Ops Telecoms Technician (Spn)

82984 - Ops Telecoms Technician

This Ops Telecoms Technician will report to the Operational Telecoms Senior Project Engineer and will work within Network Operations based in our Chatham area with distributed working. You will be a permanent employee.

You will attract a salary of £56,576 per annum and a bonus of 3%, .

If you are successful, you will need to undertake a medical and DBS reference check

Close Date: 13th October 2026

We also provide the following additional benefits

• 23 Days Annual Leave plus bank holidays.
• Reservist Leave – Additional 18 days full pay and 22 unpaid
• Personal Pension Plan – Personal contribution rates of 4% or 5% (UK Power Networks will make a corresponding contribution of 8% or 10%)
• Tenancy Loan Deposit Scheme, Season Ticket Loan
• Tax efficient benefits: Cycle to Work, Home & Tech, and Green Car Leasing Schemes
• Occupational Health support
• Switched On – scheme providing discount on hundreds of retailers' products
• Discounted gym membership
• Employee Assistance Programme

JOB PURPOSE:

The Operational Telecoms Team, situated in the Networks Operations Business, are responsible for all of the Networks business Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition (SCADA) projects, fault rectification and maintenance programmes (circa 30K devices) and for the provision of Grid and Primary and SCADA and comms connectivity to over 2000 sites.

You will form part of a technical team of specialists that manage SCADA comms and control equipment across the three licence areas 24 hours a day, ensuring a 24x7x365 availability of this business-critical infrastructure. Technicians conduct installation, wiring, equipment modifications and repairs to ensure this infrastructure is available for efficient operation of the power network.

It will require the role holder to travel to other locations and regions of UK Power Networks where Ops Telecom staff and workshops are located. It will also include conducting work at Grid and Primary Substations assisting Engineers in the provision of UK Power Networks SCADA systems and the repair of legacy Networks SCADA and comms equipment.

DIMENSIONS:

The role holder manages the daily stock and procures spares and equipment to a value of circa £50k used to complete their responsibilities.

The Operational Telecoms Technician will also expect to make miscellaneous purchases through corporate credit card up to £2k per month.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

Typical accountabilities for the Technician will include:

• Ensure that you prevail a high standard of safety management throughout the responsibilities and that you undertake safety procedures correctly.
• Technician conducts wiring and other SCADA related activities on site, usually on their own, implementing modifications or repairs of SCADA and comms equipment.
• Deliver upgrade and improvement work on the operational SCADA equipment within Grid, Primary and Secondary substations. Including the configuration, testing and integration of SMART Grid solutions and SCADA interfaces.
• Construction of Telecontrol Equipment Cubicles (TEC) and other SCADA equipment within the Ops Telecoms workshops located at Nelson Street, East Ham.
• Installation and maintenance of : Copper and fibre optic communication circuits Radio communication equipment and antennas VSAT & BGAN Satellite communication equipment Telecontrol equipment and associated wiring to substation plant and equipment Inter-tripping and protection comms equipment
• Help to deliver annual Ops Telecoms work programme following the network management plan.
• You will be expected to operate Spectrum Analysers, use Oscar – Signal generation equipment, and handle portable tools and equipment as part of the role. In each case, you will expect to maintain these items of equipment and calibrate and tests them periodically. The value of all of the equipment that the post holder has exceeds £40k.
• The post holder has a responsibility to ensure that you carry the most common equipment to ensure quick and reliable system restoration. They also have to ensure that stock levels are maintained by accurate replenishment and repair.
• Support our Command Vehicle, located at Nelson Street, ensuring safe deployment and training of other staff on its operation during a deployment usually on to the site of a major network incident.

NATURE AND SCOPE:

Role Holder is responsible to the Ops Telecoms Senior Project Engineer, forming part of a team of technical specialists, responsible for the design, management and repair of comms and SCADA equipment.

We will expect the role holder to work relatively autonomously, utilising your depth of

We provide service by using our experience, ensuring that we complete all SCADA, SMART Grid projects and faults to a high standard.

Participate in the SCADA Standby Rotas, typically one week in every eight weeks.

The Technician, in your role, provides a fast initial response to a SCADA abnormality call and other comms abnormalities that occur on the system. The Technician has to go to the site and investigate the abnormality, which is your responsibility.

