Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Manager - BESS

Location: UK-wide

Reports to: Head of Operations

Employment Type: Full-time, Permanent

Role Overview:

We are seeking a highly motivated Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Manager to lead our growing team of BESS Field Service Engineers responsible for the commissioning, maintenance, and repair of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) across multiple sites in the UK. The O&M Manager will ensure high operational uptime, safety compliance, and technical excellence, while also supporting continuous improvement across the organisation. This is a hands-on management role requiring a strong technical foundation, leadership skills, and the ability to balance operational priorities with strategic planning.

Key Responsibilities:

• Team & Operations Management: Lead, supervise, and coordinate day-to-day operations of the BESS Field Service Engineering team across designated regions. Develop and manage team schedules, work assignments, site coverage, and resource allocation. Serve as the escalation point for technical issues or high-priority field failures.
• Performance & Quality Oversight: Ensure timely completion of preventive maintenance, system upgrades, troubleshooting, and emergency response at all BESS sites. Oversee implementation of standard operating procedures and ensure compliance with local and national safety regulations. Monitor field performance metrics, analysing data from monitoring systems to identify trends and drive improvement.
• Safety & Compliance: Ensure all work is conducted in accordance with HSE standards and regulatory requirements. Perform risk assessments and ensure all personnel adhere to safe work practices, including those involving HV systems, confined spaces, and working at heights. Maintain records for audits and compliance reporting.
• Customer & Stakeholder Engagement: Act as the technical liaison for internal stakeholders, project managers, and external clients regarding system performance and field operations. Support customer satisfaction by ensuring service excellence and timely resolution of on-site issues.
• Training & Development: Mentor, coach, and develop field engineers, supporting training initiatives and technical upskilling, particularly around BESS technology, power electronics, and IT/networking systems. Participate in recruitment and onboarding of new engineering team members.
• Continuous Improvement & Reporting: Identify and implement improvements to maintenance processes, spare parts logistics, remote diagnostics, and fault analysis. Contribute field insights to engineering teams for product and design improvements. Produce monthly O&M performance reports, including KPIs, downtime analysis, and incident reviews.

Requirements:

Essential:

• Degree or equivalent qualification in Electrical, Electro-mechanical, or Energy Engineering discipline.
• Proven experience managing engineering or maintenance teams, ideally within the energy, renewables, or industrial sectors.
• Strong understanding of electrical systems, energy storage technologies, and power electronics.
• Experience working to UK H&S standards and conducting formal risk assessments.
• Excellent communication, organisational, and leadership skills.
• Valid UK driving licence and willingness to travel across sites, including overnight stays when required.

Preferred:

• Prior experience managing operations related to Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).
• Familiarity with HV/LV switching operations and authorisation procedures.
• Working knowledge of IT and networking systems (e.g. MODBUS/TCP, remote diagnostics, VLANs, etc.).
• Certification in BS7671, C&G2391-5, or HV Authorised Person status is advantageous.

What We Offer:

• Competitive salary, commensurate with experience
• Full access to training resources and professional development
• Workplace pension and other employee benefits
• Opportunity to lead in a fast-growing sector at the forefront of the renewable energy transition