Operations Manager - Transmission and Utilities Major Projects

UGL Pty Limited; Australia; On-site; AUD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellness Program with AIA Vitality

Employee discounts through partnerjips

Salary sacrifice options (cars, tech,

Flexible blended work environment

Job summary

UGL Pty Limited is seeking an Operations Manager to lead major projects in the Utilities and Transmission Lines sectors in Australia. You will plan, manage and control projects and teams to deliver safe, efficient, and profitable outcomes while meeting client requirements and budgets.

You will shape commercial strategy, identify growth opportunities, oversee tender development, and build strong client relationships to drive the business forward.

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualification from an accredited institution or equivalent industry experience.
• Substantial trade experience preferably in an engineering environment and leading operations/projects.
• Strong leadership experience shaping business and teams.
• Proven project management capability across multi-discipline engineering design, build and commission.
• Sound business and commercial acumen with budgeting and variance analysis skills.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills with diverse stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Develop strategies, plans, structures and procedures for safe, cost-effective, efficient operations.
• Provide senior management leadership, set divisional objectives, KPIs and targets.
• Monitor performance against KPIs, budgets and programs; address issues and report to GM.
• Oversee resource use and drive continual improvement across the operation.
• Manage contracts and commercial execution for major project portfolios, mitigate risk.

Skills

Leadership

Budgeting & Finance

Project Management

Negotiation & Influence

Communication

Education

Tertiary qualification

Job description

At UGL, our Utilities business 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. Whether through self-performed work, collaboration with subcontractors, or joint ventures, our teams deliver projects safely and effectively across Australia. Our capabilities cover everything from engineering and structural works to civil, electrical installation, and commissioning. To date, we’ve successfully delivered over 7,300 km of transmission lines and completed more than 300 substation projects—and we’re just getting started!

The role

As Operations Manager, you will lead and support the successful delivery of major projects across our Utilities and Transmission Lines business, with a strong focus on construction and delivery outcomes within the Power sector. You will be accountable for the planning, management and control of projects and teams, ensuring safe, efficient and profitable delivery while meeting customer requirements, budgets and business objectives. Reporting to the General Manager, you will play a key role in shaping commercial strategy, identifying growth opportunities and driving strategic initiatives across the Transmission and Utilities business. The position is responsible for fostering strong client relationships, overseeing tender development and ensuring the successful execution of major projects that support the continued growth and success of the business.

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 and direction, establishing clear divisional objectives, setting standards, targets and goals, implementing controls and KPIs to measure and compare performance (profit, cost, quality, time etc.) within and across the business.
• Monitor the performance and progress of the operation compared to; KPIs, agreed performance indicators, program milestones, delivery schedules and objectives and budgets, addressing any issues and where necessary taking corrective action, ensuring any significant issue is raised with GM in a timely manner without surprise.
• Monitor the use of all resources (Assets, Human and Financial) initiating ongoing review, benchmarking, development and continual improvement of processes, facilities and resources across all of the operation, looking for new ways 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 project’s portfolio, ensuring all risk is mitigated, all deliverables are achievable prior to acceptance, all changes are approved and casted, all customer requirements/ specifications/ agreed configuration and standards are achieved and all programs/projects are carried out 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.

What are we 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.
• Strong leadership experience in shaping business.
• Proven project management capability.
• A high level of business and commercial acumen backed by a sound ability to create read and interpret budgets, financial statements and analyse variance reports.
• Strong communication skills (oral and written) including strong negotiation and influencing skills and the ability to establish effective working relationships with a variety of people at different levels both internally and externally.

Why Unite with the Very Best…

• A competitive salary working in a rewarding, supportive and successful team
• Back yourself and your development, and UGL will back your growth
• Flexible and blended work environment; make use of flexible working and our impressive employee benefits, including:
  • A rewarding Wellness Program with AIA Vitality – earn cashback for gym shoes!
  • We’ll give you access to a multitude of rewards: Through our partnerships we can offer you discounts across shopping, food and wine, insurance, health and wellbeing, leisure and entertainment.
  • You can also take advantage of our salary sacrifice options including cars, eligible portable electronic devices and professional memberships.

UGL – Big projects. Big careers.

We keep Australia moving through our transport manufacturing, maintenance and operations offering, and we support the energy sector through our renewables, power generation, resources and transmission operations. We are an end-to-end engineering and services provider (one of Australia’s biggest inhouse design houses) We’re the people behind communications, transport, utilities, power, oil, gas, Defence and renewables. We build tunnels under rivers and flyover roads. We’re the people who take on the problems that have never been solved. The ones that stretch you outside of what’s known…

Diversity & Social Inclusion

UGL is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment where each employee feels safe to bring their whole selves to work. We encourage applications from Indigenous Australians, Women, Military Veterans, those from diverse cultural backgrounds, people with a disability and our friends in the LGBTIQ+ Community. UGL respectfully acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land in which we work and pays our respects to elders past, present and emerging.

As part of the recruitment process, there are a number of checks which may be conducted to demonstrate an applicant’s suitability for a role including police / criminal background checks, medical, drug and alcohol testing, due diligence checks, right to work checks, and/or reference checks. It’s good to know that UGL does not discriminate based on a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check