Title:  Strategic Lead - North West of England

About the role

National Energy System Operator (NESO) recognises the potential of bright and talented individuals, and we encourage you to join us as Great Britain’s energy system undergoes an ambitious, exciting, and vital transformation. Together with industry, we are creating a cleaner, more sustainable energy future.

The North West RESP will need to reflect regional characteristics and priorities, driving whole energy considerations across all energy vectors. Think renewables, heat decarbonisation, hydrogen, energy networks, transport and flexibility! And how each region’s needs differ yet come together in forming the Great British energy plan.

To achieve this, we need a North West based team – to work alongside our other regional and central teams in forming the hub and spokes needed for energy planning to benefit from and reflect local inputs.

Developing the North West RESP will require us to work with organisations at a local level (‘local actors’) including local government and gas and electricity networks, to improve understanding of the infrastructure needed in different parts of the country and attract investment for projects. Stakeholder engagement will be key to unlocking the benefits of integrated regional energy planning.

This is the first time we will have a regional presence in North West. Alongside your regional manager, you will be the first to establish and commence energy planning work within your region. Regional teams will continue growing in 2025.

The purpose of this job is to lead on the integration of energy generation and supply considerations into the North West RESP through engagement and leading analysis. By engaging with stakeholders across the North West and producing associated analyses, we are looking to gather insight into the current landscape and pipeline of activity across energy supply/generation and storage which we can integrate into our wider RESP deliverables. You will also be expected to lead on select packages of work and contribute towards standardised RESP outputs delivered in every RESP area, such as Regional Context, Strategic Investment Need, Pathways and Consistent Planning Assumptions, and Spatial representation of our work.

Having an understanding and lived experience of North West will be key.

Our focus in the immediate term is to build trust with our stakeholders, establish our process and methodology, and grow our capability in whole energy systems to best support local actors and industry stakeholders in developing credible plans to support net zero.

Climate change is the challenge of a generation, and the time to act is now. Join us and you won’t just be touching the lives of almost everyone in Great Britain – you will be shaping the way we use and consume energy for generations to come.

This role will begin as home-based, but will transition to the North west office upon opening in 2025. We are open to full time and part time applicants, as well as flexible working arrangements.

About us

The creation of National Energy System Operator (NESO) is driven by an urgent need to unify and optimise our approach to energy. A more integrated and coordinated strategy is needed to meet the unprecedented challenges of climate change, ensuring secure energy supply, and keeping costs manageable for consumers.

Join us and empower your potential, energise our team, and be part of something bigger.

Your energy, our future, together.

About the National Energy System Operator (NESO)

In Autumn of 2024, the ESO transitioned to National Energy System Operator, or NESO for short. Previously denoted as the Future System Operator (or FSO), the new National Energy System Operator is the independent body responsible for planning Great Britain’s electricity and gas networks and operating the electricity system.  

The ESO, including all of its existing roles, are now at the heart of the new National Energy System Operator. As NESO, we will build on our existing roles, capabilities, and ways of working significantly to create an organisation the energy system and its users’ need. Our new capabilities will enable us to look across vectors, including electricity, natural gas and hydrogen, and crucially consider the trade-offs between them.

The organisation is set up as a public corporation with its own Board of independent directors, with complete operational independence from government, the regulator and any and all commercial interest. As was the ESO, NESO will be licenced and regulated by Ofgem through price control agreements and obligated to identify optimal solutions to system operations and planning in the most sustainable, affordable and secure way for all.

The time to deliver is now. As part of our team, you won’t just be touching the lives of almost everyone in Great Britain – you’ll be shaping the way we use and consume energy for generations to come.

Key Accountabilities

The role accountabilities will be dependent on the successful candidate’s experience, knowledge and interest. There will be flexibility, to reflect regional and NESO needs, in the composition of each regional team. We need people that will contribute or lead on the following accountabilities:

• To lead and drive engagement with stakeholders, such as energy developers, concerned with energy generation and supply, such as onshore wind and solar
• Develop analysis and technical briefings to inform the North West RESP, and upskill the team
• Capture insights from engagement to inform RESP outputs
• To develop, consult and then implement relevant parts of the RESP methodology to your region
• To be the subject matter expert in in the North West for energy generation and supply.
• To define and lead on regional energy strategic planning work packages; working in a matrix style structure to ensure work your leading upon is coordinated with other regional and central RESP teams
• To produce and deliver clear, concise, short reports and slide packs in progressing the RESP. Ensure that the key messages are relevant, clear, and pitched appropriately for the audience.
• To understand, engage and gain required and beneficial inputs from stakeholders in developing the RESP to the prescribed methodology; being able to clearly communicate and propose changes where needed to key assumptions
• To create new ways to analyse and present problems and potential solutions, sometimes building on the work and experience of others to quickly develop sufficient understanding of unfamiliar topics in developing the RESP

About you

We’re forging the path, and we know we can’t do it alone. That’s why we need visionary minds like yours to join us on this transformative journey. In this case, we’re looking for someone who:

• Experience within the energy sector, including energy knowledge specifically relating to energy generation and supply
• Knowledge of energy project development lifecycles and the ‘whole energy’ system – with advanced experience in at least one of the energy vectors (gas and/or electricity networks, heat decarbonisation, hydrogen, transport decarbonisation, etc)
• Ability to translate complex and technical information into easily understandable messaging for non-technical audiences, in both reports and presentations
• Knowledge and experience of strategic critical thinking with ability to consider strategic frameworks and concepts, and how changes to these will drive RESP design and implementation
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Experience of communicating with, and influencing, internal and external stakeholders at a range of levels
• Project management, coordination and planning skills to ensure that deadlines are met, governance is adhered to, stakeholders are effectively engaged and high quality process and outputs are achieved
• An inquisitive mind with the ability to join the dots and a willingness to learn about new areas of work
• Training and development of the team will be a key priority as we set up RESP. Successful individuals may be asked to help train other team members and also have the opportunity to be trained on less familiar areas.

About what you'll get

A competitive salary between £55,000 - £65,000 per annum – dependent on experience and capability. As well as your base salary, you will receive a bonus based on company performance, 26 days annual leave as standard and a competitive contributory pension scheme where we will double match your contribution to a maximum company contribution of 12%.

As we work towards creating a cleaner, greener, and more affordable future for all, we also work towards creating a place for our teammates to belong, with professional and personal growth and positive well-being.

• Full support and career-development resources to expand your skills, enhance your expertise, and maximise your potential along your career journey.
• A diverse and inclusive community of belonging, where teammates are empowered to bring ideas to the table.
• Generous Total Rewards Plan – comprising of health, finance and wealth, work/life balance, and career benefits.

More information

This role closes on 13th August 2025 at 23:59, however we encourage candidates to submit their application as early as possible and not wait until the published closing date as this can vary.

We work towards the highest standards in everything we do, including how we support, value and develop our people. Our aim is to encourage and support employees to thrive and be the best they can be. We celebrate the difference people can bring into our organisation, and welcome and encourage applicants with diverse experiences and backgrounds, and offer flexible and tailored support, at home and in the office. 

We're committed to building a workforce that represents the communities we serve, and a working environment in which each individual feels valued, respected, fairly treated, and able to reach their full potential.

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