Area Operations Manager

Thames Water is recruiting an Area Operational Manager!

Are you a natural leader with a passion for operational excellence and making a real impact in your community?

We’re looking for an experienced and inspiring Area Operations Manager to take ownership of delivering a safe, high-quality, and uninterrupted water supply to customers across the Thames Valley Area.

This is a key leadership role, responsible for guiding a team of front-line technicians to meet performance targets in water quality, leakage, customer service, and supply resilience—while keeping safety and wellbeing at the heart of everything we do.

If you're ready to lead from the front, simplify the complex, and drive meaningful change, this could be the opportunity for you.

What you will be doing as an Area Operations Manager

• Overall accountability to efficiently deliver wholesome drinking water to our customers whilst ensuring regulatory compliance.
• Effective stakeholder management, including customers and customer groups, regulators, emergency services and political groups.
• You will focus on delivering internal performance targets across the business areas of Health & Safety, customer service, financial controls and efficiencies, regulatory compliance, and people development whilst developing and steering continuous performance improvements, including consistent reductions in operational costs. 
• You will be responsible for making sure operational strategies and plans are in place to meet regulatory commitments and customer expectations.  Working with other teams, you will highlight opportunities to deliver directly managed capital works to improve the asset base and help with the delivery of these schemes.

What should you bring to the role?

• Have excellent leadership experience in a performance-driven environment.
• Ability to think strategically with effective commercial acumen.
• You have an uncompromising approach to Health, Safety and Wellbeing.
• Ability to promote customer service as the number one priority.
• Possess strong communication skills and be resilient and tenacious in a challenging environment.
• Can deliver against stretching operational targets.
• Extensive experience in the day-to-day management of operational sites.
• Due to the nature of the role a Full UK Driving Licence is required. 

What’s in it for you?

• Offering a salary between £60,000 and £70,000 per annum, depending on skills and experience.
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays) 
• Car Allowance.
• A performance-related pay plan is directly linked to company performance measures and targets.
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Generous Paternity Leave, including 4 weeks paid and an optional 2 weeks unpaid.
• Enhanced Maternity Leave, 26 weeks full pay and 13 weeks half pay!
• Private Medical Health Care.
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks

Who are we?

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.
If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.