
• Assisting with technician capacity planning volumes and developing the current capacity planning tool to ‘Retailer’ level
• To assist in the migration of our accessory programmes to optimise processes and develop the most efficient processes as we transition to a new car agency model.
• Organising meetings, scheduling appointments and overseeing catering requirements during departmental meetings and or events
• Assisting with all arrangements and planning for meetings, agendas, invitations and minutes as required
• Assisting with the aftersales Mystery shop programme, analysing the data, producing slides to support and focus areas for action.
• Assisting with travel arrangements as required for members of the Aftersales & Ownership team
• Build relationships with key stakeholders, sharing suggestions for process improvements

Do you fit the profile? 

You will have a real passion for problem-solving and the curiosity to understand business challenges and deliver innovative solutions. You will also have strong interpersonal skills and the confidence to champion new initiatives. 

You will have a real interest in Business or Project Management and problem-solving along with an understanding of operational challenges to deliver positive solutions. To be successful in this role you will have:

• The ability to manage multiple tasks
• Excellent organisational and time management skills
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ambition to drive the future development of process change
• The confidence to play a key part in stakeholder meetings
• Be comfortable prioritising workload to meet deadlines
• High attention to detail
• A passion for delivering quality work
• The ability to work on your own initiative and as part of a small team
• Be keen to develop your skillset

You will be currently studying towards a sandwich degree in Business Management, Operations Management or a related subject, you will be proficient in the use of Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

How to learn more and apply: 
Our placement is open to any university student who is in their penultimate year of a sandwich course (those who will be returning to their final year of study after their placement with us).  We have a duty of care to our people and wouldn't want you to spend a large amount of time commuting, so we require our undergraduates to be based within a reasonable radius of our Maidenhead office, able to commute reliably to when needed.

Once you have applied, we’ll review your details, and if successful we’ll be in touch to discuss with you further. You’ll be sent an online competency assessment relevant to the role for which you are applying. Upon successful completion, we will invite you to an Assessment Centre in Maidenhead, which will be held on Monday 21st October 2024, where you will meet the hiring manager, view what our workplace has to offer, meet the team and answer any questions that you may have. Please only apply if you are available on this date. A decision will be made shortly after. To support you we will also contribute to your travel expenses up to a certain amount, which we can discuss in more detail if you have been invited to our Assessment Centre.

We do not accept email applications due to GDPR. Please apply via the link provided in this job advertisement by Monday 7th October 2024. We reserve the right to close this job advert early if we successfully find the placement students suitable.  For further details please contact our Talent Manager – Leigh Craddock – leigh.craddock@volvocars.com

Diversify our future:
Volvo Cars is an equal opportunities employer. We are a company for people who care about other people and for the world we live in. We celebrate diversity and inclusion in the workplace and are committed to equality of opportunity for all employees and employment practices, including hiring, recruiting, and promotion. It’s what you do that counts and we are always looking to expand perspectives and voices to shape our future. With us, you can truly be yourself, embrace new opportunities, thrive and a make a difference.  

Volvo Cars - Driving change together
Volvo Cars’ continued success is the result of a collaborative, diverse, and inclusive working environment.

Today, we are one of the most well-known and respected car brands, with over 40,000 employees across the globe. At Volvo Cars, your career is designed around your talents and aspirations so you can reach your full potential.

For the right person, an inspiring, and creative workplace awaits.