UK - Shift Plant Operator, Protos

JOIN US IN MAKING A REAL DIFFERENCE TO THE WORLD WE LIVE IN!

Who are ENCYCLIS?

Encyclis are dedicated to the safe, efficient and sustainable recovery of energy from waste. We develop and operate energy recovery facilities that bring together technical expertise and state-of-the-art equipment to optimise efficiency, performance and safety.

Our state-of-the-art facilities provide a more sustainable option to process residual waste that would otherwise have been directed to landfill. This utilisation of residual waste provides essential and a sustainable alternative to support baseload electrical production, supplement district heat demand and other practical resources to accelerate the circular economy of the future.

Encyclis currently has under construction the Protos Energy Recovery Facility in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. Further to the operating units in Dublin, Milton Keynes, and Loughborough, this is the fourth project within the UK.

You will be joining a team of highly skilled, diverse individuals and a business that applauds their successes, loves idea sharing and values its people.

We offer fantastic benefits here!

We encourage all applicants to apply as soon as possible as we may close vacancies early if we receive a high number of applications.

The Opportunity

We are looking for an experienced DCS / Control Room Operators to join the operations team at Protos Energy Recovery Facility as a Shift Plant Operator. This is a critical role at the heart of our operations, where you will oversee and control the plant through the Distributed Control System (DCS) to ensure the facility runs safely, efficiently and in compliance with environmental permits.

Reporting directly to the Shift Team Leader, the Shift Plant Operator will work in accordance with Encyclis procedures, whilst ensuring the facility is operationally compliant with the Environmental Permit and all related emissions to air, land and water.

Nothing is more important than safety. It is the first of our company values.

A safe, healthy, risk-aware workplace improves the wellbeing of our team, our partners, the local community we serve and the planet we must protect. We set stringent standards and strive to go even further, every day.

Protos Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) will provide 500,000 tonnes of annual treatment capacity for non-recyclable waste when it becomes operational in 2026.

The facility, which is now in commissioning, is located near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, within the Protos strategic energy and resource hub.

In processing non-recyclable residual waste, the Protos ERF will generate up to 49.9 megawatts of electricity – enough to power 75,000 UK homes.

Protos ERF will be the home of the UK’s first full-scale carbon capture facility for Energy-from-Waste.

As part of a programme led by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, our Protos carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant has been selected as a lead project. Work to build the CCS plant is already underway and when it starts operating in 2029, it will prevent up to 370,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere – the equivalent of taking 200,000 cars off the road.

Encyclis also operates facilities in Bedford and Loughborough, with another facility under construction in Walsall.

Join us in our mission to create a sustainable future by applying for a position at Encyclis. Be part of the innovative Protos team and help shape the future of energy recovery.

What We Need From You

Key Duties & Responsibilities of the role

• Operate the facility in a safe, efficient and environmentally compliant manner on a shift rotation basis. This includes waste feeding and overhead cranes, combustion of municipal and commercial waste streams, low pressure and high-pressure steam systems, fans, pumps, steam turbine generator, ash handling, water treatment processes, boiler water chemistry, conveyors, filter systems and valves.
• Develop, implement, and maintain the facilities operational procedures and risk assessments (SOPRA’s).
• The Shift Plant Operator will take an active role in promoting, monitoring and improving the site H&S performance including safety inspections, routines and participation in H&S meetings and forums.
• Operate the facility in a safe and environmentally compliant manner whilst ensuring efficient operation on a shift rotation basis, including night and weekend shift working.
• Support and drive teamwork with a one team approach for safety, operation and problem solving.
• Report any Health, Safety and Environmental accidents, incidents or unsafe conditions to the Shift Team Leader.
• Attain and maintain authorisation to support the delivery of Encyclis’s Safe Systems of Work and Site Safety Rules and training towards Senior Authorised Person (SAP).
• Perform roles of Permit Issuer, Encyclis Representation (EnRep), Designated Person (Isolations) amongst others as deemed necessary by the Operations Manager.
• Support the STL with coordination and communication of the safe working practices of site staff and contractors.
• Liaise closely with the maintenance teams on all planned and unplanned maintenance activities including removing plant and apparatus from operation, returning the plant to service and effective communication and coordination of plant start-ups and shutdowns.
• Participate in operational improvement processes and corrective actions, defect notifications and rectification.
• During emergency situations the Shift Plant Operator will coordinate with the emergency services and operate the facility to a safe shut condition, under the direction of the Shift Team Leader.
• Participate in training days to ensure competence of the SPO role is maintained, as deemed required by the Operations Manager.
• Provide role cover for the other Shift Plant Operators as deemed required by the Operations Manager.
• Complete training to be able to cover the Shift Team Leader and Senior Authorised Person (SAP).

Control Room specific duties

• The ability to operate and interrogate the plant from the Distributed Control System (DCS).
• Coordinate and instruct operational activities with the Shift Plant Operator who is assigned for that shift to Plant specific duties along with Day Operations team.
• Supervisory responsibilities: this is regarded a position of responsibility as the main point of contact for the Control Room, to support the Shift Team Leader along with the operational and maintenance activities across the operational facility.

Plant specific duties

• Carry out basic first line PPMs and operational tasks as directed by the Shift Team Leader and support the maintenance department with routine and non-routine maintenance activities.
• Perform all on-plant duties, including operational tasks and routines.
• Support the dayshift operations with their duties and be flexible to the needs of the facility.
• Take ownership of plant cleanliness and ensure high standards of housekeeping are maintained.
• Take deliveries of consumables and monitor and manage consumable stock levels.
• Work in accordance with safe operational procedures and risk assessments (SOPRA’s).
• Support the Shift Team Leader with coordination and communication of the safe working practices of site staff and contractors.
• Undertake training to safely operate mobile plant and overhead cranes.

Experience Needed

• Proven experience operating modern DCS systems, with at least 3 years’ experience operating modern DCS systems in a large process environment (e.g. energy recovery, power generation, chemical, or heavy industry).
• Strong technical background in process plant operations (e.g. boilers, turbines, fans, pumps, conveyors, valves).
• Ability to read and interpret P&IDs, schematics and technical drawings.
• Calm, decisive and safety-driven under pressure, with excellent problem-solving ability.
• Act as the main point of contact in the Control Room, supporting the Shift Team Leader.
• Manage safe start-up and shutdown of plant equipment.
• Respond to abnormal or emergency conditions via the DCS, ensuring the facility is brought to a safe condition.

If you have the DCS expertise, technical background, and safety-first mindset to excel in this role detailed below, apply today to join the operations team at Protos ERF.

Qualifications

• The preferred level of education is National Diploma or National Vocational Qualification Level 3 or 2 in a technical or science subject, although relevant other qualifications with energy recovery or large process plant experience will be considered for the role.

Want to know more about what we do?

Check out this video of one of our facilities, Rookery South in Bedford, here!