Production Manager

Thames Water Utilities Limited; Shalford; On-site; GBP 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading water utility company in Shalford is seeking a Production Manager to oversee daily water production operations. This role involves managing a team, ensuring safety compliance, and engaging with stakeholders. The ideal candidate will have relevant process management experience and excellent leadership skills. A competitive salary of up to £60,000 and additional benefits including annual leave and a pension scheme are offered.

Benefits

Up to £60,000 salary

26 days annual leave

Performance-related pay

Generous pension scheme

Health and wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Experience managing operations or production teams.
• Ability to engage stakeholders and present confidently.
• Passion for improving team dynamics and site operations.
• Experience in health & safety in an industrial setting.
• Valid UK driving licence required.

Responsibilities

• Oversee water production plans within budget.
• Manage performance and culture of the team.
• Monitor key performance indicators and ensure compliance.
• Promote health and safety standards across operations.
• Liaise with teams to resolve asset and water quality issues.

Skills

Process or production management experience

Stakeholder collaboration

Leadership and people management

Interpersonal communication skills

Health & safety management

Job description

Job title Production Manager Ref 42761 Division Asset Operations & Capital Delivery Location Shalford - Guildford - GU4 8BW Contract type Permanent Full/Part-time Full-time Hours 36 hours a week , Monday to Friday Salary Offering a salary up to £60,000 per annum, depending on your level of skills and experience, plus a car allowance. Job grade B Closing date 17/10/2025

This is an exciting, high-profile frontline operations role in which you will be overseeing the day-to-day continuous production of safe, clean and palatable drinking water for our customers in the Guildford and South West Surrey region.

This is a diverse and fast-paced role where no two days will be the same. It provides a fantastic opportunity to think differently about how we ensure the reliability and resilience of our assets, whilst developing our people and driving a sustainable operating model.

As well as ensuring this is a robust and safe operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you will also have the opportunity to influence future production by identifying risk and investment needs and working with internal teams to deliver solutions.

What you will be doing as a Production Manager

• Oversee the water production plan for the area within budget and meeting efficiency targets
• Performance management of your team while maintaining a culture of collaboration, capability and continuous performance improvement, with confidence to undertake their tasks and activities.
• Monitor, report, and act against key performance indicators.
• Promote and oversee a strong health and safety culture.
• Identify risks and ensure resilience across your sites and team.
• Liaising with senior stakeholders and operational teams to address any asset failures, water quality failures and demand and supply issues that arise.
• Maintain legal compliance with people, assets and processes at your sites and be the Controller of Premises for the Guildford area.
• Base location will be Shalford Water Treatment Works, with travel required across the 40 sites in the Guildford Area.
• Working hours are 36 hours per week, Monday – Friday, 7.30 am to 3.30 pm.
• Once fully trained, you will take part in an out-of-hours rota covering emergencies in the Guildford area, for which you will receive additional payment.

What you should bring to the role

To thrive in this role, the essential criteria you’ll need are

• A background in process or production management experience, or similar experience in performance management of a large operational team.
• Ability to collaborate and positively engage stakeholders across the business.
• Confidence to present to and influence leaders in the organisation at all levels
• Excellent leadership, people and performance management skills.
• You will have a passion for driving positive behaviours within your team and across the site.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills - both written and verbal are essential for the role.
• Experience with managing health & safety in a site-based or industrial environment.
• A valid UK driving licence and use of a car for business purposes.

Additional skills and experiences would be great to have/bring:

• Knowledge and/or experience of water or waste treatment processes.
• NEBOSH or IOSH qualification, or equivalent, is desirable.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills, a keen eye for detail and the ability to prioritise.
• Strong computer skills are also desirable.

What’s in it for you?

• Offering a salary up to £60,000 per annum, depending on your level of skills and experience.
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 days with the length of service. (Plus bank holidays).
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets.
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• 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 meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

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.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process . If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else, just let us know. We’rehere tohelp 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.