Outage Technical Specialist

We have an exciting opportunity for an Outage Technical Specialist to join the London Water Operations Team.

Our 2025-2030 business plan is the largest in Thames Water’s history, and we are making major investments at some of our key sites. Most, if not all, of these projects are going to need planned outages

This role will develop and deliver the outage plan for North East London's clean water assets – enabling the essential work to meet our regulatory commitments whilst ensuring safe & resilient operation of the supply system.

• Base Location: Coppermills (E17 7HE). Additional travel across London to other sites for training and meetings will be required.
• Working Pattern: Hybrid - 36 hours per week (Mon-Fri) 07:30 – 15:30, as well as inclusion on an out-of-hours rota once fully trained, for which you will receive additional payment.
• Full UK Driving License Required.

 What will you be doing as an Outage Technical Specialist?

• Communicate clearly with all stakeholders about their outage needs and allocated slots and dependencies, making informed decisions to meet required outcomes. 
• Manage the enabling activities for all Coppermills and North East London planned outages. This involves leading outage delivery critical enablers to ensure completion in sufficient time or using risk assessment to escalate where this will not be achieved. 
• Provide visible leadership by completing health and safety audits, reporting safety observations and supporting the site teams with the resolution of safety issues. 
• Attend relevant site operations meetings, taking a lead in outage plan management, aligning with the performance targets of the North East London Area Operations Manager.
• Technical Competence: Continuously develops and maintains operational expertise. Gain a full understanding of the Coppermills and North East London production sites and processes to be able to facilitate project scope visits by contractors as required.
• Work to tight timescales with multiple stakeholders to deliver projects and enable activities on time and within scope.
• Raise risks at the local Responsible Persons and risk meetings, working with the Risk Optimisation Coordinator/Technical Manager to ensure these are captured on the corporate risk system.
• Incorporate on-site tank inspections into the outage plan to meet all regulatory and statutory deadlines.
• Deliver key outages required to complete the Ofwat-funded schemes on time.
• Ensure that the Coppermills major project outage plan is complementary to the wider London outage plan to deliver all activities at an agreed level of risk.
• Risks to site output, resilience and quality are fully understood, communicated and mitigated in agreement with other outage stakeholders.

What should you bring to the role? 

• Knowledge of water treatment or waste treatment operations is desirable. Training will be provided through completion of Management of Water Production.
• Experience in project or programme management is desirable.
• Good communication and the ability to develop effective relationships are essential.
• Confidence to present, lead and influence teams with different skills and backgrounds collaboratively.
• IOSH/NEBOSH or equivalent is desirable.
• Strong IT skills (especially Excel) and an ability to interrogate data to produce and manage achievable plans.
• Excellent organisational skills and a keen eye for detail.
• Ability to deliver against stretching operational targets and deliver to a plan.
• Financial and commercial acumen is desirable.

What’s in it for you? 

• Offering a salary of up to £57,000 per annum, depending on skills and experience (additional payment will be provided for OHC Coordinator standby).
• Opportunity to complete the Management of Water Production training course and other health and safety and role-specific training.
• Annual Leave: 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (plus bank holidays) 
• Performance Related Pay Plan (PRPP): Max (of salary) = 10%. On target (of salary) = 5%.
• Pension: Maximum of 12% - 2x employee contribution.
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Generous Paternity Leave, including 4 weeks paid and an optional 2 weeks unpaid. 
• Enhanced Maternity Leave, 26 weeks full pay and 13 weeks half pay! 
• Ongoing performance development reviews to help you be your best and identify growth opportunities. 
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of your and your family’s health and well-being, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks

Who are we?

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.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water

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 fast-tracked career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.
Whether you’re interested in a role in one of our call centres or science labs, we’re looking for people like you with real passion and a burning desire to make things better.

So, 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 of 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.

Our overarching aim is to ensure that Thames Water is a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and offer extra support for those who need it throughout the recruitment process. Our aim is to remove any real or perceived barriers to success, so if you need assistance, we’re here to help 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.