UK Power Networks requires the Technician to deal with members of the public, emergency services and local authorities in emergency situations.

The Technician often issues themselves with a minimum amount of information about the extent or nature of any SCADA problem, and control, emergency services, or customers could provide this information. The Technician would need to go on site. The Technician would consider the nature of the work, evaluate what you need to do, and check whether you have the tools and experience to undertake the job. Alternatively, the Technician may determine that they need additional resources. Approximately 90% of we ask that the Technician to act autonomously. In this capacity, the Technician uses your judgement and expertise in the assessment of a situation. Although the Technician will be autonomous, you can still seek advice from a Field or Project Engineer.

Whilst the role focuses on a specific area of service delivery, the organisation expects the role holder to take part in wider governance meetings, providing input and taking actions as required.

Qualifications

• Essential

  Electrical and electronic competence, supported by City & Guilds 2322 in Electronic and Electrical Theory, or an equivalent qualification. Knowledge of network SCADA systems and their application in real-time monitoring and control of switchgear, transformers and other substation equipment. Ability to interpret schematic and wiring diagrams to build, install and repair equipment. Proficiency in using laptop-based software tools to configure and test communications and SCADA equipment. Competent use of hand tools, power tools and test equipment, including the installation of wiring within substation equipment. Ability to diagnose complex faults using a logical, systematic approach and adapt investigations as further information becomes available. Knowledge of IP networking and SCADA communications protocols. Ability to assess risks and coordinate the safe working of staff and contractors in substations. Understanding of relevant network standards, health and safety requirements and electricity regulations, including where to find applicable policies. Awareness of cyber security precautions and their importance to SCADA services. Understanding of safe manual handling techniques. Ability to obtain and maintain the relevant UK Power Networks safety authorisation for unattended access to substations up to and including 132 kV, and for the SCADA activities permitted by that authorisation. Full driving licence.

  Desirable

  In-depth knowledge and practical experience of SCADA systems within electricity distribution networks. Awareness of inter-tripping and basic protection systems. Experience using the PowerOn network management system with Telecontrol Technician access privileges. Experience using communications diagnostic tools such as Wireshark. Experience working under CDM regulations and ISO 9001 quality processes. Experience of copper and fibre optic jointing. Existing UK Power Networks substation access and relevant SCADA safety authorisations. PASMA, IPAF, VSAT alignment, GE T5000 RTU and NRSWA accreditations. Type A, B and C confined space access qualifications.

Health & Safety Responsibilities:

Managers and supervisors carry both legal and company responsibilities for ensuring the health and safety of their employees, those under their control and those who might be affected by the work undertaken, i.e. public, visitors and employees of other organisations. This includes briefing individuals working for them and ensuring there is the necessary understanding, competence and application of requirements to work safely and without harming the environment.

Employees will ensure they understand the health and safety risks involved in their work activities and their responsibility to apply the controls needed to manage those risks to acceptable levels. Similarly where work activities can have an adverse impact upon the environment, and where there are legal requirements, employees will understand those impacts and the controls they must ensure are applied.

Employees need to be aware that for some craft and operational roles that work at height, or use fall arrest devices, there is an upper weight limit of 116Kg due to maximum safe working load of the safety equipment that is used.

If in doubt ask!

We’re committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels welcome, valued and able to be themselves. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. If you meet the essential criteria and believe your skills, experience or transferable strengths could make you a great fit for the role, we’d love to hear from you. If you need any adjustments or support during the recruitment process, please let us know and we’ll be happy to help.

We may use AI-enabled tools to support elements of our recruitment process. These tools help us manage applications more efficiently and consistently, but they do not make hiring decisions. All recruitment decisions are made by trained employees using human judgement and oversight. We are committed to using AI responsibly, fairly and transparently, in line with our legal, regulatory and ethical obligations.

Your data will be hosted within a secure environment and will only be used by UK Power Networks for the purpose of which it is intended. The data is used only as an input to provide insights for the screening process and is not retained by the model or by UK Power Networks’ contractor, shared with the contractor’s other customers or with OpenAI, or using to train or improve AI models.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. Where applicable, this role is subject to safer recruitment processes and robust pre‑employment checks

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