System Optimisation Lead Customer Delivery · Hatfield ·

Affinity Water; Hatfield; Hybrid; GBP 59,000 - 72,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Mentoring & courses

Annual leave 26–30 days

Volunteer days

Life Assurance

Wellbeing support

Tap4Perks discounts

Pension scheme

Job summary

Affinity Water in Hatfield is seeking a System Optimisation Lead to advance a growing analytics and engineering team. You will shape our optimisation strategy across energy, production, abstraction and supply resilience, turning complex challenges into practical, data-driven solutions.

You’ll balance risk and performance, oversee production planning, and drive digital transformation through models and decision-support tools, collaborating with Finance, Customer Delivery and Technology to deliver

Qualifications

• Significant experience in operational optimisation, production operations, engineering, utilities or a similar environment.
• Strong analytical and data-driven problem-solving skills.
• Experience leading teams and influencing stakeholders across different disciplines.
• Experience managing operational expenditure and making financial decisions.
• A collaborative leadership style with a focus on developing people.
• The ability to work confidently with complexity, ambiguity and change.
• Experience developing business cases, operational strategies and continuous improvement initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the System Optimisation team and capability.
• Own the operational optimisation strategy across energy, production, abstraction, bulk water and supply resilience.
• Manage operational expenditure, identifying opportunities to improve cost efficiency while maintaining performance and compliance.
• Oversee production planning, balancing supply and demand and managing operational risks.
• Lead optimisation models, decision-support tools, analytics and digital transformation initiatives.
• Provide technical assurance and challenge across operational performance, resilience and supply strategies.
• Work collaboratively across the business to identify and deliver efficiency improvements.
• Support long-term planning, including water resources, drought resilience and operational investment.
• Represent Affinity Water with regulators, industry groups and external partners.

Skills

Operational optimisation

Production operations

Engineering

Utilities environment

Analytical thinking

Leadership

Stakeholder influence

Cost management

Business case development

Education

Bachelor's degree in Science or Engineering

Job description

We’re looking for a System Optimisation Lead to lead and develop a growing team at the heart of our production operation, helping us make smarter decisions about water resources, supply resilience, energy, cost and operational performance.

This is a fantastic opportunity to combine engineering, analytics and strategic thinking to influence both day-to-day operations and the major decisions shaping the future of our water supply system. You’ll own our System Optimisation strategy across energy management, production planning, abstraction, bulk water and supply resilience, working closely with teams across Customer Delivery, Asset Strategy & Capital Delivery, Finance and Technology and turn complex operational challenges into practical solutions, using data, optimisation models and digital tools to improve efficiency, strengthen resilience and support our long-term plans. Most importantly, you’ll play a key role in building our System Optimisation capability, leading and developing a growing team and helping Affinity Water deliver safe, sustainable and cost-effective water supplies to millions of customers.

What you’ll be doing

• Lead and develop the System Optimisation team and capability.

• Own the operational optimisation strategy across energy, production, abstraction, bulk water and supply resilience.

• Manage operational expenditure, identifying opportunities to improve cost efficiency while maintaining performance and compliance.

• Oversee production planning, balancing supply and demand and managing operational risks.

• Lead optimisation models, decision-support tools, analytics and digital transformation initiatives.

• Provide technical assurance and challenge across operational performance, resilience and supply strategies.

• Work collaboratively across the business to identify and deliver efficiency improvements.

• Support long-term planning, including water resources, drought resilience and operational investment.

• Represent Affinity Water with regulators, industry groups and external partners.

What you’ll bring

• Significant experience in operational optimisation, production operations, engineering, utilities or a similar environment.

• Strong analytical and data-driven problem-solving skills.

• Experience leading teams and influencing stakeholders across different disciplines.

• Experience managing operational expenditure and making financial decisions.

• A collaborative leadership style with a focus on developing people.

• The ability to work confidently with complexity, ambiguity and change.

• Experience developing business cases, operational strategies and continuous improvement initiatives.

It would also be advantageous if you have:

• Knowledge of water production, resource management, energy management or utility operations.

• Understanding of abstraction, energy usage or supply and demand planning.

• A Bachelor’s degree in Science or Engineering.

Benefits:

• Salary from £65,000 dependant on skills and experience

• Learning and development opportunities, including mentoring and a range of formal courses and open learning resources.

• Entry into the company annual bonus scheme.

• Annual leave from 26-30 rising with length of service, and the option to purchase up to 5 extra days.

• A ‘Celebration Day’ in addition to public holidays that people can use to celebrate a religious festival or other occasion that is important to them.

• A generous 'double match pension scheme' that doubles the contributions you make (company contribution capped at 12%)

• We offer a range of family benefits including enhanced Maternity, Adoption, Paternity, Shared Parental Leave, Fertility Support Leave and up to 5 full or 10 half days of paid Carers Leave.

• Menopause policy and Reasonable Adjustment policy to help everyone perform at their best.

• Access to our Wellbeing Centre with support for looking after your physical and mental health.

• Discounts at a Range of Retail Outlets through our Tap4Perks scheme

• Discounts on Dental and Medical Insurance through our Tap4Perks scheme through salary sacrifice

• Up to 4 Affinity days a year to volunteer in the community.

• Life Assurance.

Disability Confident

As a Disability Confident employer, we’re committed to offering interviews to disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria and opt in on the application form. Ask the Talent Acquisition lead for the full job description to see all the criteria. If we have a very high volume of applicants and we’re not able to offer interviews to all, we’ll take a fair and proportionate number of disabled candidates through.

Affinity Water recognises the benefits of greater diversity in our workforce to better reflect the communities we serve. We are committed to building a more inclusive culture where every member of our workforce can thrive.

You can find out what it’s like to work at Affinity Water through our career site https://www.affinitywatercareers.co.uk/ where our colleagues share their career development stories and you can get a feel for our company culture.