Overview of the Position
Guardian Elite Medical Services (GEMS) operates a diverse fleet of emergency response vehicles, support vehicles, specialty equipment, and mobile medical assets that are essential to our day-to-day operations. Our current fleet includes:
- 10 ambulances
- 1 rescue squad
- 3 SUVs and pickup trucks
- 2 medical trailers
- 2 UTVs
- Multiple portable generators
The Fleet Manager / Mechanic is responsible for the overall maintenance, mechanical condition, safety, reliability, and readiness of these assets.
This is a hands-on position that combines the responsibilities of a skilled mechanic with those of a fleet manager. The Fleet Manager / Mechanic will perform routine maintenance and repairs internally when practical, diagnose mechanical and electrical problems, coordinate more complex or specialized repairs with outside vendors, maintain service and repair records, manage preventive maintenance schedules, and continuously monitor the condition of the fleet.
The position is not limited to responding to vehicles after something breaks. A primary responsibility of the Fleet Manager / Mechanic is to proactively identify maintenance needs and developing problems before they result in equipment failure, unnecessary repair expenses, or operational downtime.
In addition to traditional automotive systems, the position will involve maintaining and troubleshooting equipment unique to ambulance and medical operations. This may include auxiliary electrical systems, emergency lighting, vehicle HVAC systems, shore power and charging systems, inverters, generators, medical trailers, UTVs, and other vehicle-mounted or portable equipment.
The Fleet Manager / Mechanic will work closely with Operations to ensure sufficient vehicles are available for daily deployment while coordinating necessary maintenance and repairs. When an asset must be removed from service, the Fleet Manager / Mechanic is responsible for communicating its status, coordinating the repair process, and actively working toward returning the asset to service.
The individual selected for this position will be expected to take ownership of the fleet rather than simply completing assigned repair tasks. This includes knowing the condition of each vehicle and major piece of equipment, what maintenance is upcoming, what repairs are outstanding, what assets are currently unavailable, and what needs to be done to keep the fleet safe and operational.
Ultimately, the Fleet Manager / Mechanic is responsible for helping ensure that when GEMS personnel need an ambulance, response vehicle, medical trailer, UTV, or generator, that equipment is safe, properly maintained, and ready to perform its mission.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Fleet Maintenance & Repair
- Perform routine preventive maintenance including oil changes, fluid services, filters, belts, hoses, batteries, brakes, tires, and other scheduled maintenance.
- Diagnose and repair mechanical, electrical, starting, charging, cooling, braking, suspension, steering, and related vehicle systems.
- Troubleshoot check-engine lights, diagnostic trouble codes, warning indicators, electrical problems, and employee-reported vehicle concerns.
- Perform inspections and repairs on gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles as applicable.
- Inspect and maintain vehicle HVAC systems, including ambulance rear HVAC systems when within the employee's capabilities.
- Conduct battery and charging-system testing and repair.
- Perform tire inspections, rotations, replacements, and pressure checks.
- Identify developing mechanical problems before they result in vehicle failures or unscheduled downtime.
- Conduct post-repair inspections and road tests when appropriate.
Fleet Maintenance Coordination
The Fleet Mechanic / Fleet Maintenance Coordinator is responsible for maintaining an accurate understanding of the mechanical condition and maintenance status of the entire GEMS fleet.
Responsibilities include:
- Maintain a comprehensive preventive maintenance schedule for all fleet vehicles.
- Monitor mileage, engine hours, maintenance intervals, recalls, inspections, registrations, and other fleet-related requirements as assigned.
- Proactively identify vehicles approaching required maintenance intervals and schedule service before maintenance becomes overdue.
- Maintain a current list of vehicles that are operational, undergoing maintenance, awaiting parts, or out of service.
- Prioritize repairs based on safety, operational requirements, vehicle availability, and severity of the mechanical concern.
- Coordinate with Operations regarding planned vehicle downtime.
- Follow up on outstanding repairs, parts orders, warranty claims, and vendor work until completed.
- Provide management with regular updates regarding significant fleet maintenance issues.
- Identify recurring mechanical problems and recommend corrective actions.
- Monitor vehicle maintenance costs and identify vehicles experiencing excessive or repetitive repair expenses.
