Head of Service Excellence

Thames Water Utilities Limited; Reading; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Thames Water Utilities Limited is seeking a Head of Service Excellence to enhance operational performance and lead continuous improvement initiatives within their Operations Service & Control Centre in Reading. This strategic leadership role requires significant experience in the utilities sector and a collaborative approach to managing teams and resources effectively.

Benefits

Annual Leave allowance of 26 days, increasing to 30 with service

Car Allowance of £5,800 per annum

Annual Bonus

Generous Pension Scheme

Private Medical Health Care

Access to health and wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Significant experience in leadership roles, particularly in Energy or Utilities.
• Proven track record in performance management.
• Experience with business continuity and risk management preferable.

Responsibilities

• Lead operational performance improvements and incident management.
• Develop and test contingency plans for operations.
• Govern and oversee processes ensuring collaboration within teams.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Change Management

Continuous Improvement

Quality Assurance

Job description

Job title Head of Service Excellence Ref 41698 Division Asset Operations & Capital Delivery Location Reading - Kemble Court - RG2 6AD Contract type Permanent Full/Part-time Full-time Hours 36 hours a week Salary Competitive salary between £80,000 & £100,000 per annum depending on experience Job grade C Closing date 30/07/2025

Are you a senior leader with a background in Change Management, Continuous Improvement, Quality Assurance, and delivering an efficient and compliant operation?

This is a high-profile, integral and influential role within our Operations Service & Control Centre in which you will be responsible for assessing end-to-end operational performance and delivering continuous improvement initiatives designed to deliver sustainable efficiency, customer and performance improvements.

What you’ll be doing as Head of Service Excellence

You will have the opportunity to make a significant impact immediately by leading and delivering a step-change in how we respond to operational incidents and organise ourselves across the business to do so.

Additionally, the role will have responsibility for the development, documentation and testing of contingency plans for the operational business, coupled with the evolution and design of robust incident learning processes that result in embedded, sustainable and measurable improvements.

In addition to the above, you will oversee operational budget setting and FTE control for the function.

You will provide governance and oversight for a range of processes, ensuring consistency of deployment, management of hand-offs and exceptional collaboration with our Asset, Operations & Capital Delivery (AOCD) and Retail teams.

The role is an integral part of the department’s Senior Leadership Team and has joint responsibility for the delivery of all activities within the team, including health, safety and wellbeing performance, people strategy, Company Business Plans (IBPs), performance outcomes and ensuring all activities contributing to the Water, Waste and Customer strategy are delivered.

• Working hours are Monday to Friday, 36 hours a week.

What you should bring to the role

• Significant experience in leadership and influencing roles in the Energy or Utilities industry.
• Strategic thinking allows you, as an individual and through others, to generate and apply insights and opportunities intended to drive continuous improvements.
• Ability to transform ideas into practical operational plans and apply ‘system-thinking’ to solving complex problems.
• Ability to work with and operate across all levels of the business.
• Have a collaborative leadership style which brings teams together.
• Be commercially minded and have a proven track record of effective performance management with the ability to maximise operational performance at all levels.
• Be willing to take calculated risks and be comfortable operating under pressure.
• Experience in business continuity and risk management would also be preferable.
• Confidence and credibility when speaking with Executive team members, external Stakeholders and Regulators.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary between £80,000 & £100,000 per annum, depending on experience.
• Annual Leave allowance is 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays)
• Car Allowance of £5,800 per annum.
• Annual Bonus.
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Private Medical Health Care.
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy fast-tracked career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

Whether you’re interested in a role in one of our call centres or science labs, we’re looking for people like you with real passion and a burning desire to make things better.

So, if you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world's water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

Our overarching aim is to ensure that Thames Water is a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and offer extra support for those who need it throughout the recruitment process . Our aim is to remove any real or perceived barriers to success, so if you need assistance, we’re here to help and support .

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.