EV Charging Company (Slough)

Sourcing a Senior EV Operations Manager to Protect Uptime and Bring Structure to a Scaling Charging Network

The Challenge

A growing EV charging operator based in Slough was expanding its regional network quickly. Uptime targets were slipping. Customer complaints were rising. The board needed stronger operational control and they needed it in place before more chargers came online and the problem compounded.

The role required a Senior EV Operations Manager with the technical grounding to lead a field engineering team, own preventative maintenance, and manage contractors across a distributed network. That meant EV charging knowledge, electrical competence, and familiarity with highways environments. General operations experience was not enough.

Slough sits on the M4 corridor, where operators such as BP Pulse, GRIDSERVE, and Osprey compete for the same limited pool of specialist talent. The on-site requirement made it smaller still. The company spent four months trying to hire directly using job boards, LinkedIn Recruiter, employee referrals, and internal networks. The effort was serious. The results were not. Strong operators existed but few had the EV and electrical depth the role demanded. The vacancy was now directly affecting uptime and slowing operational improvements across the network.

They came to Xist4 on a sector referral, specifically for experience in sustainable mobility and a search process that went beyond advertising.

The Solution

Xist4 led a retained search, replacing four months of scattered effort with a targeted, insight-led approach from day one.

• Worked with the COO to define a clear success profile tied directly to uptime performance, field team leadership, safety standards, and contractor oversight rather than a generic operations brief.
• Mapped talent across the South East from EV operators, distribution network operators, electrical contractors, and highways maintenance firms, focusing on candidates with BS7671 knowledge and relevant infrastructure experience.
• Used competitor salary and working pattern data to calibrate the offer before outreach began, ensuring the package was positioned to compete in the M4 corridor market.
• Ran targeted outreach to operational leaders with experience managing reactive and planned maintenance across distributed infrastructure environments.
• Positioned the role clearly so candidates understood the growth plan, the operational challenges, and the investment the business was making to address them.
• Applied Xist4’s Candidate Journey Blueprint to maintain pace, clarity, and consistent communication throughout, keeping strong candidates engaged during a process that had previously lost people to silence and delay.
• Conducted structured evaluation covering technical depth, safety leadership, resource planning, and contractor management experience.

The Result

Within five weeks, Xist4 delivered a shortlist of candidates who had managed field teams, owned uptime KPIs, and worked in EV charging, electrical, or highways environments.

The appointed Senior EV Operations Manager brought electrical competence, highways experience, and a track record of improving operational reliability in similar environments. Performance stabilised, reactive workload reduced, and executive reporting became more structured. At the three-month check-in, the client reported stronger uptime, clearer contractor accountability, and a more confident operating rhythm. The new hire had become a key voice in planning future site deployments, which was exactly the kind of leadership the business had needed for months before the search began.