Head of Water Planning

As a key member of the Operations Service and Control Centre (OSCC) senior leadership team, you will lead approximately 7-8 direct reports and a wider, centralised organisation of around 200 colleagues. You will lead through an established leadership structure-setting clear expectations, developing your leaders, strengthening accountability and creating the conditions for teams to perform at their best.

• Lead Water Planning across above-ground and below-ground operations, ensuring plans support business priorities and operational performance.
• Build trusted relationships across production, networks, asset management, customer and OSCC leadership teams, creating alignment across the division.
• Lead, coach and develop a large operational function through your leadership team, building an inclusive, engaged and high‑performing culture.
• Contribute to senior leadership decisions and help shape the strategic direction of the OSCC and Water business.
• Navigate competing priorities in a complex stakeholder environment, influencing decisions and finding solutions that work for customers and the business.
• Lead change and service improvement, including the adoption of new technology, the future implementation of Salesforce for Above Ground and closer integration of desk‑based and field operations.
• Use data, insight and sound judgement to improve decision‑making and performance.
• Provide effective commercial oversight of key third‑party contracts supporting operational delivery, infrastructure planning, winter resilience and safe working, ensuring suppliers deliver safe, reliable and value‑for‑money services.
• Represent Thames Water externally, developing productive relationships with highways authorities and infrastructure partners.
• Ensure effective planning supports critical outcomes including leakage, water quality, supply interruptions, maintenance delivery and regulatory compliance.

What you should bring to the role We are looking for a collaborative, credible and delivery‑focused leader who can inspire people through change and build strong relationships across a broad stakeholder community. This is not solely a technical planning role. Success will depend on your ability to connect operational teams, influence senior stakeholders and translate competing requirements into clear, deliverable plans.

• Significant leadership experience in planning, infrastructure, operations, logistics, utilities or another large‑scale service environment.
• Outstanding stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the confidence to build credibility across senior internal and external networks.
• Experience leading leaders and large operational teams through a clear, inclusive and visible leadership style.
• A track record of delivering measurable outcomes in complex operational environments.
• Strong relationship‑building skills and the ability to work effectively across multiple functions in a matrix organisation.
• Experience of a regulated environment, or the ability to quickly understand its demands.
• An analytical mindset, sound judgement and strong commercial awareness.
• A clear customer focus and an understanding of how operational decisions affect customer outcomes.
• Experience leading change, transformation, technology adoption or service improvement.
• The ability to balance strategic thinking with hands‑on operational leadership.
• Experience managing supplier relationships, contracts and external partnerships.

Water industry experience would be beneficial, but it is not essential. We welcome leaders from sectors such as gas, electricity, telecommunications, rail, aviation and other large‑scale infrastructure environments. What matters most is your leadership capability, operational credibility, stakeholder approach and ability to…