Job Description:

As a Digital Telecommunications Manager, you will play a key role within Thames Water’s Digital and Technology function, leading the organisation’s approach to reliable, resilient, and future-ready telecommunications services across a complex operational estate. Working closely with suppliers, operational teams, programme delivery, architecture, and business stakeholders, you will ensure telecom services are secure, performant, and aligned to both operational and strategic objectives.

This role contributes to Thames Water’s operational resilience by ensuring critical communication systems remain available 24/7, supporting customer operations, field services, contact centres, operational sites, and digital platforms. You will collaborate across the business to drive service excellence, optimise supplier performance, manage operational risks, and support the transformation of Thames Water’s telecoms landscape.

What you’ll be doing as a Digital Telecommunications Manager

• Lead the delivery and operational management of Thames Water’s digital telecommunications services across cloud and on-premises platforms.
• Manage supplier relationships and telecom service contracts, ensuring delivery against agreed SLAs, KPIs, and operational expectations.
• Act as the primary escalation point for telecom faults, incidents, problems, and operational service risks.
• Ensure telecom services are reliable, resilient, secure, and optimised to support business and operational requirements.
• Support service introduction and transition activities through effective change management and governance processes.
• Drive continual service improvement across telecom services, improving service quality, customer experience, and operational performance.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key business, operational, and technical stakeholders.
• Lead service governance activities, including weekly and monthly operational reviews, reporting, and supplier performance management.
• Manage telecom service requests, ensuring all requests, incidents, and faults are resolved within agreed service levels.
• Review and approve root cause analysis reports and corrective action plans for operational incidents.
• Ensure compliance with IT service management processes including Change Management, Capacity Management, and Availability Management.
• Manage telecom operational budgets, ensuring cost control, forecasting, accruals, and financial reporting activities are completed accurately.
• Support commercial and contractual governance activities to ensure quality, compliance, and value from telecom suppliers.
• Collaborate with digital, operational, and transformation teams to support the integration of new telecom technologies and services.
• Define and support the telecom technology roadmap, including Cellular, NB-IoT, CAT1, RedCap, 4G, 5G, 6G, eSIM, Satellite, and LoRaWAN technologies.
• Support the safe and sustainable integration of telecom services into Thames Water’s core technology environments.
• Identify, manage, and mitigate operational and service risks across the telecoms estate.
• Provide regular operational, financial, and service performance reporting to senior leadership teams.
• Drive continuous improvement in telecom service delivery processes, governance, and supplier management practices.
• Ensure health, safety, and wellbeing remain the highest priority across all service and operational activities.

Base location – Hybrid - Reading (STW) - RG2 0RP
Working pattern – 36 hours Monday to Friday.

What you should bring to the role

• Extensive experience managing telecom service delivery within large or complex enterprise environments.
• Strong experience managing telecom suppliers, operational contracts, and service governance activities.
• Experience managing telecom operational support, incidents, problems, and service improvements.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to engage technical, operational, and business teams effectively.
• Excellent communication and customer service skills.
• Proven problem-solving and decision-making capability within operational and service environments.
• Experience managing teams, suppliers, or project delivery activities.
• Experience working within ITIL, Agile, Waterfall, Lean, or similar delivery methodologies.
• Ability to manage conflicting priorities and operational demands in fast-paced environments.
• Strong organisational and planning capabilities with a focus on operational excellence and customer outcomes.
• Proactive and collaborative approach with strong commercial awareness and supplier management capability.

Technical experience and skills

• Strong understanding of telecommunications technologies including WAN, VoIP, Satellite, NB-IoT, 4G, and 5G technologies.
• Knowledge of telecom infrastructure, unified communications, contact centre technologies, and connectivity services.
• Experience supporting cloud and on-premises telecom environments.
• Understanding of telecom service management processes including incident, change, capacity, and availability management.
• Experience managing telecom operational risks, service reporting, and performance metrics.
• Ability to support telecom transformation and technology modernisation programmes.
• Commercial awareness including budget management, supplier governance, and cost optimisation activities.

Desirable qualifications and experience

• Experience working within utilities, critical infrastructure, or regulated industries.
• Experience supporting large-scale telecom or digital transformation programmes.
• Knowledge of operational technology (OT) environments and critical operational communications.
• Experience managing large-scale enterprise telecom estates with complex operational dependencies.
• Experience working within matrix organisations and multi-supplier environments.

Desirable technical skills and qualifications

• Degree qualified in telecommunications, networks, or a related technical discipline.
• Chartered professional or engineering status.
• Technical problem-solving and issue-resolution capability within telecom environments.
• Knowledge of telecom architecture and future connectivity technologies.
• Experience supporting strategic supplier and commercial management activities.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary between £62,000 and £78,000 per annum, depending on experience.
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (plus bank holidays)
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets.
• 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 (Please note different T&Cs apply if on secondment)

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.