Powered by Water, Driven by Purpose

South West Water keeps the South West flowing with safe, reliable drinking water and wastewater services across some of the UK’s most stunning landscapes.

We’re proud to be part of Pennon Group, a leader in the UK water sector, working towards a greener future. Our goals? As well as lowering our carbon footprint, we’re working with partners to plant 300,000 trees, restore peatlands and supporting farmers and landowners to improve water quality and wildlife.

Whether you’re starting out or seeking a new challenge, our scale and ambition create opportunities for you to shape your own career.

Ready to make a splash? Join our team today.

We're looking for an experienced Planned Maintenance Manager to lead the planning, scheduling and delivery of maintenance activities across critical Mechanical & Electrical (M&E) assets that support essential water and wastewater services.

This is an exciting opportunity for a strong engineering leader who enjoys balancing operational priorities, people management and technical problem-solving. You'll play a vital role in ensuring our assets remain safe, compliant, reliable and available, helping us deliver outstanding service for customers and the environment.

About the role:

As Planned Maintenance Manager, you'll lead a team of M&E technicians and work closely with operational managers, contractors and support teams to ensure maintenance activities are planned and delivered effectively

What you'll be doing:

• Develop and manage planned maintenance schedules for operational M&E assets.

• Prioritise workloads and ensure maintenance activities are delivered within agreed service levels.

• Build strong relationships with operational teams to understand business priorities and regulatory requirements.

• Manage external M&E service providers and contractors.

• Work with stores and logistics teams to ensure availability of critical parts and materials.

• Identify opportunities to improve maintenance scheduling, processes and asset performance.

• Provide technical leadership, supporting complex fault diagnosis and problem resolution.

• Lead, coach and develop team members to achieve individual and team objectives.

• Ensure compliance with health, safety and operational standards.

• Manage assigned operational and capital budgets.

• Support business resilience through participation in the regional Duty Manager rota.

What we are looking for:

You'll be a capable people leader with a strong engineering background and the ability to make sound operational decisions in a fast-paced environment.

Essential

• Completed Mechanical or Electrical apprenticeship or equivalent qualification.

• Full UK driving licence

• Experience leading and developing frontline teams.

• Engineering maintenance supervisory experience.

• Strong understanding of mechanical and electrical assets and maintenance principles.

• Experience managing priorities and making operational decisions.

• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.

• Knowledge of health and safety requirements and safe systems of work.

• Good IT skills, including Microsoft Office.

Desirable

• Water or process industry experience.

• Recognised management qualification.

• ATEX/JTL CompEx qualifications.

• NEBOSH General Certificate.

• Experience of budget management, root cause analysis and asset contingency planning.

What's in it for you?

This is a fantastic opportunity to lead a critical maintenance function, influence operational performance and help deliver essential services that support communities and protect the environment. If you're an experienced engineering leader looking for your next challenge, we'd love to hear from you.

• Generous holiday allowance with the ability to buy and sell annual leave for added flexibility.

• Competitive company pension scheme.

• Training and development within the role.

• Access to thousands of discounts and vouchers through Pennon Perks.

• 24/7 support with our Employee Assistance Programme.

• Discretionary bonus.

• Cycle to work scheme.

• And more!

Closing Date: 22nd July 2026

We may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Please note that the successful candidate will be subject to a mandatory DBS check as part of the onboarding process.

Be yourself, we like it that way. Together, we will build a culture of belonging, where inclusion is instinctive. Diversity is our strength and a reflection of our communities. We care, we value everyone, we celebrate uniqueness.

Our core values, which are essential to our success, are:

Be Rock Solid - Build trust and be trusted. Be the one we all look to and can depend on.

Be You - We want you to bring your best everyday. Be yourself and make your mark in your individual way.

Be the Future - Embrace change. Drive Progress. Own the challenge.