Operations Manager

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Job description

Who are we?
Thames Water is the UK's largest water and wastewater company. We make a daily difference to our 10 million customers by supplying 2.6 billion litres of water through 20,000 miles of pipes to homes and businesses across London and the Thames Valley, keeping taps flowing and toilets flushing.

At Thames Water, every one of our actions, big and small, matters every day. Water is essential to daily life, and that means our business is always open.

What you will be doing:
The Operational Customer Manager is responsible for leading and managing a team of Network and Transmission System Operators to ensure a safe and reliable water supply to all our customers. Responsible for operation output of the water supply system from abstraction, through treatment, transmission, and distribution in the network to reach customers taps whilst ensuring appropriate strategies are applied to meet our regulatory outputs. Support and where required lean clean water events, liaising with internal and external stakeholders.
Lead and manage a team to achieve regulatory outputs and key performance indicators.
Develop individuals and performance manage the team to ensure outputs are delivered, ensuring attention to detail and the quality desired to meet operating strategies (H&S, Water Quality, Customer, Leakage, Energy and Value for Money).
Maintain stakeholder relationships that facilitate smooth and efficient delivery. Engage with Internal and External Stakeholders to ensure strategic plans are in place to ensure the stability of customer supply, reduce leakage, optimise assets for energy consumption and ensure water quality standards are maintained.
Monitoring and reporting on outputs, ensuring key operational reports are timely and accurate. Work with wider teams to ensure action is taken where variances to plan or risks are identified. Ensure suitable mitigation is put in place and risks escalated.
Act as a lead for Water Control during operational events ensuring that management information is provided to allow informed decision making. Investigate and analyse complex data to identify risk and potential solutions. Investigate risks or issues to identify the root cause and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
Proactively manage and promote a positive Health and Safety culture in the team and ensure H&S is considered in all delivery plans. Provide out of hours support for operational teams with lone alerts and working hours assessments.
Facilitate delivery of the Business Plan to meet challenging financial and operational targets, achieving best value whilst exceeding customer expectations ensuring pressure maintained and mitigation put in place to avoid interruptions to supply.
Effect challenge to the wider business to ensure key stakeholders deliver outputs as per plan & PRO's to ensure we can deliver consistent supply to our customers.We're looking for you to:

Having strong leadership skills are required together with an ability to remain calm and make decisions under
Have strong people and performance management skills, the ability to inspire and develop teams and deliver results.
Have excellent influencing and communication skills - written and verbal.
Understanding of the importance of working in a team towards a common goal.
The ability to analyse and use data to make decisions, respond to problems and deliver operational outcomes.
Have awareness of quality management systems, operating strategy, and the strategic water control plan.
Be fully competent/expert in company IT systems and Office software.
Have a Valid driving licence due to driving to different sites and locations.
Knowledge of SCADA and GIS systems would be advantageous, but not essential
Experience in water treatment, networks and regulation would be advantageous, but not essentialWhat's in it for you?
This position offers a salary of between £36,530 - £49,424 per year subject to skills and experience, plus a 25% shift allowance, with a full training and development programme provided to ensure you feel confident in the role, and great opportunities for career progression.

Our competitive salary package also includes an excellent contributory pension and a wider benefits scheme. This includes an annual pay review, season ticket loans, voucher scheme giving you money off in major retail outlets, loyalty awards for continuous service plus much more, including our referral scheme, where you can receive £750 for helping someone get a permanent position within the company.
But more than that, the Water Control Centre is a fun, fast-paced environment where no two days will be the same. You'll be a key worker, helping to deliver life's essential service and making a real difference to millions of customers, the environment and public health each and every day.

This role involves working 12hr shifts day and night on a shift pattern involving 14 days on, 28 days off spread over a 6-week period (to be discussed further during the application process), ensuring a great work-life balance.

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding and diverse place to work. If you join our team, you'll enjoy fast-tracked career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and unparalleled benefits. We're also proud to be an equal opportunity employer, Stonewall Diversity Champion and Disability Confident Leader and we are a Times Top 50 Employer for Women.

We're proud of the positive ways of working we have adopted during the pandemic. We want to create a more flexible and dynamic environment so all our colleagues can thrive. For our office-based roles, we are moving to a hybrid approach where we will provide options around working from our offices, our operational sites and home dependent on role/team/individual. This will be discussed during the assessment process.

You can find out more in our working for us section of our website