- Make recommendations regarding major repairs, vehicle replacement, or retirement when appropriate.
Ambulance & Specialty Vehicle Maintenance
- Perform mechanical inspections and maintenance on ambulances and other specialty vehicles.
- Develop familiarity with ambulance-specific electrical, charging, auxiliary power, HVAC, and related systems.
- Troubleshoot vehicle-mounted electrical and auxiliary equipment when within the employee's capabilities.
- Recognize mechanical or electrical conditions that could interfere with the operation of patient-care equipment or ambulance systems.
- Coordinate specialty repairs with qualified vendors when repairs require specialized capabilities, certifications, or equipment.
- Ensure repairs or modifications do not negatively affect vehicle safety or the operation of installed medical equipment.
Preventive Maintenance Program
Preventive maintenance is a primary responsibility of this position.
The Fleet Mechanic / Fleet Maintenance Coordinator will:
- Establish and maintain preventive maintenance intervals based on manufacturer recommendations, vehicle use, mileage, engine hours, and company requirements.
- Perform routine inspections of fleet vehicles regardless of whether a mechanical problem has been reported.
- Monitor fluid levels, leaks, tire condition, brakes, batteries, belts, hoses, suspension components, warning indicators, and other common failure points.
- Track recurring defects and mechanical trends across the fleet.
- Schedule preventive repairs during periods that minimize operational disruption whenever possible.
- Work with Operations to rotate vehicles through maintenance without unnecessarily reducing fleet availability.
The goal of the preventive maintenance program is to identify and correct problems before they result in roadside failures, expensive secondary damage, or interruption of operations.
Vehicle Defect Reporting & Safety
- Review vehicle defect reports submitted by employees.
- Investigate reported mechanical concerns in a timely manner.
- Determine whether a vehicle can safely remain in service, requires restricted operation, or should immediately be removed from service.
- Document identified defects and corrective actions.
- Communicate significant vehicle concerns to Operations and management.
- Verify repairs before returning vehicles to service.
- Educate employees regarding vehicle issues or warning signs that should be immediately reported.
Maintenance Records & Documentation
Maintain complete and accurate maintenance records for each fleet vehicle, including:
- Preventive maintenance.
- Inspections.
- Reported defects.
- Repairs performed.
- Parts replaced.
- Mileage and/or engine hours at the time of service.
- Outside vendor repairs.
- Warranty repairs.
- Recalls.
- Recommended future repairs.
- Major component replacements.
Maintenance documentation should provide management with a complete history of each vehicle and assist with decisions regarding maintenance costs, reliability, and vehicle replacement.
Parts, Tools & Inventory
- Maintain an appropriate inventory of commonly used maintenance parts and supplies.
- Monitor stock of fluids, filters, bulbs, batteries, wiper blades, commonly used repair parts, and other maintenance supplies.
- Order or request parts as necessary.
- Maintain accountability for company-owned tools and diagnostic equipment.
- Keep the fleet maintenance area clean, organized, and safe.
- Properly store and dispose of automotive fluids, batteries, tires, and other materials in accordance with applicable requirements.
Outside Vendor Management
Not every repair is expected to be completed internally. The Fleet Mechanic / Fleet Maintenance Coordinator is responsible for determining when outside repair is appropriate and coordinating that process.
Responsibilities include:
- Coordinate service with dealerships, specialty ambulance repair facilities, tire shops, body shops, towing companies, and other repair vendors.
- Obtain estimates for significant repairs when appropriate.
- Review recommended repairs and communicate significant expenses to management for approval.
- Verify that authorized repairs have been completed appropriately.
- Review repair invoices for accuracy.
- Coordinate warranty repairs and manufacturer recalls.
- Track vehicles sent to outside vendors and actively follow up until they are returned to service.
- Develop professional working relationships with fleet maintenance vendors.
Roadside & Operational Support
- Respond to vehicle breakdowns or significant mechanical issues when requested and practical.
- Assist Operations with determining whether a disabled or malfunctioning vehicle can safely continue operating.
- Perform minor roadside repairs when they can be completed safely.
- Coordinate towing or roadside assistance when necessary.
- Assist with recovering vehicles from repair facilities.
- Prioritize unexpected repairs based on their impact on operations.
