AddressThis is a new and exciting role for the business, part of the Water Services county team structure, and will help shape the future organisation design. A key focus initially will be on the design of the System Performance team, the processes, tools and ways of working. The core purpose is to drive an integrated and intelligent approach to planning, performance and risk management within a county boundary, fostering a centre of excellence within the county hubs bringing together Operational, Engineering, Maintenance and Data expertise.
You will lead a team of up to 8 direct reports with responsibility for a total headcount of typically between 20 – 30 employees
You will be responsible for the creation of an annual optimised county plan, working closely with the Treatment Delivery Manager and Network Delivery Manager.
Job Accountabilities
You'll be responsible for working as part of the County Business Leader's management team in the day to day leadership of the area, leading and inspiring the System Performance team to maintain and develop the organisational culture, values and the company reputation to ensure delivery of the United Utilities vision. You'll also be responsible for:
- Developing a co-ordinated strategic annual operational plan for the county which will translate the long term business plans and targets into programmes of work that will address key regulatory elements. The plan will encompass all operational interventions required to meet annual targets set by the regional planning and performance team
- Responsible for performance monitoring across the end to end system and lead on any course corrections required
- Responsible for County area financial control, monitoring and delivery of pre-defined budgets and financial targets, including TOTEX budgets for delivery, effective maintenance or planned projects
- Responsible for making decisions to enable effective operation within budget
- Responsible for the utilisation and deployment of resources within the Asset group to meet operational needs and Company priorities
- Personally responsible for the delivery of the financial targets set for their operational area (although Treatment Delivery Managers and Network Delivery Managers will be required to adhere to their own operational budget)
- Responsible for stakeholder engagement to develop collaborative performance improvement solutions (both internal and external liaison)
- Champion a System Performance team collaborative approach which is mutually beneficial to all managers within the specified area
- Have a non-biased county focus (infrastructure assets, non infrastructure assets, treatment assets) to help drive performance improvement
- Achieve pre-set objectives to provide the best water service within the county area of responsibility e.g. finance; people; customer and performance
- Develop and implement Health and Safety risk management plans for all assets within the County
- Involvement in the County Capital Delivery Programme to ensure efficient and effective delivery, across all schemes
- Undertake specific projects or initiatives as directed by the County Business Leader
- Improve water / wastewater System Performance - provide technical input into planned programmes of work to reduce the number of reactive incidents, and improve customer satisfaction and Customer Experience Measures (C-Mex) performance
- Ensure comprehensive and robust contingency plans are in place across all critical sites
- Lead and facilitate a change in the current business culture by moving to a co-ordinated and planned approach to operational and maintenance management
Knowledge and Skills
To be considered for this role you'll need to be an experienced professional with a proven track record, preferably with a degree and membership of a professional institution (CIWEM or IWO). You'll also need:
- a very high level of understanding of the regulatory and legislative framework surrounding water operations as well as possessing a good understanding of the wider business issues across all levels of the company's operations
- Strong leadership and communications skills will be essential to motivate, performance manage and develop a large team of people to achieve their best performance
- Strong customer focus
- High levels of managerial ability will be needed in order to ensure the delivery of financial plans, key performance targets and regulatory compliance
- Well developed analytical skills and an ability to identify, develop and implement solutions to a wide range of financial, technical and managerial problems
- Good long- and short-term planning ability in order to manage assets day to day whilst also considering the long-term future
We need fantastic people to enable us to deliver a great service to the public. We are committed to reaching and recruiting from every community and then supporting employees to achieve their full potential ensuring they feel valued and included, regardless of their gender, age, race, disability, sexual orientation or social background.
If you are offered a job with us, a number of pre-employment checks need to be carried out before your appointment can be confirmed. Any offer of employment with United Utilities will be subject to a satisfactory checking report from the Disclosure Scotland / the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Closing Date: 27/03/24
