An exciting opportunity is available for a Connections Strategy Engineer, the location of the role can be flexible and will be agreed with the successful candidate although regular attendance at our offices in Bristol, Tipton and/or Castle Donington will be required. Reporting to the Head of Connections, you will be responsible for:

• The formulation, development, maintenance, administration and review of Company Connection strategy and policy to meet Company objectives and satisfy Licence and regulatory requirements.
• The development, review and improvement of Connections strategy, processes and tools to facilitate and enable a quicker and improved customer journey.
• Manage, supervise and assist Connections Strategy Team Members
• Contribution to the development, maintenance and review of other Company policy.
• The development, maintenance and review of a suite of materials that can be used to disseminate policy changes and updates.
• Provision of technical consultancy within the Company and to external stakeholders on Connections Strategy and specialism.
• Maintaining up to date knowledge on NGED policy and specialism.

As part of our hybrid working approach this role offers a mix of office and home working. Hybrid working can only be considered once your initial training is complete and subject to business need.

The successful candidate may initially be appointed on a lower salary until all training/courses have been completed.

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 Southwest 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.

National Grid employs over 29,000 people worldwide. We are building an inclusive workplace, a place to actively celebrate the cultures, personalities and preferences of our colleagues – who in turn help to build the success of our business and reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. Our vision is to be at the heart of a clean, fair and affordable energy future and we are doing this in a fast-moving industry with an increasing focus on tackling climate change, exploring new energy sources that are renewable, low carbon, and improve efficiency to meet demand.

NGED’s principle objective is to offer an excellent service to our customers and stakeholders. The Customer Excellence team plays a pivotal role in supporting the business to achieve this and is responsible for the Contact Centre, Connections and Connections Reform teams and the Customer Performance team.

All roles and objectives within the Customer Excellence directorate are aligned in that you’ll be actively involved in engaging with customers and stakeholders and across the NGED business with the key objective of improving and enhancing the service that we provide for customers; whether that be in operational support roles in the Contact Centre through to business support and analytical roles in our Connections, Connections Reform & Customer Performance teams.

In ED2, our success will be judged by our connections service from enabling LCT connections at domestic properties through to connecting new houses and EV charge points through to connecting large demand and generation projects to our EHV and 132kV networks. The Connections teams plays a pivotal role in supporting the business to achieve this. The Connections team is responsible for ensuring that we have the correct connection policies and strategies to enable connections now and in the future, that we’re achieving our connections commercial objectives, that we’re strategically engaging with, and improving our service for, customers and stakeholders throughout the connections journey life cycle and that we are digitalising our connections processes to enhance our service to customers whilst improving our business efficiency.

In addition you may also be responsible for:

• Management and supervision of Connections Strategy Team Members
• Maintain and develop Connection Policy documents and packages, to include but not limited to: - Statements of Methodology and Charges, offer letters and guidance documents, CROWN terms and estimating/charging packages and Connection agreements.
• Present/brief Connections strategy and policy matters to NGED teams and external stakeholders.
• Support to Primary Network Design and Network Services in a technical consultancy role on specialism.
• Provision of a support service to provide guidance and advice on policy applications and interpretations
• Be aware of the work of colleagues in Connections Strategy Team to provide cover for their activities and specialisms.
• Provide support to the Training Centre
• Respond to external consultations related to specialism
• Deliver results on time, to required quality standards and to budget, to fulfil the business plan and achieve/support company goals.
• Participation in related Connections Strategy national groups/working groups/forums.
• Maintain contact through activities of professional bodies/national and international committees and other professionals involved in similar work in other utilities
• Organisation and membership of specialist panels.
• Engage and support the business and external stakeholders in Connections Strategy and Policy
• Coordinate and prepare responses to Ofgem Significant Code Reviews & other change proposals
• Regulatory reporting/Annual reports.

Specialism: Connections Performance & Commercial/ Operational Strategy

Responsible for: -

• Development and use of performance measures, systems and solutions to drive improved performance in connections activities.
• Current and future CiCs/ICPs/IDNO strategy
• CiCs/ICPs/IDNOs engagement and workshops
• Current and future CiCs/ICPs/IDNO and associated Policy documents
• Internal training and support for PND and NWS Planners including support for centralised teams delivering connections activities.

The successful candidate will be educated to at least HNC level with good engineering knowledge.  Be able to demonstrate excellent communication skills along with the ability to provide training and advice in formal and informal groups in a range of different settings.  Knowledge of connections strategy and policies within a regulated utility industry would be beneficial.

You will need to be able to travel as this role requires regular visits to other sites therefore holding a full and valid driving licence will also be beneficial.

Previous applicants that have applied in the last 3 months, need not apply on this occasion.

Joining the UK’s leading electricity distribution business means plenty of career opportunities and well-deserved recognition. We reward hard work and encourage ambition. So, as well as a competitive salary, you will also benefit from:

• 26 days paid leave plus 8 bank holidays, up to 28 days with continuous service
• Competitive contributory pension scheme (we double match your contributions up to a maximum of 12%)
• Annual Share Save plan
• Contributory private healthcare scheme for you and your family
• Support via our Employee Assistance Programme, including musculoskeletal and physiotherapy services
• Free on-site parking at all our main sites

Things you need to know

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 applications 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 at interview stage. If you require additional support to complete your online application, please email nged.recruitment@nationalgrid.co.uk

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

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early should sufficient numbers of suitable applications be received, so it would be best to apply as soon as you can.