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- Tasks: Lead major infrastructure projects, ensuring safety and efficiency in delivery.
- Company: Dynamic company focused on innovative infrastructure solutions.
- Benefits: Private medical insurance, generous holiday, performance bonuses, and flexible benefits.
- Other info: Opportunities for professional development and a supportive work environment.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on community infrastructure while leading diverse teams.
- Qualifications: Experience in project management and a passion for customer service.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 70000 £ per year.
Be the leader that powers safe, reliable delivery. As our Operations Manager, you'll take the lead in delivering our mains replacement programme across East London, ensuring projects are completed safely, efficiently, and to the highest standards. You'll be responsible for leading the safe, efficient delivery of contracted works to time, cost, and quality, while managing all aspects of project delivery including planning, budgets, risks, and resources.
From embedding a strong safety and process safety culture across teams and partners, to providing first‑line assurance across all operational and contractual activities, this role sits at the heart of driving performance and compliance. You'll produce accurate monthly reporting across SHE, financials, and programme delivery, while challenging teams to deliver innovative, efficient, and fit‑for‑purpose solutions.
Working closely with internal teams, strategic partners, and contractors, you'll ensure robust contractual governance across all delivery partners, build strong stakeholder relationships, and support community engagement on major infrastructure schemes. You'll also play a key role in driving awareness of regulatory requirements (RIIO) across engineering teams, ensuring we consistently deliver against business and regulatory expectations.
Why you'll love this role
- Lead with Purpose: Take ownership of a major infrastructure programme with an annual value of circa £50m, shaping delivery and performance across multiple teams and partners.
- Safety First, Always: Champion a proactive safety culture, embedding process safety and ensuring compliance with all operational and engineering standards.
- Customer at the Heart: Drive a customer‑first mindset—ensuring inquiries and complaints are handled effectively and continuously improving the customer experience.
- Influence & Improve: Lead investigations, share best practice, and drive continuous improvement across SHESQ and project delivery.
- Collaborative Delivery: Work closely with strategic partners, supply chain, and internal stakeholders to deliver projects efficiently and to specification.
- Make an Impact: Support innovation, new systems, and smarter ways of working—helping to shape the future of how we deliver infrastructure projects.
What you'll bring
- Proven project or contract management experience within a complex operational environment.
- Strong understanding of engineering or infrastructure project delivery.
- Solid commercial acumen and ability to manage budgets and contracts effectively.
- A passion for customer experience and service excellence.
- Strong leadership skills with experience managing teams (direct and indirect).
- Knowledge of Cadent procedures (or similar frameworks) is advantageous.
Qualifications:
- Degree (or equivalent experience).
- Membership of a relevant professional body (desirable).
What's In It for You
- Private Medical Insurance for you, your partner and your family available through MyChoices, our flexible benefits programme, with access to a 24 hour Bupa HealthLine.
- 25 days' holiday, plus 8 statutory days and an option to buy or sell holiday days.
- An Annual Performance Bonus of up to 15% of your salary.
- A generous pension scheme where the company double matches your contributions up to 12% i.e. if you contribute 6% a month, the company will contribute 12%.
- A competitive salary that's reviewed each year against the market median salary for your role, skills, knowledge and experience.
- Generous family policies and flexible benefits.
- A free Employee Assistance Line where you can get support and advice on any of the challenges you're facing, completely confidentially.
- Support to help you cover the cost of professional membership subscriptions, course fees, books, examination fees and time off for study leave - so long as it's relevant to your role.
- Plus many more benefits that help you join the dots between your work and home life!
Operations Manager in Wickford employer: Cadent
Contact Detail:
Cadent Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Operations Manager in Wickford
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to people in the industry, attend events, and connect with potential colleagues on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its projects. Understand their values and how they align with your experience. This will help you showcase how you can contribute to their operations and safety culture.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice your answers to common interview questions, especially those related to project management and safety compliance. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your responses and highlight your achievements.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets noticed. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are genuinely interested in joining our team and making an impact in infrastructure delivery.
We think you need these skills to ace Operations Manager in Wickford
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Operations Manager role. Highlight your project management experience and how it aligns with our focus on safety, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
Showcase Your Leadership Skills: We want to see your leadership style! Share examples of how you've successfully managed teams and projects in the past, especially in complex operational environments. This will help us understand how you can drive performance and compliance.
Be Clear and Concise: When writing your application, keep it straightforward. Use clear language and avoid jargon. We appreciate a well-structured application that gets straight to the point while showcasing your skills and experiences.
Apply Through Our Website: Don’t forget to submit your application through our website! It’s the best way for us to receive your details and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it shows you’re keen to join our team at StudySmarter!
How to prepare for a job interview at Cadent
✨Know Your Projects
Before the interview, dive deep into the specifics of the mains replacement programme and similar projects. Understand the challenges and successes in delivering infrastructure projects, especially in East London. This will help you speak confidently about how your experience aligns with their needs.
✨Safety First Mindset
Given the emphasis on safety in the role, be prepared to discuss your approach to embedding a safety culture. Share examples from your past where you successfully implemented safety protocols or improved compliance, showcasing your commitment to a proactive safety environment.
✨Showcase Leadership Skills
Highlight your leadership experience by discussing how you've managed teams and driven performance in previous roles. Be ready to provide specific examples of how you've influenced team dynamics and fostered collaboration among diverse stakeholders.
✨Customer-Centric Approach
Since customer experience is key, prepare to talk about how you've handled inquiries and complaints effectively. Share instances where you improved customer satisfaction and how you plan to maintain a customer-first mindset in this new role.