Opportunities have arisen for Project Support Specialists in the Primary System Design (PSD) Teams based in the Bristol, Cardiff, Castle Donington and Tipton offices. 6 opportunities are available as follows:

East Midlands – 1
South Wales – 1
South West – 2
West Midlands - 2

The Primary System Design team is responsible for 33kV, 66kV and 132kV new load or generation connections enquiries, the design of the 132kV, 66kV and 33kV distribution network throughout National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED), and for the provision of technical support to Network Services and other teams within NGED.

As a Project Support Specialist you will be accountable to the Primary System Design Team Manager and responsible for project managing a portfolio of accepted connection offers and relevant upstream reinforcement schemes from acceptance to energisation ensuring timely progression. You will be required to coordinate and engage autonomously with both internal and external stakeholders to ensure timely, safe and on budget delivery of schemes.

Rewarding success and development is important to us and as part of this role you’ll receive annual salary increases.

* Please note that if you do not hold all the necessary experience to undertake the role in full, you may initially be appointed on a lower salary, until training is complete.

If you are offered a position, you will be required to successfully complete a basic DBS check that shows any unspent convictions or conditional cautions.

We’re National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED), the owner and operator behind the electricity distribution systems for the Midlands, the South West of England and South Wales. Serving communities of more than 8 million people, our expert teams deliver heat, light and power for homes and businesses, working outdoors with underground cables, overhead lines and substations that operate between 230 and 132,000 volts.

6,700 colleagues share our vision to be at the heart of a clean, fair, affordable energy future. If this appeals to you too, you could soon work in a supportive, rewarding and friendly environment that empowers everyone to succeed. We live by our values of doing the right thing, finding a better way and using our drive to make things happen every day. That’s why we’ll help you build a worthwhile career to be proud of – whatever your role and passion. Together we can bring energy to life using your enthusiasm and the latest technology.

Net-zero targets are transforming the way we work and increasing the scope of the positive impact we can make. Right now, we’re looking for Substation Design Engineers.

• Be the main point of customer contact following the acceptance of a connection offer.
• Oversee a portfolio of new connection and reinforcement schemes.
• Liaise with various internal and external stakeholders to ensure timely and on budget delivery of schemes.
• Maintain regular contact with the Project Engineer – responsible for the onsite project delivery - and other project stakeholders to ensure appropriate tasks (surveys, equipment orders etc.) have been proactively actioned in order to meet the aspirational connection dates.
• Maintain regular contact with the Consents & Wayleaves specialist to ensure appropriate legal cover is being obtained with the intention of informing / chasing the customer as required.
• Support engagement with the NGED policy, Connections Strategy and the Legal teams to close out technical, commercial and legal queries as appropriate.
• Draft and issue customer connection offer variations reflecting timescale, scope and cost variations, and create updated scheme versions in NGED’s Connections management and estimating tool (CROWN).
• Manage and track customer connection offer milestones, and ensure appropriate queue management of accepted schemes.
• Set up and arrange initial scheme kick off meetings (to be chaired by the relevant PSD Engineer).
• Attend regular connection/project review meetings.
• Draft and secure advanced financial sanction.
• Engage and commission (issue work instruction) various initial scheme surveys with various external and internal providers i.e. overhead line (tower/wood pole) surveys, underground cable route surveys, wayleave instructions, communication surveys etc.
• Ensure all necessary internal surveys are completed promptly to facilitate the timely submission of the customer’s technical reports (P28, P29, G5 etc.) for approval by NGED.
• Circulate Independent Connection Provider (ICP) design submissions to relevant NGED teams for review and, where possible, use knowledge and experience of NGED Policy and Standard Techniques to comment on the proposals.
• Support PSD Engineers with production of some Construction, Design and Management (CDM) documents i.e. only relating to PSD responsibilities e.g. initial F10 notification, etc.
• To ensure the project remains “cash positive” through the inspection of internal reporting tools (e.g. WebFocus), liaison with Project Engineers and other key stakeholders.
• Ensuring substation, Line loss Factors (LLF) and MPAN numbers are created and issued to the customer.
• Assisting to create and vary formal Agreements and ensuring they are issued and signed prior to energisation.
• Updating relevant enquiry activities on CROWN and other internal trackers.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills including report writing, presentation skills and an ability to communicate at all levels.
• The ability to develop good working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ideally have project and programme management experience and be able to evidence a strong ability to manage finances. 
• Have good attention to detail and able to act autonomously within the constraints set by the PSD Team Manager.
• The ability to plan, organise and manage multiple activities and meet tight deadlines.
• A project management qualification will be preferable but not essential.

If you join us you will enjoy a package of benefits designed to reward your hard work and incentivise your ambition. In addition to your competitive salary, we offer a competitive contributory pension scheme where the company will double match your pension contributions up to a maximum company contribution of 10%. You will also have access, subject to eligibility criteria, to join our annual Share Save plan.

You will be entitled to 23 days annual leave entitlement, plus 8 bank holidays rising to 26 days on completion of training. Protective clothing and Safety Equipment will be provided where required and we offer free parking at all main sites. In addition, you will be able to access support via our Employee Assistance Programme, including musculoskeletal and physiotherapy services.

As an equal opportunities employer who is committed to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, we celebrate individual difference and are actively bringing in more employees from diverse backgrounds to build on our inclusive culture. We anonymise all jobs in our recruitment system, so we can eliminate unconscious bias and be a workplace that reflects the community we serve. Hiring managers only have access to necessary information after shortlisting has taken place and before interview so they can prepare.

Additional Application Information

Recruitment correspondence is usually sent by email, so please do check your email account including spam/junk folders regularly after the closing date.

To enhance your candidate experience, we recommend using Google Chrome to complete your online application. Should you have any questions regarding this or require additional support to complete your online application, please email nged.recruitment@nationalgrid.co.uk

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early should sufficient numbers of suitable applications be received. We recommend that you submit your application as soon as possible.