Regional Bioresources Operations Manager

Are you an analytical thinker with strong leadership skills? Do you have a background in the operation of sewage and sludge treatment processes and biogas plants? If so, we have an opportunity to join the team as a Regional Bioresources Operations Manager, reporting directly to the Head of Bioresources. What you'll do The Bioresources team operate and maintain all of our bioresources recycling centres. You lead a talented team with accountability and ownership of 10 bioresources centres over a large geographical area which consists of conventional mesophilic digestion, advanced digestion, liming, gas to grid and combined heat and power technologies. You will define a people-focused culture that focuses on health, safety and wellbeing, and ensuring continual engagement with staff and the leadership team. Your focus will be on setting and managing significant budgets, while also setting area strategies using best industry practice to achieve high quality in all areas, minimise waste and become more sustainable and efficient. Your role will involve: - overseeing sewage and sludge treatment processes and biogas production plant, ensuring compliance is maintained (UWWTD, OSM, IED, BAS, etc) - developing commercial opportunities within our Bioresources team, working closely with the Head of Commercial Operations - ensuring process safety compliance across the remit - the ownership of tactical sludge strategy and implementation - origin sludge volume reduction, working closely with Water Recycling Divisional teams - defining and prioritising capital maintenance needs - achieving financial targets and delivering agreed commercial outputs - line managing Area Bioresources Operations Managers and Renewable Energy Managers, including their one-to-ones, development, HR-related issues, training requirements and managing performance - ensuring all health and safety policies, procedures and best practices are adhered to - promoting a safety-first culture amongst teams, including chairing regular health and safety meetings, and preparing process safety reports - managing and prioritising risks effectively - building strong relationships with internal stakeholders and ensuring service level agreements are achieved - supporting the overall bioresources strategy as part of the leadership team. Additionally, you will have overall financial ownership of the department. You will set the department OPEX budget and monitor the running OPEX to ensure budgetary targets are met each year. You'll liaise regularly with Finance teams and Asset Lifecycle Engineers to review OPEX and capital maintenance performance against budget. What you'll need - You will have strong people management skills and operational experience with the ability to lead a safety-first team. - You will have the ability to make clear evidence-based decisions that enable our operations to evolve and move forward in a consistent manner. - You will have excellent organisational, planning, communication, persuading and influencing skills. In addition, you will have: - a minimum of a degree in a relevant engineering, scientific discipline or relevant experience - a strong background in the operation of sewage and sludge treatment processes as well as biogas plants - a high-level understanding of process safety concepts and principles, such as hazard awareness, hazard identification and risk assessment, management of change, safe systems of work and human factors - a high-level understanding of health and safety regulations such as DSEAR and COSHH - an understanding of changes and trends in safety workplace culture - knowledge of wastewater, waste and environmental regulations such as UWWTD, IED and BAS - proficiency in the analysis of numerical data for decision making and reporting - proficiency with data reporting systems (Amulet, Prism, SCADA, Qlikview, etc) - proficiency in the use of Microsoft applications (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) - a clean UK driving licence. It would also be desirable, but not essential, to have the following: - DSEAR qualification (eg, CompEx) or prepared to receive training - an occupational health and safety qualification (eg, IOSH or NEBOSH) or prepared to receive training - continual professional development through a professional body (eg, IChemE, IOSH or CIWEM) is preferred. What you'll receive * Total pension contributions up to 20%. * Career progression and professional development opportunities. * 25 days' holiday rising to 28 with length of service. * The opportunity to buy up to 10 days' holiday and sell up to five every year. * A healthcare package that allows you to claim back healthcare costs. * Life assurance of up to eight times your salary. * A new electric car in exchange for part of your gross salary. * Cashback and discounts from more than 3,000 retailers. * One paid volunteering day each year. * Enhanced family leave and pay arrangements. * An interactive health and wellbeing platform. * Support from mental health first aiders. * A £1,000 referral fee if you recommend someone to work for us. Who we are We are one of the top-performing water and sewerage companies in England and Wales, serving 2.9 million people across the South West. The work we do goes beyond providing an essential public service. We also aim to have a positive impact on the communities we serve and the natural environment. Our people tell us Wessex Water is a great place to work, which is why so many of them stay with us! You will have the opportunity to develop and progress your career, while also receiving health and wellbeing support. We also continue to promote diversity and inclusion – with that in mind, all applicants are welcome. We are delighted to have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and are a Disability Confident Employer. This is an exciting opportunity to join us and if you would like to be part of our journey, we would love to hear from you. Please do not hesitate to let us know about any additional support you may need. Sound interesting? Apply to start your application