Commercial and Portfolio Manager - OHL
About us
At National Grid, we keep people connected and society moving. But it’s so much more than that. National Grid supplies us with the environment to make it happen. As we generate momentum in the energy transition for all, we don’t plan on leaving any of our customers in the dark. So, join us as a Commercial and Portfolio Manager and find your superpower.
National Grid is hiring a Over Head Lines - Commercial and Portfolio Manager - This role can be based anywhere in the UK (requirement for travelling to different sites).
Job Purpose
We’re looking for a OHL Commercial and Portfolio Manager to lead the pre‑construction development of a major overhead lines (OHL) investment portfolio. This is a pivotal role, accountable for ensuring projects are commercially robust, investment‑ready, and aligned to strategic funding and governance requirements before entering delivery.
Sitting at the heart of our capital investment programme, you’ll provide strong leadership across portfolio governance, commercial finance control, and early‑stage project development, helping to drive value, cost certainty, and informed investment decisions across high‑value, complex infrastructure schemes.
What you'll do
- Hold commercial accountability across the pre‑construction lifecycle, ensuring costs are robustly developed, challenged, and aligned with approved investment strategies
- Lead portfolio governance, ensuring projects comply with investment approval frameworks, sanction requirements, funding routes, and change control processes
- Own the quality and completeness of business cases, cost estimates, risk allowances, and supporting evidence to enable timely investment decisions
- Act as a centre of excellence for early‑stage development, leading a team of development engineers responsible for scopes, surveys, materials planning, and tendering activity
- Work closely with Commercial, Procurement, and EPC Project Managers to shape optimal contracting and packaging strategies that deliver value for money
- Maintain clear oversight of portfolio priorities, managing dependencies, scope change, and readiness to transition projects smoothly into delivery
- Champion safety, compliance, and CDM excellence, ensuring all pre‑construction activity meets regulatory and organisational standards
- Provide strong leadership, coaching, and direction across multiple projects and teams in a fast‑paced investment environment
About you
You’re a confident leader with a strong engineering and project background, experienced in managing complex infrastructure portfolios through pre‑construction and investment governance.
Essential:
- Solid engineering background with experience in pre‑construction project development
- Strong project and portfolio management capability, including governance and commercial control
- Proven understanding of health & safety and CDM regulations (NEBOSH or equivalent)
- Experience leading project teams and coordinating multiple workstreams
Desirable:
- Experience within the electricity, utilities sector or CNI environments
- Knowledge of overhead lines, cables, or substations (OHL experience an advantage)
- Previous experience in a portfolio governance or commercial assurance role
- A track record of managing multiple projects or skilled technical teams simultaneously
If you’re motivated by shaping major infrastructure investments, driving value through strong governance, and leading teams that deliver with excellence, this role offers the opportunity to make a visible, long‑term impact.
What you'll get
A competitive salary between £65,000 – £79,000 – dependent on capability
As well as your base salary, you will receive a bonus of up to 30% of your salary for stretch performance and a competitive contributory pension scheme where we will double match your contribution to a maximum company contribution of 12%. You will also have access to a number of flexible benefits such as a share incentive plan, salary sacrifice car and technology schemes, support via employee assistance lines and matched charity giving to name a few.
More Information
The closing date for this vacancy is 30th April. However, we encourage candidates to submit their applications as early as possible and not to wait until the published closing date. National Grid’s recruitment periods can and may vary. We reserve the right to remove this advert or close it to further applications at any point during the recruitment process.
DE & I statement:
At National Grid, 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, offering flexible and tailored support, at home and in the office.
Our goal is to drive, develop, and operate our business in a way that results in a more inclusive culture. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, the innovation from diverse teams & perspectives, and business need. We are committed to building a workforce that can represent the communities we serve and have a working environment in which each individual feels valued, respected, fairly treated, and able to reach their full potential.
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