Executive Director of Price Controls, Networks and Energy Futures Group

£120,000

Permanent, full time.

As Executive Director of the Price Controls, Networks and Energy Futures Group, you will be a key member of the Executive Team of the UK’s only cross-utility and multi-jurisdiction regulator, working for an organisation that regulates electricity, gas and water and sewerage industries across Northern Ireland, and in electricity on an all-Ireland basis (ROI/EU).

Central to this role is protecting the short and long-term interests of 1.9 million consumers in Northern Ireland. In doing so you will work closely with the Board and its sub-committees, to formulate and execute the Utility Regulator’s Corporate Strategy.

This is an exciting time to join the Utility Regulator, as the organisation is expanding significantly and re-structuring so that it can fully support Northern Ireland in meeting the challenges of net zero emissions, the cost-of-living crisis and ensuring the continuity of energy and water supplies.

As Executive Director, you will work closely with senior stakeholders across the industries we regulate, as well as the various government departments, public sector organisations, elected representatives and Civil Society with all their diverse agendas.

Our statutory mandate is significant and may further increase as additional responsibilities are delegated to us in the transition to a net zero economy.

As part of our re-organisation, we have added the new leadership level of Executive Directors, creating two such roles – this role and Executive Director of Markets and Consumer Protection Group. We expect both roles to become Board appointments in due course, but in the meantime will operate de facto in that capacity. Forming a triumvirate with the CEO, you will be responsible and jointly accountable for the Utility Regulator’s discharge of all its functions. 

As an employer of choice and a progressive organisation, we understand that this investment must be underpinned by a far-reaching cultural transformation programme to ensure we make best use of our resources. We are on that journey, but with more to do, the Executive Director will play a significant leadership role in driving forward our cultural change.

You will be accountable for the delivery of the short, medium, and long-term objectives and of the organisational business plan that fall within your remit of the teams you manage. These will include:

Price Control

• Electricity price controls; and
• Gas and water price controls.

Networks and Energy Futures

• Networks; and
• Energy Futures.

Key responsibilities

As a leader in the organisation, you will not only uphold our values but will be an exemplar of modelling those values in the way you work with your staff, the Executive Management Team, the Board, and external stakeholders. The responsibilities for this role are broad, with both strategic and operational accountabilities. They include leadership; delivery and development of our strategy; delivery and development of our business plan; governance; and stakeholder engagement, both internal and external.

You will contribute to the current and future strategy within a changeable, fast paced utility landscape and will implement and effect real change, which will benefit 1.9 million consumers across all utilities.

As this is a new Executive role within the organisation, you will have the capacity to shape and create a significant career opportunity for yourself.

Personal attributes

• Excellent communicator with the ability to provide clear direction for your teams.
• High energy levels with the ability to work at pace.
• Can recognise pinch points and act decisively.
• Possesses clarity and outward thinking, with the ability to see the bigger picture.
• Stature to be an ambassador for the Utility Regulator who is respected both internally and externally with key stakeholders, including within Government.
• Proven relationship builder with an antenna for recognising change.

Essential criteria

• Experience of working in a regulatory environment or regulated industry, at a senior level.
• Actively displays the Northern Ireland Civil Service Code of Ethics and the Nolan Principles of Public Life or abides by those principles in the way they conduct themselves and in how they operate as a leader.
• An impressive track record of actively leading and developing teams of people.
• A track record of leading teams through periods of transformational change including embedding new ways of working.
• A change agent who can drive effective cultural change.
• Adept at honest and accountable stakeholder engagement internally and with a complex range of external stakeholders.
• An effective and confident influencer able to build credibility through expertise and delivering effective regulation.
• Has developed policy at a senior level within an organisation that has made a difference to the way that organisation operated and/or the work it delivered to its customers. 
• Degree or equivalent experience.

Desirable

• Have worked at a senior level for another regulator, or regulated entity.
• Has developed regulation or policy at a national or regional level.

How to apply

To apply for this role, or request a Candidate Application Pack, please send your CV to UtilityRegulator@CorvusPeople.com.

The Candidate Pack will include a full job description, an overview of the Utility Regulator and a full outline of the recruitment process. 

For more information on this role please contact Michelle Kearns on 07968 481753, or Michelle.Kearns@CorvusPeople.com

The Utility Regulator is an Equal Opportunities Employer.

25 August 2023 - 5.00 pm