Utilities recruitment
Utilities recruitment
Utilities hire in cycles set by the regulator, not by the calendar. Knowing where a business sits in its price control period is the difference between a search that lands and one that stalls for a quarter.
Roles we recruit
Utilities roles we place
Every search is run by a consultant who specialises in this discipline, supported by a dedicated research function that maps competitor organisations properly.
- Asset Manager
- Network Engineer
- Regulatory Affairs Manager
- Metering Programme Manager
- Capital Delivery Manager
- Field Operations Manager
- Head of Asset Strategy
- Operations Director
Market view
Hiring around the regulatory cycle
Water and energy networks plan investment in multi-year price control periods, and hiring follows that shape rather than a smooth annual curve. Demand concentrates sharply at the start of a cycle as capital programmes are mobilised, then thins as delivery settles. Clients who begin a leadership search at the point the programme is already running are competing for a population that was hired eighteen months earlier. We map that timing into the brief and are direct about what it means for availability and cost.
The scarce commodity is regulated asset experience rather than engineering ability. Plenty of strong candidates in construction, infrastructure and heavy industry can do the technical work, but far fewer have operated inside a regulatory determination, built a business case a regulator accepted, or managed the reporting obligations that come with it. We are explicit at scoping about which parts of a specification genuinely require that background and which are preferences, because that distinction usually widens a search that looked impossible.
Common questions
Questions we are asked
Do you recruit across water, gas and power?
Yes. We cover regulated water companies, electricity and gas network operators, and the contractor and consultancy businesses that deliver their capital programmes. The commercial and regulatory dynamics differ between them, so briefs are handled by a consultant who knows the specific sub-sector.
Can candidates transfer in from other infrastructure sectors?
Often, yes, and in a supply-constrained market it is frequently the right answer. Large capital project delivery and asset engineering transfer cleanly. Regulatory affairs and price control experience transfer far less well. We will tell you which of your requirements is which before the search starts.
Related
Other disciplines we cover
Start a conversation
Hiring in utilities?
Tell us the role. A specialist who covers this market will reply within one working day, usually with a view on availability and benchmark compensation before we have even spoken.