Title:  Portfolio Lead - NESO

About us

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.

Reliable energy systems are fundamental to everyday life in Great Britain. They underpin homes, businesses, public services, and critical national infrastructure, and are essential to economic stability, public safety, and social wellbeing. As the energy system evolves through decarbonisation, increasing electrification, and greater interdependence across sectors, ensuring that it remains secure, reliable, and resilient is more important than ever.  

Recent events, including the North Hyde substation fire and subsequent review, and the Iberian Peninsula blackout, have reinforced the importance of understanding and strengthening resilience across the whole energy system – not only today, but for the future. 

The Resilience & Emergency Management (REM) directorate strengthens whole-energy-system resilience by being a catalyst for change – turning insight into coordinated, prioritised action that reduces risk and builds capability across the system. REM delivers this through analysis, assessments, reviews, emergency exercises, and plans that drive tangible improvements with our partners.

REM operates through a continuous improvement cycle that includes:  

•  Learning systematically about energy system risks and resilience  

•  Conducting prioritised assessments to generate insights and advice  

•  Translating insights into actions that drive tangible improvements 

We are building our capability to maintain a strategic, system-wide view that integrates insights from NESO’s analysis and outputs and translates them into prioritised risks, workplans, and engagement strategies. This enables each of our technical teams to focus on developing deep expertise and driving change in a specialist area.

These specialised topics could focus on a combination of particular:  

• Time horizons (short-, medium-, or long-term)  

• Resilience capabilities (anticipation, resistance, response, or recovery)  

• Energy system elements (electricity, gas, or cross-vector systems)

This role is to plan, coordinate, and drive delivery across the full portfolio of work within the HTO Energy System Resilience Senior Manager area, ensuring that priorities are clear, resources are aligned, delivery is outcome-focused, and insights have a clear path from creation to driving tangible improvements in whole-energy-system resilience.

This role can be based from Wokingham, Warwick or Glasgow and we continue to offer hybrid working from office and home. We are open to full time and part time applicants, as well as flexible working arrangements.

Key Accountabilities

• Plan, coordinate, and oversee delivery of the full portfolio of work across the HTO Energy System Resilience area.
• Maintain a clear, integrated view of all in-flight work, upcoming activity, dependencies, and risks for the HTO area.
• Proactively support the HTO’s team of technical specialists in shaping delivery approaches, sequencing work, and managing trade-offs across a complex and evolving portfolio of work.
• Work closely with the HTO’s team of technical specialists, the HTO function coordinator(s), other REM Portfolio Leads, and REM’s central portfolio management team to dynamically ensure alignment, consistency, and efficient use of capability across the directorate.
• Support the HTO area in translating strategic REM priorities into clear work packages including delivery plans and milestones.
• Ensure resources are effectively allocated and re-prioritised in response to changing system needs, emerging risks, and leadership direction.
• Track delivery performance against agreed objectives, identifying delivery risks early and supporting teams to resolve issues and unblock progress.
• Support a collaborative, outcome-driven approach to delivery, encouraging knowledge-sharing and reuse of insight, tools, and analysis across teams.
• Provide clear, regular, and actionable updates to REM leadership on progress, risks, and delivery confidence.
• Ensure outputs are delivered to a high standard, are consistent with REM frameworks, and are positioned to drive real system-level impact.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of delivery practices, tooling, and portfolio management across REM.
• Support rotation of Portfolio Leads between Senior Manager areas over time, enabling capability development and avoiding siloed delivery models.
• Lead on acquiring consultancy support and industry secondees as and when required working with the procurement team and the REM Strategic partnership team.

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 in portfolio, programme, or complex project delivery, ideally across multiple teams or workstreams
• Strong grounding in project and delivery management disciplines, with the flexibility to apply them pragmatically in dynamic, non-linear environments
• Ability to hold a whole-portfolio view, balancing detail with strategic awareness
• Confidence working with senior leaders, analysts, and specialists to align delivery with intent and outcomes
• Strong organisational skills, able to manage competing priorities and adapt plans as context changes
• Clear and structured communication skills, translating complex delivery information into actionable insight for leadership
• A collaborative mindset, focused on enabling others, sharing knowledge, and strengthening collective delivery
• Willingness to challenge constructively where delivery risks or misalignment emerge
• Interest in developing delivery capability across different areas of REM through role rotation and exposure
• Experience in contract management and procurement is advantageous

About what you’ll get

A competitive salary between £55,000 – 65,000 – 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%.

You will also have access to a comprehensive benefits package tailored to support your well-being and professional success. From a competitive salary to flexible work arrangements, we promote your work-life balance. Enjoy fit for purpose wellbeing and lifestyle offerings, ongoing skill development aligned to our Purpose and Values, and be part of a supportive community that values your individuality and where you can belong.

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.

More information

This role closes on 19/03/2026 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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