Regional Engineering Lead

United Utilities; Warrington; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

26 days annual leave

Pension up to 14% employer

Performance bonus up to 20%

Healthcare plan

Job summary

United Utilities is seeking a Regional Engineering Lead to drive the delivery of engineering outputs across a defined region. This role leads Senior Project Engineers, manages budgets, and ensures CDM compliance while driving innovation and value for customers.

The ideal candidate has postgraduate engineering qualifications, proven leadership in complex change, and a track record in end-to-end delivery of large engineering projects across multi-disciplinary teams.

Qualifications

• Postgraduate experience and professional qualification in an engineering discipline.
• Experience leading complex change initiatives in senior management roles.
• Experience delivering multi-disciplinary engineering projects.
• Strong communication with senior stakeholders to develop solutions.
• Ability to recruit and develop high performing teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a region's engineering outputs for customers and stakeholders.
• Create portfolio resource plans and secure competent project engineering resources.
• Drive a culture of collaborative risk-taking and innovation to add value.
• deputise for other regional team members when required.
• Oversee engineering delivery within the region and ensure projects meet drivers.
• Conduct project status reviews focusing on risk at project/program/engineering levels.
• Recommend and implement engineering actions and manage regional budgets.
• Engage with consultants and supply chain specialists; ensure CDM compliance.
• Act as Principal Designer for the region when required.
• Develop design contracts with time, cost and quality in view.

Skills

Leadership

Budget management

Contract management

Risk management

Stakeholder engagement

Change management

Project delivery

Team development

Innovation

Decision making

Education

Engineering degree

Job description

Job number UU06255 Country United Kingdom Region Cheshire West and Chester Location name Lingley Mere (UU), Lingley Green Avenue, Great Sankey, Warrington, WA5 3LP Posting End Date 31/08/2026 Band 3 Role Type Permanent Salary competetive

The role:

The purpose of the Regional Engineering Lead is to drive the delivery of engineering outputs for our customers and stakeholders, which are affordable and bring environmental and social benefits, whilst leaving an enduring legacy. The Regional Engineering Lead (REL) will lead and manage a portfolio on behalf of a distinct business region. The REL may be required to work across regions depending on business needs.

What you’ll do:

Aligning with the AMP8 approach in United Utilities, there are two key parts to the role:

• Accountable for functional line management and career development of Senior Project Engineers and Project Engineers within the Region.
• To create portfolio resource plans whilst actively securing appropriately competent and capable Project Engineering resources to meet demand.
• To create the environment to ensure Project Engineers embrace collaborative conscious risk taking, embrace thinking differently / innovate to add value.
• As required, deputise for other members of the regional team.
• Responsible for leading the engineering delivery within the region
• Ensure projects are delivered to respective drivers
• Undertake project status reviews with a focus on project, programme and engineering levels of risk
• Recommend and implement engineering actions as appropriate.
• Manage engineering budgets for the region
• Apply risk management to drive the delivery of opportunities or threat reduction.
• Engage with consultants and specialist across the supply chain
• Ensure CDM compliance throughout the project lifecycle
• Act as Principal Designer for the region, when required.
• Develop design contracts with appropriate scope considering time, cost and quality

What we’re looking for:

• Significant post graduate experience and Professionally Qualified within an Engineering Degree or equivalent
• Proven experience of leadership of complex change initiatives in a senior management role, including the ability to integrate input from different technical areas and other functions or departments
• Proven experience of managing multi-disciplinary Teams
• Proven experience of end-to-end delivery of complex engineering projects
• Proven communication skills with an ability to engage with senior stakeholders and colleagues to develop solutions to complex problems
• An ability to recruit, build, nurture and develop high performing teams
• In depth awareness of the UU operating environments
• Proven experience of schedule, risk and budget management
• Proven experience of commercial / contract management
• Proven experience of conflict management
• A demonstrable ability to deal with significant ambiguity and lead teams through, and to embrace, change
• Evidence of resilience and the ability to prioritise yourself and others against competing demands as well as being able to pre-empt and manage issues before they escalated
• Strong market awareness and the ability to bring and adopt new ideas to benefit UU
• A track record of adopting innovation

What we offer:

• A generous annual leave package of 26 days, which increases to 30 days after four years of service, in addition to 8 bank holidays
• A competitive pension scheme with up to 14% employer contribution, 21% combined, and life cover
• Up to 20% performance-related bonus scheme, as well as recognition awards for outstanding achievements
• A comprehensive healthcare plan through our company-funded scheme

At UU, we champion flexible ways of working. In-person attendance is required three days per week to promote the benefits of face-to-face collaboration alongside flexibility of hours to support work-life balance. Initially, you may be expected to attend more frequently to familiarise yourselves with the site, the team, and your role.

About United Utilities:

United Utilities’ (UU) mission is to deliver high-quality water for a stronger, greener and healthier North West of England. We are committed to providing our services in a way that respects the environment, supports the economy, and benefits society. We are proud to be ranked #11 in The Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers List. We value diversity, inclusion and innovation in our workplace, and we foster a culture where our people can grow, excel, and be themselves.

We uphold our ethics, values and business model to fulfil our mission and, by setting clear goals and objectives, we create sustainable long-term value for our colleagues, customers and communities. Whether you work with a team that shares your vision or join a network of peers with similar interests, you will find a welcoming and supportive organisation to be part of.