Head of O&M in Southampton

Astute's Renewables Team is partnering exclusively with Sunne Energy, a fast-growing, high-quality renewable energy provider with a commitment to long-term client care and technical excellence, to recruit a Head of O&M who will manage their existing portfolio and drive growth across Solar O&M, EV and Energy Management services. This is a high-impact position offering a competitive salary, hybrid working, annual bonus and long-term progression in one of the UK's most exciting clean energy scale-ups. If you're a senior solar specialist looking to join an organisation that puts integrity, quality and people at the heart of everything it does, submit your CV to apply today.

Responsibilities and duties

• Manage 100+ operational sites and oversee all operational activity.
• Lead delivery of Sunne's O&M solar portfolio, including EV charging installations and energy management services.
• Operational planning: annual site inspections, site cleaning, site monitoring, and reactive maintenance.
• Coordinate subcontractors nationally, manage stakeholder queries, and ensure safe, high-quality, on‑time delivery.
• Manage client communication, service updates, performance reporting, and issue resolution.
• Prepare and issue O&M proposals, scopes, and quotations.
• Maintain accurate documentation, including service logs, warranties, and reports.
• Support the wider team with technical queries and operational planning.
• Identify opportunities for upgrades, performance improvements, and new service agreements.
• Take ownership of daily operations, improve processes, drive efficiency, and support business scalability.

Qualifications

• Experience in commercial Solar PV or related energy systems.
• Knowledge of O&M, performance monitoring and fault resolution.
• Strong organisational, scheduling and coordination skills.
• Proven experience engaging confidently with clients and contractors.
• Commercial understanding (pricing, quoting, margins & BD support).
• Electrical / technical background (hands‑on or supervisory).
• Experience with Solis, SolarEdge or Fronius monitoring platforms.
• Familiarity with workflow management systems (e.g., Asana).

Personal skills

• Proactive and able to take ownership without waiting for instruction.
• Confident, client‑focused and excellent at building relationships.
• Highly organised with the ability to manage multiple sites and priorities.
• Detail‑driven, quality‑focused and committed to long‑term customer care.
• Comfortable working within a dynamic, fast‑growth environment.
• Capable of taking full ownership of O&M solar portfolio.

Salary and benefits

• Competitive basic salary.
• Annual bonus.
• Flexible hybrid working options.
• Ownership of a rapidly growing O&M, EV and energy management portfolio.
• Direct access to the founding team and real influence on strategy.
• Long‑term progression in one of the first 5‑10 hires of a scaling energy business.

Astute People are acting as an employment agency in relation to this vacancy. We do not discriminate on the grounds of age, race, gender, disability, creed or sexual orientation and comply with all relevant UK legislation. We encourage applications from individuals from all backgrounds but candidates must be able to demonstrate their ability to work in the UK. Astute is also committed to the government's Disability Confident Employer initiative. We endeavour to get back to everyone, however, if you have not heard anything after 7 days, please consider your application unsuccessful.