Innovations Projects Manager

Description:

ESB is a purpose led company striving to create a brighter future for the customers and communities we serve, leading the transition to reliable, affordable, low-carbon energy. Today, we operate one of the most progressive electricity systems in the world, with activities spanning electricity generation, transmission, distribution and supply in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain, and an international energy consulting business.

With almost 8,000 employees we invested €1bn in infrastructure last year, contributed over €2bn to the economies we operate in and distributed over €2m across a range of community initiatives. This requires us to bring the best of our capabilities together to deliver innovative and value-driven solutions that enable our customers to live low-carbon lives. ESB strives to foster an effective and inclusive culture where people engage, challenge and feel connected to our purpose, colleagues, customers and community.

Position Description

ESB Networks has a pivotal role in Ireland’s energy transition to a Net-Zero future. We have a strong history of innovation and have developed one of the most progressive electricity networks in the world. ESB Networks Innovation Strategy supports Ireland’s commitment to the Climate Action Plan (CAP) and has been developed to facilitate Ireland’s transition to a lower carbon economy. ESB Networks’ definition of innovation is to implement new ideas for the enduring benefit of customers and the business.

ESB Networks Innovation Strategy is delivered against a robust Innovation Framework with strong governance, external stakeholder representation, benchmarking, external collaboration, and broad dissemination of learnings that supports an innovative culture within the organisation and is key to delivering the network of the future.

ESB Networks current innovation project portfolio is made up of 29 active innovation projects, delivered by c. 40 staff across three innovation pillars: Future Customer, Climate Action, and Network Resilience. These areas include initiatives that align with ESB Networks’ strategic objectives to increase the level of renewables and Distributed Energy Resources on the network including the electrification of heat and transport and the development of a smarter network to facilitate a lower carbon economy.

Estimated lifetime savings that could accrue from this portfolio of projects is approximately €60m. Over the last 12 months, over 170 innovation ideas have been examined. ESB Networks understands that the challenges of the energy transition will only be delivered by innovative collaboration and therefore is currently collaborating with 80 national and international organisations across a wide range of industry sectors to leverage from the experience, technologies and skills of each other.

As an Innovation project manager, the successful candidate will work with the Innovation Team and cross business project management teams to successfully deliver on our Innovation Programme. They will be responsible for the identification and evaluation of innovation pipeline projects and ideas from external and internal sources.

Reporting to the Innovation Manager and working with the Innovation Team, they will be responsible for the implementation of the Project Management methodology across several innovation projects being delivered throughout the business and will ensure compliance with our Innovation processes and the associated reporting structures.

The role is an excellent opportunity for someone interested in innovating for the network of the future, working and engaging with new technologies and systems to enable the low carbon energy transition, while developing their career with supportive learning opportunities in ESB Networks.

Key Responsibilities

Manage the identification and evaluation of innovation pipeline projects and ideas in line with ESB Network’s Innovation Governance Framework and project management methodologies. This will require inter-disciplinary and cross-department engagement and stakeholder management.
Preparation of Business Cases, Expenditure Approvals and RFIs/RFPs as appropriate.
Maintain an awareness of changes in technology, markets, and customers in the ESB Networks environment and approaches to network company and network customer challenges being employed in other utilities and jurisdictions.
Meet with third party organisations to assess potential collaboration opportunities that align with our prioritised areas of focus. Prepare collaboration proposals for presentation to ESB Networks’ Innovation Steering Group for consideration.
Work collaboratively with others externally and in ESB Networks to share information and learning from innovation projects and contribute to the ongoing development of a collaborative innovation culture within the organisation.
Ensure that all innovation project/team reporting is complied with including project, financial, managerial, and regulatory reports.
Input into the Innovation Strategy and ongoing innovation initiatives in ESB Networks as requested.
Contribute, participate and collaborate with other parts of the business on external engagements as requested (e.g. conferences, webinars, seminars, industry and media articles) that promote the activities of Innovation in ESB Networks.
Carry out other duties as determined by the Innovation Manager.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Essential

Technical background, capable of making informed judgements relating to technical alternatives, accounting for electrical, practical and systems aspects.
An inquisitive mind and willingness to challenge conventional models.
Project management experience and knowledge of project management methodologies (Prince 2, Agile, other).
Commercial awareness and the ability to assess the benefits of innovation ideas and projects.
Excellent report writing skills.
Proven experience in working as part of a flexible team and working collaboratively.
Stakeholder management experience.
Strong safety ethos with proven ability to deliver projects in a safe manner.
Strong organisational and planning skills.
Excellent interpersonal and communications skills.
Ability to act independently and take initiative.