At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead and manage digital telecommunications services for a major water company.
- Company: Thames Water, the UK's largest water and wastewater company.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, generous annual leave, pension scheme, and health benefits.
- Other info: Join a diverse team committed to sustainability and operational excellence.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on critical communication systems that support millions of customers.
- Qualifications: Extensive telecom management experience and strong stakeholder engagement skills.
The predicted salary is between 62000 - 93000 £ per year.
As a Digital Telecommunications Manager, you will play a key role within Thames Waters Digital and Technology function, leading the organisations approach to reliable, resilient, and future-ready telecommunications services across a complex operational estate. Working closely with suppliers, operational teams, programme delivery, architecture, and business stakeholders, you will ensure telecom services are secure, performant, and aligned to both operational and strategic objectives.
This role contributes to Thames Waters operational resilience by ensuring critical communication systems remain available 24/7, supporting customer operations, field services, contact centres, operational sites, and digital platforms. You will collaborate across the business to drive service excellence, optimise supplier performance, manage operational risks, and support the transformation of Thames Waters telecoms landscape.
What you'll be doing as a Digital Telecommunications Manager:
- Lead the delivery and operational management of Thames Waters digital telecommunications services across cloud and on-premise platforms.
- Manage supplier relationships and telecom service contracts, ensuring delivery against agreed SLAs, KPIs, and operational expectations.
- Act as the primary escalation point for telecom faults, incidents, problems, and operational service risks.
- Ensure telecom services are reliable, resilient, secure, and optimised to support business and operational requirements.
- Support service introduction and transition activities through effective change management and governance processes.
- Drive continual service improvement across telecom services, improving service quality, customer experience, and operational performance.
- Develop and maintain strong relationships with key business, operational, and technical stakeholders.
- Lead service governance activities, including weekly and monthly operational reviews, reporting, and supplier performance management.
- Manage telecom service requests, ensuring all requests, incidents, and faults are resolved within agreed service levels.
- Review and approve root cause analysis reports and corrective action plans for operational incidents.
- Ensure compliance with IT service management processes including Change Management, Capacity Management, and Availability Management.
- Manage telecom operational budgets, ensuring cost control, forecasting, accruals, and financial reporting activities are completed accurately.
- Support commercial and contractual governance activities to ensure quality, compliance, and value from telecom suppliers.
- Collaborate with digital, operational, and transformation teams to support the integration of new telecom technologies and services.
- Define and support the telecom technology roadmap, including Cellular, NB-IoT, CAT1, RedCap, 4G, 5G, 6G, eSIM, Satellite, and LoRaWAN technologies.
- Support the safe and sustainable integration of telecom services into Thames Waters core technology environments.
- Identify, manage, and mitigate operational and service risks across the telecoms estate.
- Provide regular operational, financial, and service performance reporting to senior leadership teams.
- Drive continuous improvement in telecom service delivery processes, governance, and supplier management practices.
- Ensure health, safety, and wellbeing remain the highest priority across all service and operational activities.
What you should bring to the role:
- Extensive experience managing telecom service delivery within large or complex enterprise environments.
- Strong experience managing telecom suppliers, operational contracts, and service governance activities.
- Experience managing telecom operational support, incidents, problems, and service improvements.
- Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to engage technical, operational, and business teams effectively.
- Excellent communication and customer service skills.
- Proven problem-solving and decision-making capability within operational and service environments.
- Experience managing teams, suppliers, or project delivery activities.
- Experience working within ITIL, Agile, Waterfall, Lean, or similar delivery methodologies.
- Ability to manage conflicting priorities and operational demands in fast-paced environments.
- Strong organisational and planning capabilities with a focus on operational excellence and customer outcomes.
- Proactive and collaborative approach with strong commercial awareness and supplier management capability.
Technical experience and skills:
- Strong understanding of telecommunications technologies including WAN, VoIP, Satellite, NB-IoT, 4G, and 5G technologies.