Minimum Qualifications
- High school diploma or equivalent.
- Valid driver's license with an acceptable driving record.
- Professional automotive, commercial fleet, diesel, or similar mechanical experience.
- Demonstrated ability to diagnose and repair common automotive mechanical and electrical systems.
- Experience using automotive diagnostic scanners, multimeters, battery testers, and standard repair equipment.
- Ability to read vehicle service information, technical manuals, wiring diagrams, and diagnostic information.
- Ability to independently troubleshoot mechanical problems and determine appropriate corrective action.
- Ability to safely operate fleet vehicles for inspection and road-testing purposes.
- Strong organizational skills and ability to maintain accurate maintenance records.
- Ability to manage multiple vehicles, repairs, vendors, and maintenance deadlines simultaneously.
Preferred Qualifications
- ASE certification(s).
- Experience maintaining commercial vehicle fleets.
- Experience maintaining ambulances, emergency vehicles, or specialty vehicles.
- Experience with Ford Transit and Ford E-Series commercial vehicle platforms.
- Gasoline and diesel engine experience.
- Automotive electrical diagnostic experience.
- Experience with fleet maintenance management software.
- Welding, fabrication, or basic body repair experience.
- Experience coordinating outside automotive repair vendors.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
The successful candidate should demonstrate:
- Strong mechanical and diagnostic ability.
- A preventive-maintenance mindset.
- Ability to troubleshoot problems rather than simply replace parts.
- Strong attention to safety.
- Ability to prioritize repairs based on operational impact.
- Ability to work independently and take ownership of assigned responsibilities.
- Strong organizational and documentation skills.
- Effective communication with employees, Operations, management, and outside vendors.
- Sound judgment regarding when repairs should be completed internally versus outsourced.
- Ability to identify recurring mechanical problems and recommend long-term solutions.
- Ability to balance vehicle availability with appropriate maintenance and safety requirements.
Physical Requirements
This position regularly requires the employee to:
- Stand, walk, bend, kneel, crouch, climb, and work underneath or inside vehicles.
- Use hand and power tools for extended periods.
- Lift, carry, push, and pull automotive parts, tires, batteries, equipment, and supplies.
- Safely lift approximately 50 pounds independently and heavier items with appropriate assistance or lifting equipment.
- Work indoors and outdoors in varying temperatures and weather conditions.
- Work around automotive fluids, lubricants, chemicals, exhaust, noise, and normal automotive-shop hazards.
- Wear appropriate personal protective equipment.
Work Environment & Schedule
The Fleet Mechanic / Fleet Maintenance Coordinator primarily works at GEMS facilities and other locations where company vehicles are located or serviced.
The position may occasionally require work outside normal scheduled hours when significant vehicle issues affect operations. Local travel may be required to obtain parts, retrieve vehicles, coordinate repairs, or respond to vehicle breakdowns.
Performance Expectations
Performance in this position will be evaluated based on overall fleet readiness rather than solely on the number of repairs completed.
Key performance areas include:
- Fleet availability and mechanical readiness.
- Preventive maintenance compliance.
- Reduction of preventable mechanical failures and roadside breakdowns.
- Timeliness of repairs.
- Vehicle downtime.
- Accuracy of maintenance records.
- Identification of developing mechanical problems.
- Management of outside repair vendors.
- Maintenance and repair cost control.
- Parts and supply management.
- Communication with Operations and management.
- Appropriate recommendations regarding major repairs and vehicle replacement.
Safety Authority
The Fleet Mechanic / Fleet Maintenance Coordinator has the authority and responsibility to identify vehicles that may be unsafe for continued operation and recommend that those vehicles be immediately removed from service.
The employee is expected to exercise professional judgment when making vehicle safety determinations.
Operational needs, staffing levels, or vehicle availability should never take priority over a mechanical condition that presents an unreasonable safety risk to employees, patients, passengers, or the public.
Other Duties
This job description describes the general nature and level of work expected of the Fleet Mechanic / Fleet Maintenance Coordinator and is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every responsibility.
Because fleet needs change based on operations, vehicle condition, and company growth, additional fleet, maintenance, logistics, and operational duties may be assigned as necessary.
Guardian Elite Medical Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
