Tactical Planning Manager

Tactical Planning Manager

Full Time

Permanent

Salary - circa £75,000k

Location - Flexible location - Pity Me, Durham or Chelmsford, Essex

About the role

Are you passionate about turning strategy into practical action, solving complex challenges and making investment count for customers and communities?

We have an exciting opportunity to join our Water team as the Tactical Planning Manager, leading our Water Tactical Planning team to shape the interventions and investment that keep essential water services performing well. You'll turn medium-term strategy into clear, prioritised plans for the next five years, balancing risk, affordability and benefits to achieve the best outcomes from available funding.

You'll lead work ranging from investment portfolio planning and water asset capital maintenance through to reviewing delivery progress and responding to emerging risks. Bringing together colleagues across planning, operations, asset management and delivery, you'll make sure plans are practical, properly resourced and focused on the customer, service, regulatory and financial benefits they need to deliver.

A key part of the role will be leading quarterly system planning, helping teams agree priorities at local and asset-group level, assessing service performance, and keeping investment aligned with changing needs. You'll use evidence from delivery to inform future strategy and regulatory submissions, and support capital project sponsorship so that projects remain true to their original purpose and intended benefits.

Reporting to the Head of Water Service Planning, you'll work across organisational boundaries to connect long-term ambitions with the decisions and actions needed today. This role would suit someone who enjoys seeing the bigger picture, weighing up complex choices and bringing people together to turn plans into measurable improvements.

About you

You will be an experienced and inclusive leader with a proven track record of setting clear direction, developing high-performing teams and enabling multidisciplinary colleagues to deliver successful outcomes. You'll bring strong investment, programme, or operational planning experience, alongside a broad understanding of how asset and investment decisions influence operational performance, risk and customer outcomes.

We're looking for someone who can create a supportive and inclusive environment where people are empowered to succeed and held accountable for delivering results. You'll be confident balancing risk, benefit and affordability when making investment decisions, supported by strong commercial and financial judgement. You'll enjoy analysing complex information, evaluating options and turning evidence into clear plans, insightful reporting and timely action. Building effective relationships will come naturally to you, and you'll be able to influence a wide range of stakeholders, including technical specialists, senior leaders and delivery partners. You'll also be adaptable, decisive and focused on continuous improvement, ensuring plans remain on track while responding effectively to emerging risks and changing priorities.

Whilst experience within the water or utilities sector would be beneficial, it is not essential. We welcome applications from candidates with relevant experience gained in other industries and actively encourage individuals who can bring fresh perspectives, new ideas and different ways of thinking to help shape the future of our services.

You'll have a degree, or equivalent experience, in leadership, management, business, engineering, science or a related discipline.

If you're motivated by purposeful leadership, collaborative problem-solving and the opportunity to make a lasting difference to an essential service, we'd love to hear from you.