Planning & Environmental Group Manager

Electricity Supply Board; Dublin; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Career development

Structured onboarding

Job summary

Electricity Supply Board (ESB) invites a senior planning/environmental leader to manage the Planning & Environmental Group within GECE, delivering high-quality planning and environmental services for ESB Generation & Trading and related units.

You will lead multidisciplinary teams, ensure technical excellence, robust governance, and strong safety and environmental compliance, driving continuous improvement in all planning and environmental processes.

Qualifications

• Level 8 Town Planning/Environment Science or related degree or equivalent qualification.
• Level 9 Town Planning/Environment Science or related degree or equivalent qualification.
• Chartered status in a recognised professional science/engineering institution.
• Proven leadership of multidisciplinary teams with a delivery focus.
• Strong governance, safety, and environmental compliance mindset.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership to the multidisciplinary Planning & Environmental group ensuring delivery of services.
• Manage structure, resourcing, workload, performance and development of the P&E Group.
• Provide technical oversight to ensure outputs meet legislation, policy and ESB standards.
• Promote safety, environmental and compliance culture across activities.
• Drive continuous improvement in planning and environmental processes and stakeholder engagement.

Skills

Leadership of multidisciplinary teams

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Safety and environmental compliance

Education

Level 8 Town Planning/Environment Science or related Degree

Level 9 Town Planning/Environment Science or related Degree

Chartered status in a recognised professional institution

Job description

Select how often (in days) to receive an alert:

Select how often (in days) to receive an alert:

Category: Engineering - Planning / Environmental

Job Type: Full-time

The Generation Engineering Civil and Environment Department (GECE) within Engineering & Major Projects is seeking a highly experienced planning, environmental or related technical professional with a proven track record in leading multidisciplinary teams. The role will involve managing the Planning & Environmental Group within GECE and ensuring the effective delivery of high-quality planning and environmental services to ESB Generation & Trading and other business units.

The successful candidate will bring strong technical expertise, sound judgement and leadership capability, together with excellent communication, stakeholder management and delivery skills. They will be results-driven, commercially aware and committed to safety, environmental responsibility, continuous improvement and the development of a high-performing team.

In support of ESB’s strategic objectives of decarbonising electricity, building resilient infrastructure and empowering customers, you will lead the delivery of planning, environmental consenting, compliance, engineering and ecological services that enable safe, environmentally compliant and sustainable development of electricity generation infrastructure projects, supporting ESB’s Net Zero by 2040 strategy.

Key Responsibilities

Provide leadership, direction and management to the multidisciplinary team of planning and environmental specialists ensuring the effective delivery of planning & environmental services for ESB Generation & Trading and other relevant ESB business units.

Manage the structure, resourcing, workload, performance and development of the P&E Group to ensure the team has the capability and capacity to meet current and future business needs and contribute to the management of the GECE Department, including business & resource planning, continuous improvement, technical capability development and implementation of departmental objectives.

Provide technical oversight and governance to ensure that planning and environmental outputs are robust, consistent, delivered to a high technical standard, in line with relevant legislation, policy, regulatory requirements, ESB standards and good industry practice.

Promote a strong safety, environmental and compliance culture across all activities, supporting ESB’s 2040 Strategy, Our Behaviours Framework, sustainability commitments and obligations under relevant environmental and planning legislation.

Drive continuous improvement in planning and environmental processes, systems, standards and ways of working to support efficient, consistent and high-quality service delivery.

Manage the P&E Group engagement with internal and external stakeholders and represent the P&E Group at relevant project, departmental and business unit forums, providing clear advice, reporting and recommendations to senior management as required.

Experience and Qualifications

Level 8 Town Planning/Environment Science or related Science/Engineering Degree or equivalent qualification

Minimum 10 years’ relevant work experience in planning, environmental management or a related technical discipline

Proven leadership and people management experience on multidisciplinary teams

Excellent organisational and delegation skills and the ability to manage a challenging and changing workload

Excellent communication skills in leadership, stakeholder engagement and written and verbal presentation

High level of specialist expertise, including a strong technical capability across the planning and environmental sector

Proven record of being results driven and customer oriented with a clear focus on delivery to safety, time, quality and cost goals

Strong commercial acumen and project/programme management capability demonstrating commitment to safety, environmental responsibility, continuous improvement and collaborative ways of working

Level 9 Town Planning/Environment Science or related Science / Engineering Degree or equivalent qualification

Chartered status in a recognised professional science / engineering institution.

Location

This position will be based at ESB EMP Office at The Sidings, Dublin or Eastgate, Cork. Regular attendance at EMP Office at The Sidings, Dublin is a requirement of this role - frequency to be agreed with line manager.

Smart Working at ESB is designed to make ‘in-person’ time together as purposeful as possible while also enabling the effective use of digital tools and hybrid arrangements to preserve our commitment to flexibility. The successful candidate may work flexibly within the jurisdiction where they have been employed, with attendance at the workplace for in-person collaboration at least two days per week. All Smart Working arrangements are subject to regular review based on the operational requirements of the role, the team, and the business.

Reporting To

Generation Engineering Civil and Environmental Manager, Engineering & Major Projects

Why Work with Us?

Opportunity to lead Ireland’s transition to net zero carbon future

Career development through mentoring and training

Corporate Social Responsibility Opportunities

Sports and Social Clubs

Networking opportunities

Credit Union

Access to staff well-being programmes

Generous parental leave entitlements

Strong values-based and inclusive culture

Strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion

Great team environment working to our Core Values: Courageous, Caring, Driven and Trusted

Closing Date

15th September 2026

Interview

Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will complete a Behavioural Interview based on each of the following Behaviours, which underpin how we work at ESB and are critical to delivering our strategy:

Your application will be held in reserve for 6 months should you be suitable for the role.

The successful candidate will be required to evidence their right to work in Ireland prior to commencement of employment.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement

ESB is committed to being an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all sections of society and ensure that no one is discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion or belief, ethnicity or nationality, disability, age, citizenship, marital status, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation or gender identity, or any other basis as protected by law.

Applicants who anticipate requiring assistance or reasonable accommodations for any part of the application or interview process may contact, in confidence, [e-mail].

About ESB

Join us in our mission to achieve a net-zero electricity system by 2040. ESB is Ireland’s leading energy utility, with activities spanning electricity generation, transmission and distribution, energy supply, energy services and international consultancy. Operating in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain, we invest over €1 billion each year to deliver a new energy future based on reliable, affordable zero‑carbon electricity.