Network Manager

Location: Ashford, Kent

Contract Type: Permanent

Hours: 37

Salary: Up to £52k depending on skills and experience

Company car included

About the role:

As a Network Manager, you will be responsible for the productivity and performance of sewer networks in Kent, maintaining service standards to ensure that we meet our strategic targets, regulatory compliance and leading a team of sewer network engineers. Working closely with Waste Pump Station Managers and numerous business wide support functions, you will work collaboratively with others to reduce pollutions, manage flooding, drive Health and Safety, control your finances, and deliver excellent customer service.

What you will be responsible for:

• You will be accountable for network performance within the Kent area managing operational risk, working with Asset Management to ensure that the right Capital Expenditure (Capex) and Operational Expenditure (OPEX) asset improvement plans are in place managing, responsible for OPEX budget for your area and coaching and mentoring your team with a key focus on employee engagement to deliver performance at least cost.
• Ensuring that right controls are in place for value, safety, compliance and service risk.
• To balance demands and expectations of team, people, resources, compliance, efficiency, quality of the asset and demands from other parts of the business in identifying solutions to problems.
• Working with service provider equivalents to ensure efficient delivery of operations.
• Building relationships across Southern Water to ensure that business units work in collaboration.
• Level of responsibility will require, at times, out of hours advice and support to manage incident response.
• Take accountability of reactive issues within geographical area such as burst rising mains, ensuring contingency plans are implemented and monitored until issue is resolved.
• Ensuring effective controls are in place to identify, manage and mitigate risks. This will include regulatory compliance, financial compliance, service delivery and health and safety. Responsible for contingency plans and Infiltration reduction plans.

What you’ll bring to the role:

To be successful in this role, you will have strong leadership skills and experience in pursuing Operational Excellence standards. It is highly advantageous if you have a degree or relevant qualification and working within utilities industry. However, we welcome applicants from operational management background if you have the passion to make a difference! We will need you to be able to analyse management information to understand trends and identify problems with good financial acumen. Working in a highly regulated environment, your role will be pivotal in ensuring the standards of works are compliant to the required industry standards.

Southern Water is at the forefront of transforming Britain’s water industry, investing significantly to enhance resilience, sustainability, and service excellence. With £7.8bn planned investment for 2025-30, this is an unparalleled opportunity to join a business committed to delivering a generational shift in the way water services are managed. You will be joining at a time of significant change, working alongside a highly skilled leadership team with a clear vision for the future. We offer an environment where senior professionals can make a meaningful impact, influence major strategic decisions, and drive long-term value creation.

Our mission is to protect and enhance life through water—and we need passionate people to help us achieve it. If you’re inspired by our purpose and believe you can contribute, apply today. You don’t need to meet every criterion; what matters most is your drive to make a difference.

Our Commitment to Diversity: We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or any other protected characteristic. If you need reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.

Additional information: In line with Southern Water’s security requirements, successful candidates will be required to provide evidence of their identity, eligibility to work in the UK, criminal record check (DBS) and verification of their employment and/or education history for the past three years. Appointment to this role is subject to the successful completion of all pre‐employment checks, including security vetting. Please note that if a candidate does not meet the required security standards or fails to pass the vetting process, Southern Water reserves the right to withdraw the offer of employment. Some positions may also require higher levels of security vetting, which may involve providing additional documentation.

Interested in the role? We reserve the right to close this advertisement early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications, so if you are interested in the position please do send your application over today to ensure consideration. We truly appreciate every application. Please note, that due to the volume of interest, we may not be able to provide personalised feedback to all applicants.

Our Benefits:

• Company and performance-related bonus
• Generous pension
• Life assurance payment equal to four times your annual salary
• Health benefits through a Cash Plan
• Two paid community volunteering days a year
• 28 days annual holiday
• Occupational health service
• Retail discount app
• We offer competitive maternity leave, and flexible return to work options

Everybody Welcome: We value diversity and are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments to facilitate your participation in the recruitment process, please do not hesitate to let us know.

Need flexibility in your work? Does this opportunity excite you but you’re not 100% sure if you meet all the requirements for the role? Or are you concerned that ‘normal’ office hours aren’t possible given your personal circumstances? Whilst we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we’ll try to find a practical solution. So why not engage with us and find out more about this role?