Operations Support Lead

Grade and Salary D(€62,259-€93,388)*

Job Description

We are Uisce Éireann. Every day, we are responsible for the delivery of secure, safe, and sustainable water services for the people of Ireland. As Ireland’s national regulated water utility, our vision is a sustainable Ireland where water is respected and protected, for the planet and all the lives it supports.

Our purpose at Uisce Éireann is to rise to the challenge of delivering transformative water services that enable communities to thrive. That means we are proud to take on the responsibility of protecting our water supply and passing on a safe and secure water system to a rapidly growing population and empowering Ireland’s social and economic growth.

We are passionate about empowering our people, enabling them to make a positive impact on communities across Ireland. We are guided by a shared vision and purpose, grounded in values that define who we are and shape how we work, where we deliver for customers and communities, we work better together, we do the right thing, we aim high, and we keep each other safe. Our behaviours define how we interact, communicate, and succeed together. These values and behaviours apply to each one of us, across every role, location, and level.

Our goal is to attract and develop skilled and talented people from diverse backgrounds, who bring a dynamic range of expertise and insights to our work. With a strong, values-driven workforce, we ensure Uisce Éireann can continue advancing Ireland’s water services and meeting the needs of the communities we serve for generations to come.

The Role:

The Asset Operations function forms the cornerstone of service delivery to customers, protecting the environment and meeting regulatory standards as well as managing the majority of operational expenditure. The Asset Operations function has responsibility for operational and maintenance strategy, policies, planning and standard operating procedures for Water and Wastewater operations both nationally and regionally, ensuring that value for money and customer service is delivered. 

The Operations Support Team has responsibility for providing and managing effective business infrastructure and processes at a national level to support operational activities at site level. 

Reporting to the Operations Support Manager, the Operations Support Lead will form part of the Insights & Support Sub-Team. 

They will work with teams, managers and key stakeholders to develop organisational and people capability. They will build and maintain close working relationship with AO Support Teams and be responsible for the delivery of a wide range of projects and initiatives to support key business strategies.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• Lead the delivery of Operational Support initiatives across Asset Operations Support, ensuring alignment with national strategies, ways of working. the Target Operating Model and regulatory requirements.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of policies, procedures and guidance documents to ensure clarity, consistency and adherence across all Insights & Support activities.
• Develop, maintain and present Operational Support performance metrics to supervisors, managers and senior stakeholders.
• Monitor, manage and reduce Time & Attendance reliance levels, maintaining agreed thresholds through engagement, reporting and process improvement.
• Provide a national oversight of Headcount, Time & Attendance and workforce capacity, identifying risks, trends and dependencies and escalating issues where required.
• Lead continuous improvement of P2P, Time & Attendance and other Insights & Support processes, including development and maintenance of standard operating procedures and consistent ways of working.
• Oversee and drive improvements in Purchase Order turnaround times, receipting compliance and payment performance through re‑training, new processes and stakeholder engagement.
• Support and advise Regional Supervisors and Support Teams on procurement activities, including PR governance, requisitioning processes and compliance requirements.
• Identify, assess and support the adoption of digital and AI‑enabled solutions to improve efficiency, effectiveness and data quality across Insights & Support activities.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with Regional Operations, Operations Control, Finance and HR, acting as a key interface to enable effective delivery.
• Lead and coordinate stakeholder engagement activities, including presentations, communications and participation in company events to promote Insights & Support services and achievements.
• Facilitate and support risk management and assurance activities, including quarterly risk reviews, Ideagen updates and participation in risk governance forums.
• Support Internal Control Self‑Assessment (ICSA) requirements, ensuring controls are reviewed, documented and updated in line with agreed timelines.
• Coordinate and monitor training requirements for Insights & Support teams and frontline stakeholders, ensuring mandatory, technical and process‑specific training needs are met.
• Support the delivery of Uisce Éireann transformation and change programmes, acting as a change agent and embedding new ways of working across the function.
• Provide leadership and escalation support for operational issues and risks, ensuring timely resolution and clear communication to senior management.
• Take ownership of ad‑hoc strategic and operational initiatives as directed, ensuring delivery of agreed outcomes and continuous improvement of service delivery.
• Perform other duties as required from time to time

General Duties and Responsibilities

• Collaborate with key internal stakeholders across the UÉ business
• Responsible for promoting and delivering health and safety commitments across UÉ and its supply chain, reinforcing positive behaviours and delivering health and safety objectives and requirements to the highest industry standards. 
• Support the delivery of the Uisce Éireann Transformation Programme, driving results required within the Directorate and supporting organisation-wide objectives.
• Provide visible leadership for your team, coaching and developing them to achieve their full potential and deliver business objectives, promoting collaboration and highlighting the behaviours that are expected from everyone in the team.
• Conducts duties and responsibilities in accordance with Uisce Éireann’s Information Security policies, standards, processes and controls to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of UÉ business information, and delivery of critical services, in accordance with the NIS Directive and any other relevant cybersecurity regulation
• Other duties as required.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• Relevant third level qualification and/or accreditation is desirable 
• A minimum of 5 years’ relevant experience is required. Experience in the water, utilities or similar industries is desirable 
• We work better together - demonstrated people management experience, with strong people, change management and conflict resolution skills
• Experience providing coaching in the development of the technical skills and abilities in others
• We do the right thing - highly motivated individual, working to the highest professional standards and with proven ability to deliver results
• Strong analytical skills and ability to identify and analyse problems and potential improvements, and propose and implement solutions
• Demonstrate adaptability and the ability to change focus and direction in line with business strategy and requirements
• We aim hight - proactively identifying new areas of improvement and using newly gained knowledge and skill on the job 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills 

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