Chief Operating Officer

IES Utilities Group LTD; Manchester; On-site; GBP 200,000 +; Full time

Job summary

A leading utilities company in Manchester seeks a Chief Operating Officer to oversee operations across Power, Water, Gas, Renewables, and Telecoms. The role requires extensive executive leadership experience and a proven track record in managing large-scale operations. The COO will ensure compliance with regulations and drive operational efficiencies, ensuring business growth aligns with ambitious turnover targets.

Qualifications

• Extensive executive leadership experience in utilities, infrastructure, or related industries.
• Proven track record of leading large-scale operations with multi-division oversight.
• Strong commercial acumen with ability to improve margins and efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Provide executive leadership across all utility operations.
• Oversee delivery of all utility operations to ensure safety and efficiency.
• Lead and mentor divisional Managing Directors.

Skills

Executive leadership experience

Multi-division oversight

Operational knowledge in utilities

Commercial acumen

Stakeholder engagement

Job description

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Direct Reports: Divisional Managing Directors (Power, Water, Gas, Renewables, Telecoms)

Location: Manchester

Salary: Competitive Executive Remuneration Package

Purpose of the Role

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) will provide executive leadership and oversight for operations across all utility divisions, including Power, Water, Gas, Renewables, and Telecoms. With the business scaling up to £500m+ turnover, this role is critical in ensuring consistent delivery excellence, governance, and performance across all divisions. The COO will be accountable for operational strategy, integration, and transformation, working closely with divisional Managing Directors to deliver safe, efficient, and profitable operations. This role will also support the CEO and Board in shaping the future direction of the company, ensuring operational capacity and capability align with ambitious growth objectives.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Provide executive leadership across all utility operations, ensuring alignment with the companys growth trajectory to £500m+ turnover.
• Support the CEO and Board in defining and delivering long-term business strategy.
• Ensure consistency of operational performance, standards, and governance across all divisions.

Operational Delivery

• Oversee the delivery of all utility operations (Power, Water, Gas, Renewables, Telecoms) to ensure safety, efficiency, and profitability.
• Drive improvements in productivity, utilisation, and cost efficiency across all business units.
• Ensure operations consistently meet client, regulatory, and contractual requirements.

Governance & Risk Management

• Establish and maintain robust governance frameworks to ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations.
• Monitor operational risks and issues, escalating where appropriate to the CEO and Board.
• Provide regular reporting to the CEO and Board on operational performance, risks, and opportunities.

People & Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and support divisional Managing Directors to achieve operational excellence.
• Build succession planning, leadership capability, and a high-performance culture across all divisions.
• Foster collaboration and knowledge sharing across business units to drive synergy and innovation.

Transformation & Growth

• Support integration of new acquisitions into operations, ensuring alignment with business objectives.
• Champion innovation, digital transformation, and sustainability initiatives across all divisions.
• Drive continuous improvement to support scaling of operations to £500m turnover and beyond.

Key Skills & Experience

• Extensive executive leadership experience in utilities, infrastructure, or related industries with multi-division oversight.
• Proven track record of leading large-scale operations (£100m+ turnover).
• Deep operational knowledge across power, water, gas, renewables, and telecoms sectors.
• Experience managing divisional leaders and delivering consistent performance across multiple business units.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to deliver margin improvement and operational efficiency.
• Experience in M&A integration and supporting growth through acquisitions.
• Proven ability to deliver operational transformation, digitalisation, and cultural change.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and influencing skills at CEO, Board, and client executive levels.

Key Measures of Success

• Safe, efficient, and profitable delivery of all utility operations.
• Successful scaling of operations to support business growth up to £500m turnover.
• Full compliance with client, contractual, and regulatory requirements across all divisions.
• High levels of client satisfaction, retention, and repeat business.
• Delivery of measurable improvements in utilisation, efficiency, and margin across divisions.
• Successful integration of acquisitions into operational delivery.
• Development of a high-performing leadership team and operational workforce aligned to company objectives.