Operations Director South

National Grid; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading energy firm is seeking an Operations Director in Bristol. This role involves leading a large team, ensuring operational excellence and compliance, while driving performance and safety. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in operational leadership, a strong background in safety-critical environments, and the ability to motivate and inspire teams. This leadership position expects significant travel within the service territory.

Qualifications

• Experience leading large operational teams and managing external contracts.
• Knowledge of regulatory frameworks and managing large-scale asset investments.
• Strong people leadership and the ability to motivate teams.

Responsibilities

• Ensure safe and compliant operations for around 1400 colleagues.
• Lead the leadership team to create a future-fit environment.
• Manage capital and revenue budgets efficiently.

Skills

Leadership

Problem-solving

Decision-making

Negotiation

Job description

About the role

The GB energy system is rapidly transforming as we target Clean Power by 2030 and NetZero by 2050. The distribution network is vital in this transformation as we look to accommodate thousands of electric vehicles and heat pumps in people's homes, and connect large volumes of solar and wind. This will require us building out our network at a rate we have not seen this century.

As Operations Director for one of our four licensed areas, reporting to the Director of Field Operations, it will be your job to make the decisions that ensure we remain one of the UK's most reliable and resilient electricity distribution networks, delivering exceptional customer service and performance. This will require driving performance and behaviour standards across the region, delivering a best-practice, high-reliability organisation with minimal organisational drift.

A culture of performance and continuous improvement, aligned with our values where it is safe to speak up, shall be every employee's expectation, because of your leadership impact. You will be responsible for setting strategic focus and direction, enabling the highest levels of safety, and developing a culture that enables high performance, engagement, and inclusion. Acting as decision maker for matters that cannot be resolved within region, you will be the first point of escalation for your region's Heads of Operations. Working with your Operations Director peers in other regions, you will promote a culture of team work where collective results demonstrates confidence in your collective performance.

You will be an inspirational leader in Operational Excellence. Critical thinking will ensure you make smart decisions across a variety of areas, including technical, operational, cultural, and resourcing. In doing so you will ensure consistency of response across operational assets, continually in the pursuit of effective and efficient processes and procedures.

Key Responsibilities

• The safe and compliant delivery of operations and regional performance of around 1400 colleagues, customers, contractors, and other third parties
• Leading the [regional] leadership team to create an environment fit for the future and aligned with our values, influencing the strategic direction and operational leadership of each team that reports into the Operations Director
• Maintaining the highest levels of safety, compliance, and sustainability in operations across the region. This includes accountability for safety of the operational environment and developing a culture which enables proactive outcomes
• Effectively manage the capital and revenue budgets for the region and monitor and control expenditure of these budgets in line with NGED's strategic aims
• Collaborating with other Operations Directors to ensure the most efficient approach across all operational teams in the best interests of the whole of Operations team and NGED

About You

The role holder will be experienced at leading a large operational and multi-disciplined team. They will know how to set direction and motivate teams of specialists as they support internal departments, customers, external stakeholders, and regulatory bodies. They will have knowledge of regulatory frameworks, experience, and competent understanding of managing large scale asset investment, and a proven track record in safety critical environments and effectively managing large external contracts.

An excellent people leader who continually raises the bar on performance, the role holder will be expert in problem solving, decision-making, and negotiation, successfully navigating organisational boundaries, including working across the Business Unit. They will be a team player, inspiring others to challenge the current reality and spot new opportunities and successfully execute. They will have self-assurance coupled with the humility to listen, learn and self-reflect, welcoming critical feedback.

More Information

• This is a Director-level, senior leadership role (internal: Band B)
• Location: Bristol/South West - this will be a highly-visible role in the south west region, leading a team of 1400 people; it is expected that the person in the role will spend between 50-75% of their time at locations across the service territory.
• Role closes: 9/11/2025
• Manager: Roisin Quinn, Director of Field Operations