About the Role

Leading on support for the development of our Technical & Engineering standards, as a Principal Technical Author, you will provide expert specialist technical capability in developing, evaluating, maintaining and supporting delivery of standards. Standards cover a range of technologies and disciplines associated with the Gas Transmission (GT) plant and equipment to meet legislative/compliance requirements and company objectives and maintain the system capability required to satisfy customer needs and any stakeholder requirements. 

Key Accountabilities:

• Technical Standards
  • Responsible for the development and production of GT technical standards in collaboration with Subject Matter Experts (SME) and the wider GT engineering teams.
  • Ensure delivery of high-quality technical standards content to meet the requirements of the GT business.
  • Be the focal point on the technical standards review process for review prioritisation, progress, approvals, implementation and escalation.
  • Represent National Grid on external standards bodies with respect to document access and standards.
  • Deliver reviews, updates and implementation of the standards within the sphere of expertise.
  • Lead the responses to technical queries and deviations to these standards.
  • Provide support on engineering updates and engineering bulletins for current technical standards and ensure effective communication.

• Support Engineering Teams
  • Lead, supervise or operate within a project team or virtual teams to achieve business objectives, plans and targets to enhance performance, condition, records and compliance with statutory requirements.
  • Develop forward-looking plans to deliver a value/critically driven appropriate review for the engineering standards.
  • Monitor both the internal and external environment to identify where industry best practice or benchmarking can create maximum value for the business by developing solutions for implementation, while appropriately managing risk.
  • Lead audits, incident investigations, and detailed inspections to manage risk, while creating value for the business.
  • Be the GT representative to external bodies within the sphere of expertise. 
  • Provide coaching and support to develop further the immediate or wider team capability in National Grid's management process.
• System & Data
  • Provide a focal point for systems access, authorisation and issues associated with the development, update, modification and communications for the control of the engineering document suite. 
  • Provide SME knowledge for system changes to ensure they are reflective of the GT requirements and that appropriate processes are maintained.
  • Lead and support the development of support tools, IT systems and applications to enable efficient business reporting and decisions to be made.
  • Support cleansing and validation of systems data.
• Asset Strategy
  • Provide SME knowledge for Asset Class Strategies and Asset Management Planning.

About You

We are looking for someone who...

• Has excellent interpersonal skills - with the ability to communicate, negotiate and influence at all levels of the business and with external contractors, regulatory bodies and peer organisations.
• Has business acumen - to drive value through design optimisation, simplification, innovation and standardisation, whilst ensuring compliance with key legislation, technical standards and quality requirements.
• Demonstrates a high degree of self-motivation.

Technical/Specialist Skills:

• Strong understanding of legislative requirements and engineering policy documents applicable to GT.
• Good technical understanding of GT assets.
• Capable of technical writing, authoring, research and editing capabilities for technical audiences.
• Successful application of the knowledge to deliver innovative products and services and/or take responsibility for complex systems.
• Experience in applying relevant policies, procedures and specifications and the resolution of technical issues.
• Relevant engineering and industry experience.

It is essential that you hold a Degree (or equivalent) in a relevant engineering discipline.

What You'll Get

• A competitive salary between £44,400 - £56,000 dependent on capability.
• Flexible and part-time working can be accommodated.
• 25 days holiday (increasing to 26 days after 2 years employment) plus 8 statutory days - option available to buy extra holiday days.
• Annual performance bonus of up to 6% of your salary.
• A generous pension scheme where we double match your contribution up to 6% (maximum Company contribution of 12%) of your salary each month i.e. for every £1 you contribute, we'll put another £2 (you can contribute more un-matched if you want to).
• Paid expenses for any business travel and accommodation excluding travel to your base location/office.
• You will also have access to several other flexible benefits such as a share incentive plan, salary sacrifice car and technology schemes.
• Access to employee support, care and assistance helplines.
• Access to Employer Matched charity giving.

Further Information

Opportunity Type: Permanent

Location: Hybrid working will be supported, however you will be expected to travel to Warwick as and when required.

Closing Date: Friday 22nd October 2021

We encourage you to submit your application as early as possible and not to wait until the published closing date. National Grid’s recruitment periods can and may vary. We reserve the right to remove this advert or close it to further applications at any point during the recruitment process.

The application process includes a CV review and if minimum requirements are met, an invite for an initial 20-minute telephone conversation with the hiring manager, followed by a formal interview if shortlisted following telephone conversation.