Senior Operations Excellence Manager

We’re making zero carbon happen

We’re OVO Group, a big family of companies united by a single vision: to get to zero carbon, fast. 

We call this Plan Zero – and it shows how we’ll be fighting the climate crisis and transforming the way people use energy over the next decade. To do this, we need the sharpest minds. Are you up for the challenge?

Do great green things with OVO Energy

So much has changed since we launched in 2009.  Our goal remains the same though: make energy cheaper, greener, and simpler. Just as it was on day one.

Everyone belongs at OVO

Our aim is to build a diverse and inclusive movement: teams of brilliant people, with unique talents, skills, passions, and experiences. 

We encourage everyone to join us, whatever your gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, life experience, or background. So please come as you are – we can’t wait to meet you.

Where in the world of OVO will I be working?

The OVO Group’s mission is to drive progress towards net zero carbon living. To reach zero, we need everyone to come together. Not as customers buying energy, but as members with a common goal.  Working in Field Operations (part of OVO Metering) you will report directly to the Head of Operations, ensuring we are on a successful journey of improvement. 

What will I be doing?

Working as a key member within the operations senior leadership team, you will be instrumental in the design and delivery of a new operational excellence approach across field operations, responsible for driving a culture of excellence and continuous improvement throughout the operation.  With the ability to establish effective relationships within the business, this is a pivotal role to embed a one team culture who can think creatively using realistic metrics across field operations to support and improve operational performance. You will ensure outstanding service is provided to our customers that helps not only improve performance, but secures better quality outcomes and improved cost per install results. You will use your strong critical thinking, and expert intuition and ability to see problems and come up with solutions to be tested and implemented in all areas of field operations.

Key Responsibilities

• You will work closely with the Head of Field Operations and the senior leadership team, building relationships and become intimate with their goals, processes and outcome requirements.
• Work collaboratively with the Head of Field Operations, Senior Regional Performance Managers, and Senior National Planning & Scheduling manager to identify and address underperformance with a sense of urgency for delivering sustainable improvements across a balanced scorecard of metrics and desired outcomes (i.e. operational, financial, customer and people).
• Provides core information and intelligence for close working with the field operations leadership team to ensure targeted coaching intervention is applied where it will deliver the greatest value.
• Influences Senior Regional Performance Managers and Senior National Planning & Scheduling Manager by looking around corners to ensure that the Head of Operations is making positive decisions to ensure long-term success for their teams as well as OVO customers.
• Coordinate Business Reviews to celebrate success, benchmark teams among their peers and find opportunities to improve awareness of ongoing risks and issues limiting success within the region.
• Coach team managers, planning & scheduling managers and senior regional performance managers to improve their ability to shift gears at a moment’s notice and enjoy the challenges of developing and improving their area of responsibility within a dynamic and ambiguous environment.
• To promptly initiate investigation of adverse performance, which is serious or persistent, ensure engagement with relevant stakeholders and ensure conclusions and recommendations are produced and shared with the Head of Operations in a timely manner. Responsible for sharing information across Field Operations that drives a better understanding of performance variations and the actions being taken to address underlying issues.
• Working with business partners including Operational Excellence Analysts, Field Assurance and Technical Quality Manager and Change Delivery Managers, providing an extended framework to deliver operational excellence and matrix management
• Overall responsibility for the collection of, analysis and sharing of information across the teams to support problem solving and decision making, identify and inform understanding of performance and results, quick access to summarised reports of activity attempted or completed and ad-hoc data queries that are useful to managers.
• Work closely with the Operations Excellence Manager to achieve improvements in quality and efficiency nationally, where appropriate.
• Work with the Business Planning & Intelligence team to ensure plans, forecasts and latest views identify where performance is at risk of falling below expected targets or assumptions and agree what corrective action should be reflected.
• To work in conjunction with colleagues across OVO Metering to identify new opportunities for performance improvement and development.
• To lead on change activity that may impact Operations and ensure the operational leadership team is equipped to support the delivery and embedding of change so it is sustainable.
• Provide training, mentoring and guidance to other leaders across Field Operations in the use of continuous improvement tools and techniques to drive better customer outcomes and incremental business value along with Agile thinking 

Is this the job for me?

Essential skills and experience:

• Knowledge of designing and implementing effective operational excellence and performance management frameworks and quality improvement methodologies and AGILE thinking
• Experience of performance improvement in a field-based environment, providing advice to managers with a large organisation
• Experience of successfully leading, motivating and influencing people directly and of building consensus around delivering sustainable improvements
• Evidence of effective development and management of operational excellence and performance improvement and of leading projects in a large multi-functional organisation.
• Track record of applying strong analytical skills and lateral thinking to develop creative and innovate solutions to driving sustainable improvements
• Resilience and confidence to manage competing priorities, achieve targets and respond quickly and flexibly to changing demands.
• Ability to think strategically and execute methodically.
• Ability to drive projects from initially ambiguous states.

Ideally you will have…

• Evidence of continuing professional development in a subject aligned to responsibilities (i.e. continuous improvement, change management, Agile, project management)

Brilliant benefits for a world-changing team

Our people are at the heart of Plan Zero. That’s why we offer plenty of green benefits and progressive policies to make you feel at home.

For starters, you’ll get 34 days of holiday (including bank holidays).

Then there’s Flex Pay. It’s an extra 9% of your salary on top of your core pay to use as you like. You can take it as cash, add to your pension, or choose to spend it on a huge range of flex benefits.

Here’s a taster of what’s on offer:

For your health
With benefits like a healthcare cash plan or private medical insurance depending on your career level, critical illness cover, life assurance, health assessments, and more

For your wellbeing
With gym membership, gadget, travel and cyber insurance, workplace ISA, will writing services, DNA testing, dental insurance, and more

For your lifestyle
With extra holiday buying, discount dining, culture cards, tech loans, and supporting your favourite charities with give-as-you-earn donations

For your home 
Get up to £300 off any OVO Energy plan (when you pay by Direct Debit), plus personal carbon offsetting and great discounts on smart thermostats and EV chargers

For your commute
Nab a great deal on ultra-low emission car leasing, plus our cycle to work scheme and public transport season ticket loans 

Want to hear about our full range of flexible benefits and progressive people policies? Our People Team can tell you everything you need to know.

Oh, and one last thing...

We’d be thrilled if you tick off all our boxes yet we also believe it’s just as important we tick off all of yours. And if you think you have most of what we’re looking for but not every single thing, go ahead and hit apply. We’d still love to hear from you!