Power System Technical Operations and Performance Manager

About the Role

Britain’s energy system is going through the biggest change in its history, and the team you’d be leading sits right at the centre of it — watching how the system actually performs, investigating when things don’t go to plan, and making sure the lessons get fed back into how we operate. As a Power System Operations and Performance Manager, you’d lead a team of around 11 technical experts who provide technical advice and guidance across the operation, capability and connection of transmission assets, investigate operational events, and report on system performance.

Your job isn’t to do that work yourself — it’s to give the team clear direction, support and guidance to make sure their insight lands with the people who need to act on it, inside and outside NESO. We’re looking for a leader — someone with a solid grasp of energy sector requirements who’s genuinely curious about the technical detail without needing to have written it themselves, and who knows how to bring a team of specialists together, build their confidence, and get the best out of them.

A digital-first mindset matters too: you’ll be thinking about how the team’s tools, data and reporting can keep pace with a system that’s changing fast. Your role is to provide effective leadership and direction, you will be supported to develop the operational detail; rather than being expected to have the same level of technical expertise as your team from day one.

This is a newly established Operational Risk & Excellence function, giving you the opportunity to shape how the team operates, build its identity and ways of working, and establish strong relationships across NESO and the wider industry. This role is based in Wokingham, and we continue to offer hybrid working from office and home, with the specific split determined by business needs.

2-3 days a week on site will be required. We are open to full time and part time applicants, as well as flexible working arrangements. This role is designated as requiring a National Security Vetting (NSV) clearance. The level of clearance associated with the role is Security Check (SC). You will usually need to have been a resident in the UK for the last five years to apply for an SC clearance.

• Lead, develop and motivate a team of 11–12 technical specialists, setting direction and creating the conditions for them to do their best work
• Own the team’s output on system performance reporting, incident investigation and operational business procedures — checking it’s rigorous, timely, and actually useful to the people who receive it
• Represent NESO on operational matters and system events with senior stakeholders, both internally and externally, translating technical detail into something decision makers can act on
• Build strong working relationships across NESO, transmission owners, generators and industry bodies, acting as a trusted point of contact on operational issues
• Drive continuous improvement in how the team works — including how technology and data are used to make reporting and analysis more efficient
• Ensure the team meets its statutory and regulatory reporting obligations, without letting that become the whole job
• Explore and introduce opportunities to use automation and AI to improve analysis, reporting and team efficiency, while ensuring appropriate governance and oversight
• Applicants must have the right to work in the UK by the start of employment. Visa sponsorship may not be available for this role and will be considered in line with business requirements.

• Proven experience leading, developing and performance
  -managing teams, ideally teams of specialists or technical experts — you know how to unite people around a shared purpose and get them performing at their best
• A strong understanding of energy sector— a background in electricity system operation is useful but not essential, and you’ll be fully supported to build technical knowledge on the job
• Comfortable engaging credibly with senior stakeholders and technical experts alike, and confident enough to ask good questions rather than needing to know all the answers yourself
• A digital-first mindset — genuinely…