Operations Director

Ugl; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 250,000 - 360,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellness program with rewards

Flexible work environment

Employee benefits

Job summary

UGL Utilities seeks an accomplished Operations Director to lead commercial strategy and execution for Major Projects in the power sector. You will shape the long-term plan, drive growth opportunities, and ensure delivery excellence across transmission lines, substations, and distribution networks.

In this senior role, you will provide strategic leadership, oversee contract management, manage budgets, and benchmark performance using KPIs.

Qualifications

• Requires tertiary qualification or equivalent industry experience.
• Substantial trade/engineering operations experience preferred.
• Strong business and commercial acumen with budgeting and financial statement literacy.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, negotiation and stakeholder management.
• Ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficient with MS Word, Excel, and email.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement strategic operational plans for major projects in the power sector.
• Provide senior leadership, set divisional objectives, KPIs, and performance targets.
• Oversee contract management and commercial execution while mitigating risk and ensuring deliverables.
• Direct resource planning, budget monitoring and continuous improvement across operations.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Operations management

Budgeting

Financial analysis

Communication skills

Independent worker

MS Word

Excel

Email

Education

Tertiary qualification

Tools

MS Word

Excel

Email

Job description

Overview

UGL Utilities is at the forefront of Australia’s energy transition, delivering essential design and construction services for critical infrastructure across the power sector. We provide end-to-end solutions on major projects including transmission lines, switchyards, substations, and electrical distribution networks. Our expertise spans the full project lifecycle—design, construction, commissioning, operations, and maintenance.

To date, we’ve successfully delivered over 7,300 km of transmission lines and completed more than 300 substation projects.

The Opportunity

UGL Utilities is seeking a strategic and results-driven Operations Director to lead and oversee commercial strategy and project execution across our Major Projects portfolio, with a strong focus on engineering and construction delivery in the Power sector. In this leadership role, you will shape and drive the long-term success of our Utilities business by contributing to strategic planning, identifying growth opportunities, and ensuring exceptional delivery across major infrastructure projects.

What will a day in this role look like

• Develop strategies, plans, structures, systems and procedures for a safe, cost effective and efficient business operation aligned with UGL long and short-term business objectives.
• Provide strong senior management and strategic leadership, establishing divisional objectives, setting standards, targets and goals, implementing controls and KPIs to measure performance (profit, cost, quality, time) within and across the business.
• Monitor the use of all resources (assets, human and financial) and drive continuous improvement of processes, facilities and resources across operations to improve efficiency, minimise costs, increase quality, safety and client satisfaction.
• Oversee the contract management and commercial execution of all contracts/projects/programs for the major projects portfolio, ensuring risk is mitigated, deliverables are achievable prior to acceptance, changes are approved, and programs/projects are conducted in a controlled and documented manner.

The following qualifications and experience are highly desired, but if you don’t tick all the boxes you could still be a perfect fit for this role. All applications will be considered.

What we are looking for you to bring to the team

• An appropriate tertiary qualification from an accredited institution or equivalent industry experience.
• Substantial trade experience preferably gained in an engineering environment and proven experience of leading operations and projects in a multi-discipline engineering design, build and commission operating environment.
• A high level of business and commercial acumen with the ability to read and interpret budgets, financial statements and variance reports.
• Strong communication skills (oral and written) including negotiation and influencing skills and the ability to establish effective working relationships with a variety of people at different levels.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently to organise and prioritise demands, handle multiple complex tasks, meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment with multiple demands.
• Proficient skills in MS Word, Excel, and email.

Why Unite with the Very Best

• A competitive salary in a rewarding, supportive and successful team.
• Support for your development and growth at UGL.
• Flexible and blended work environment with employee benefits, including:
• A wellness program with rewards and discounts across a range of partners, including health and wellbeing services.

UGL – Big projects. Big careers.

We are an end-to-end engineering and services provider delivering transport manufacturing, maintenance and operations, and supporting the energy sector through renewables, power generation, resources and transmission operations.

We are committed to diversity and social inclusion and encourage applications from Indigenous Australians, women, military veterans, people from diverse cultural backgrounds, people with a disability and members of the LGBTIQ+ community.

UGL respectfully acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and pays respects to elders past, present and emerging.

As part of the recruitment process, checks such as police/criminal background checks, medical, drug and alcohol testing, due diligence checks, right to work checks, and reference checks may be conducted to determine suitability for a role. UGL does not discriminate based on a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check.