Location
Hybrid – Clearwater Court, Reading, RG1 8DB, with occasional travel to various depots and offices.

Hours
Full Time - Monday to Friday, 36 hours per week.

Salary
Up to £50,000 per annum, depending on skills and experience, plus £4,500 car allowance.

About the Role
We are seeking a full-time, permanent Operational Support Lead to join our Repair & Maintenance and Networks function within Operations. In this pivotal role, you will drive continuous improvement of R&M and Networks operations performance by creating and delivering new processes, providing robust governance, performance reporting, and coordinating stakeholders to support operational excellence. You will be central to embedding and transforming the function’s future, working closely with senior leaders, operational teams, and contract partners to deliver meaningful and sustainable change aligned with performance, regulatory, health & safety, and commercial objectives.

Your key responsibilities will include acting as the regional point of contact for supplier relationships, leading and developing a small operational support team, providing insight and forecasts to meet year-end goals, and owning tactical projects to improve performance and customer experience. You will analyse trends, recommend operational and process enhancements, collaborate with the Transformation and Commercial teams, and manage supplier onboarding and compliance. Additionally, you will coordinate mandatory training, support front-line teams with equipment and documentation, facilitate supervisor working patterns for standby and holiday coverage, manage contractors and employees to ensure data integrity, and support data and insight teams with performance reporting. You will also contribute to delivering safety and wellbeing improvement plans in partnership with the lead team.

This role offers an exciting opportunity to influence operational success and transformation within a leading water company, contributing directly to the delivery of excellent service and sustainable business practices.

Experience
- Proven track record in project delivery with demonstrated success against commercial and operational objectives.
- Experience leading a small team and influencing cross-functional teams to achieve goals.
- Competent in using IT systems and Microsoft Office software.
- Ability to prepare documentation for risk review sessions.
- Confident presenter capable of communicating effectively with frontline workforce and senior corporate stakeholders.

About you
- Full UK driving licence.
- Practical and intuitive thinker with the ability to identify problems before they arise.
- Tenacious and resilient individual able to work confidently in a challenging and reactive environment.
- Adaptable communication style suitable for diverse audiences.
- Ability to clearly articulate business cases linked to benefits and risks.

Qualifications
- No specific qualifications required; emphasis is on relevant experience, skills, and a proactive attitude.