Head of Retail in Carlisle

Due to growth, we are currently recruiting for a Head of Retail on behalf of a fast growing company who design, build and operate district heating networks. This work is for communities, towns, and cities. They work with local authorities, developers, house builders, and property owners. Operating for over 10 years, they have a number of offices in the UK and also overseas. Their services include the design, installation, maintenance and management of plant rooms and heat networks on behalf of local authorities and property developers. They are a fast-growing business who are looking to invest and deliver over £1bn of heat network projects in the coming years.

The Head of Retail Heat / Utility is responsible for the end-to-end delivery of customer operations across the retail function. This includes billing, metering, customer service, debt management, vulnerability support, complaints handling, change of tenancy processes, and scheduling of maintenance and breakdown response. The role ensures customers are billed accurately, supported appropriately, and receive a high standard of service, while maintaining regulatory compliance and operational efficiency. The Head of Retail will lead teams, drive performance improvements, and ensure the retail function supports the wider commercial and operational objectives of the business.

We are looking for an experienced and motivated individual to lead the retail function across our existing and future district heating projects. The primary focus of the role is ensuring our customers receive a high-quality service and experience. This role will suit someone who enjoys solving problems, improving systems and processes, and building effective customer operations within a growing organisation. The role reports to the Assets and Utilities Director. This is a permanent position, based in Cumbria, and is paying £50k - £60k per annum depending on experience. Other benefits include bonus based on individual and business performance, electric car lease scheme, 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, company pension, private healthcare, training schemes and development opportunities. It is working Monday to Friday, 37.5 hours per week.

Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day operation of the retail function serving approximately 15,000 customers, with expected growth as new networks are delivered.
• Hold P&L responsibility for the retail business line.
• Ensure the retail function complies with current and emerging heat network regulation and consumer protection requirements, including oversight from Ofgem.
• Ensure accurate and timely billing, metering data management, and customer account administration.
• Oversee customer contact channels including phone, email, and digital platforms.
• Deliver strong revenue management including debt prevention, collections and recovery.
• Monitor KPIs across the customer lifecycle and implement improvement plans where required.
• Ensure complaints are handled effectively and that lessons learned are embedded into operations.
• Oversee reporting, audits and regulatory engagement relating to customer operations.
• Lead contract reviews and service improvements.
• Oversee CRM and billing system performance (including platforms such as Zendesk).
• Identify opportunities to improve systems, automate processes and enhance operational efficiency.
• Build and lead a high-performing retail team.

Skills & Attributes

• Ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams and create a high-performance, customer-focused culture.
• Strong capability in managing operational processes such as billing, collections, metering and customer contact.
• Ability to design and deliver improvements to customer journeys and service outcomes.
• Understanding of revenue protection, cost control and financial impacts of retail operations.
• Comfortable using operational data, KPIs and reporting to support decision making.
• Able to resolve complex operational issues and balance customer, regulatory and commercial considerations.
• Understanding of customer operations within regulated customer service environments and/or utilities or energy supply.
• Understanding of billing, customer account management and revenue management processes.
• Experience using CRM and billing platforms to manage customer operations and reporting.
• Clear communicator able to work effectively across operational, technical and commercial teams.
• Ability to assess performance and challenge underperformance through KPIs and structured improvement programmes.
• Self-driven and results-oriented, with a focus on delivering practical solutions and successful outcomes.
• Fully IT proficient, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel and standard communication systems.