- Knowledge of telecom infrastructure, unified communications, contact centre technologies, and connectivity services.
- Experience supporting cloud and on-premise telecom environments.
- Understanding of telecom service management processes including incident, change, capacity, and availability management.
- Experience managing telecom operational risks, service reporting, and performance metrics.
- Ability to support telecom transformation and technology modernisation programmes.
- Commercial awareness including budget management, supplier governance, and cost optimisation activities.
Desirable qualifications and experience:
- Experience working within utilities, critical infrastructure, or regulated industries.
- Experience supporting large-scale telecom or digital transformation programmes.
- Knowledge of operational technology (OT) environments and critical operational communications.
- Experience managing large-scale enterprise telecom estates with complex operational dependencies.
- Experience working within matrix organisations and multi-supplier environments.
Desirable technical skills and qualifications:
- Degree qualified in telecommunications, networks, or a related technical discipline.
- Chartered professional or engineering status.
- Technical problem-solving and issue-resolution capability within telecom environments.
- Knowledge of telecom architecture and future connectivity technologies.
- Experience supporting strategic supplier and commercial management activities.
What's in it for you?
- Competitive salary between 62,000 and 78,000 per annum, depending on experience.
- Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (plus bank holidays)
- Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
- Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets.
- Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family's health and wellbeing, and your finances from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.
Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you'll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.
If you're looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people's lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we'll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.
Digital Telecommunications Manager - Reading, Berkshire in Lower Earley employer: Thames Water
Thames Water is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment in Reading where you can make a tangible impact on millions of lives. With competitive salaries, generous benefits including a robust pension scheme and health support, and a strong commitment to employee development, you'll find ample opportunities for growth and collaboration within a diverse and inclusive culture. Join us to be part of a team dedicated to building a sustainable future while enjoying the flexibility and support that comes with being part of the Thames Water family.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Digital Telecommunications Manager - Reading, Berkshire in Lower Earley
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with people in the telecommunications field. Attend industry events, join relevant online forums, and don’t be shy about reaching out on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings!
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching Thames Water and its telecom services. Understand their challenges and think about how your experience can help them achieve their goals. Tailor your answers to show you’re the perfect fit for their team!
✨Tip Number 3
Practice makes perfect! Conduct mock interviews with friends or use online resources to refine your responses. Focus on articulating your experience with telecom service delivery and supplier management clearly and confidently.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets noticed. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in joining Thames Water and making a difference in the telecommunications landscape.
We think you need these skills to ace Digital Telecommunications Manager - Reading, Berkshire in Lower Earley
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Digital Telecommunications Manager role. Highlight your experience with telecom service delivery and supplier management, as these are key aspects of the job.
Showcase Your Skills:Don’t just list your skills; demonstrate how they relate to the role. Use examples from your past experiences that show your problem-solving abilities and stakeholder management skills.
Be Clear and Concise:Keep your application straightforward and to the point. Use clear language and avoid jargon unless it’s relevant to the telecommunications field. We want to see your qualifications without wading through fluff!
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to submit your application directly through our website. This ensures your application is seen by the right people and helps us keep track of all candidates efficiently.
How to prepare for a job interview at Thames Water
✨Know Your Telecoms Inside Out
Make sure you brush up on your knowledge of telecommunications technologies like WAN, VoIP, and 5G. Be ready to discuss how these technologies can enhance operational resilience and support Thames Water's objectives.
✨Showcase Your Stakeholder Management Skills
Prepare examples that highlight your experience in managing relationships with suppliers and internal teams. Demonstrating your ability to engage effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders will be key.
✨Be Ready for Problem-Solving Scenarios
Expect questions that assess your problem-solving capabilities. Think of specific instances where you've successfully managed telecom incidents or improved service delivery, and be ready to share those stories.
✨Understand the Importance of Compliance
Familiarise yourself with IT service management processes like Change Management and Capacity Management. Be prepared to discuss how you ensure compliance and quality in telecom services, as this is crucial for the role.
