Asset Transformation Project Manager

Pennon Group; Exeter; On-site; GBP 52,000 - 76,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holiday allowance

Competitive pension scheme

Training and development

Pennon Perks discounts

Employee Assistance Programme

Discretionary bonus

Cycle to work

Job summary

Pennon Group in Exeter seeks an experienced Project Manager to lead a key Reliability & Performance transformation programme. You will coordinate multidisciplinary teams, manage complex workstreams and ensure initiatives are delivered with strong governance and clear accountability.

The role focuses on delivering operational excellence, improving reliability and creating lasting value for customers and communities.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering complex projects or transformation programmes within utilities, infrastructure, engineering or asset-intensive environments.
• Strong project planning, governance and delivery management skills.
• Experience managing multiple projects or workstreams simultaneously.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Ability to challenge constructively and hold teams accountable for delivery commitments.
• Strong communication skills and the confidence to engage with colleagues at all levels.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage project plans, milestones, dependencies and delivery schedules.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary teams to ensure actions and priorities remain aligned.
• Manage risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies, escalating where appropriate.
• Drive delivery momentum through governance, reporting and performance tracking.
• Support programme integration by identifying and managing cross-functional dependencies.
• Track outcomes, benefits and progress against agreed objectives.
• Coordinate resources across operational, technical and support functions.
• Support implementation and adoption of new ways of working to ensure sustainable outcomes.

Skills

Project planning

Governance

Delivery management

Stakeholder management

Communication

Ambiguity navigation

Education

APM/PRINCE2/PMI certification

Degree or professional qualification in delivery/engineering/operational improvement

Job description

Powered by Water, Driven by Purpose

At Pennon Group, we’re proud to serve communities while protecting the environment. Together with our subsidiaries, South West Water, Bristol Water, Bournemouth Water, SES Water, Pennon Water Services and Pennon Power, we’re leading the way in water and renewables.

We’re proud to be recognised as a leader in the UK water sector, working towards a greener future. Our goals? As well as lowering our carbon footprint, we’re working with partners to plant 300,000 trees, restore peatlands and supporting farmers and landowners to improve water quality and wildlife.

Whether you’re starting out or seeking a new challenge, our scale and ambition create opportunities for you to shape your own career.

Help shape the future of reliability and performance

We're looking for an experienced Project Manager to play a key role in delivering one of our most important transformation programmes.

Working as part of our Reliability & Performance Transformation team, you'll help turn strategic improvement plans into practical, deliverable projects that drive operational excellence across our business. You'll coordinate multidisciplinary teams, manage complex workstreams and ensure initiatives are delivered at pace, while maintaining strong project controls and governance.

This is an opportunity to work on high-impact programmes that improve performance, strengthen reliability and create lasting value for customers, communities and the environment.

What you'll be doing:

As Project Manager, you'll partner closely with Improvement Leads and subject matter experts to translate improvement roadmaps into clear, executable projects and workstreams. You'll:

• Develop and manage project plans, milestones, dependencies and delivery schedules.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary teams to ensure actions, commitments and priorities remain aligned.
• Manage risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies, escalating where appropriate.
• Drive delivery momentum through effective governance, reporting and performance tracking.
• Support programme integration by identifying and managing cross-functional dependencies.
• Track outcomes, benefits and progress against agreed objectives.
• Coordinate resources across operational, technical and support functions.
• Support implementation and adoption of new ways of working to ensure sustainable outcomes.

What we're looking for:

You'll be a confident and pragmatic Project Manager who can bring structure, pace and clarity to complex programmes.

You'll have:

• Experience delivering complex projects or transformation programmes within utilities, infrastructure, engineering, operations or similarly asset-intensive environments.
• Strong project planning, governance and delivery management skills.
• Experience managing multiple projects or workstreams simultaneously.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• The ability to challenge constructively and hold teams accountable for delivery commitments.
• Strong communication skills and the confidence to engage with colleagues at all levels.
• A practical, outcomes-focused mindset with the ability to navigate ambiguity and deliver results.

Essential qualifications

• A recognised project management qualification such as APM, PRINCE2, PMI or equivalent experience.
• Degree, professional qualification or relevant experience in project delivery, engineering, operational improvement or a related discipline.

Experience of Lean, Agile, change management or continuous improvement methodologies would be advantageous.

Why join us?

This is a unique opportunity to help shape a transformational programme that sits at the heart of our operational performance ambitions. You'll work with experienced leaders and technical specialists, gain exposure to strategic business priorities and play a key role in delivering tangible improvements across the organisation.

• Generous holiday allowance with the ability to buy and sell annual leave for added flexibility.
• Competitive company pension scheme.
• Training and development within the role.
• Access to thousands of discounts and vouchers through Pennon Perks.
• 24/7 support with our Employee Assistance Programme.
• Discretionary bonus.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• And more!

Closing Date: 9th November 2026

Please note that the successful candidate will be subject to a mandatory DBS check as part of the onboarding process.

Be yourself, we like it that way. Together, we will build a culture of belonging, where inclusion is instinctive. Diversity is our strength and a reflection of our communities. We care, we value everyone, we celebrate uniqueness.

Our core values, which are essential to our success, are:

Be Rock Solid - Build trust and be trusted. Be the one we all look to and can depend on.

Be You - We want you to bring your best everyday. Be yourself and make your mark in your individual way.

Be the Future - Embrace change. Drive Progress. Own the challenge.