Director of Engineering and Sustainability - NI Water

Director of Engineering and Sustainability - NI Water

Due to an upcoming retirement, Corvus has been retained by Northern Ireland Water (NI Water) to recruit a Director of Engineering and Sustainability.

NI Water is a Government Owned Company (GoCo), set up in April 2007 to provide water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland.

Their Values are Respect, Excellence, Customer, Integrity & Sustainability. Their Purpose is "To provide the water for life we all rely on to thrive" and their Vision is "To grow value & trust by being world-class". They employ over 1300 people and last year their turnover was £338M.

NI Water deliver clean, safe drinking water to approximately 900,000 households and businesses in Northern Ireland, supplying customers with 605 million litres of good quality drinking water every day. They collect 373 million litres of wastewater per day from around 736,000 households and organisations connected to the sewerage system, for treatment and safe disposal.

About the role:

You will be a key member of the Executive Committee, accountable for the overall performance for the business. Managing up to 7 direct reports and leading a multi-disciplinary team of 150+ employees, you will own the asset management (assets valued at £3bn+) and sustainability aspects of the business. You'll be an expert strategist, always looking forward to maintaining, improving and future-proofing NI Water's assets.

You will be responsible for the effective management of the Engineering & Sustainability Directorate's budgets which are in the order of c£20m capital expenditure and c£10m operating expenditure per annum. In addition, you will define the c£250m-£300m per annum capital programme for delivery by the Infrastructure Team.

NI Water is embarking on a large programme of work worth £900M over 6 years, and working closely with the Director of Infrastructure Delivery, you'll support the delivery of this ambitious programme to ensure best value for money for NI Water. The ramp up of work is significant - over the past two years investment has been at £(Apply online only)M, and this will increase to £240M in 2023 and to £400M per year thereafter.

You will lead their Strategic Asset Management practices to identify the needs and interventions required for all NI Waters £3bn asset base. Developing best practice in Asset Management, through the full implementation of ISO 55001, driving cross-directorate collaborative working and collective decision-making.

You will develop a NI Water Engineering Assurance service, an in-house, multi-disciplinary centre of excellence including Process, M&E and Civil Engineering. You will also be responsible for leading the development of a NI Water Science Hub which will process 200,000 samples per year.

Area of responsibilities: Engineering, Analytical Services (including Water Quality Regulation), Environmental Regulation, Climate Change & Sustainability, Asset Strategy and Planning (Water and Wastewater assets), Investment Management and Strategic Business Planning.

About you:

You will be experienced in leading and motivating multidisciplinary teams, respectfully challenging the status quo while driving confidence in teams.

As a natural collaborator, you'll be driven by a desire to bring people together to analyse and solve complex problems based on the information available to you.

You will be a strategic thinker, anticipating, managing & communicating the long-term direction and the impact of the present.

Experienced in leading change, you'll consider all aspects of people, process & systems to deliver quality & value for money for NI Water customers.

You will be a confident communicator with the ability to brief & present to Senior Civil Servants & Government Ministers.

You will have a strong knowledge of Asset Management principles & activities with experience in appraising investment options while applying whole life costing principles.

Essential Qualification:

Qualified to degree level with 7 years' relevant, senior leadership experience or have 10 years' relevant, senior leadership experience.

Evidence of continuous professional and leadership skill development.

Essential experience

With specific reference to dates, 7 years' significant, relevant, and successful experience of:

1. Working in a strategic leadership role in an asset intensive, multi-disciplinary, complex, political, stakeholder environment managing large, multifaceted proposals, projects and change initiatives which deliver measurable improvements in business performance.

2. Building high performing teams and engaging in collaborative working with senior colleagues, teams, and supply chain.

3. Reporting at Board/Senior Leadership level, including presentation of business strategies, policy, or investment decisions.

4. Influencing and negotiating all levels, both internally and externally, with key stakeholders, using a range of communication skills and styles.

5. Strategic Asset Management, preparation of regulatory business plans and associated capital investment plans, based on strong analytical evidence.

For more information or to apply:

Click apply or contact Michael Hewitt on (phone number removed) for a confidential discussion.

A full applicant information pack including Job Description & Person Specification can be requested by emailing niwater@corvus.jobs

The closing date for applications is 24th February 2023 at 2pm. No applications will be accepted after this time and date.

Please note that you are not required to complete an Application Form in this process, so please ensure you evidence your suitability against the essential criteria in your CV.

Northern Ireland Water is an equal opportunities employer