We are Uisce Éireann. Every day, we are responsible for the delivery of secure, safe, and sustainable water services for the people of Ireland. As Ireland’s national regulated water utility, our vision is a sustainable Ireland where water is respected and protected, for the planet and all the lives it supports.
Our purpose at Uisce Éireann is to rise to the challenge of delivering transformative water services that enable communities to thrive. That means we are proud to take on the responsibility of protecting our water supply and passing on a safe and secure water system to a rapidly growing population and empowering Ireland’s social and economic growth.
So, we’re passionate about helping our people to do the best work of their lives, to enable them to make a positive difference to communities all over Ireland. Our aim is to attract and develop talented and skilled people with diverse backgrounds and an evolving range of expertise and insight. We believe that such a strong workforce will help us achieve our goals and allow us to continue investing in, and advancing, Ireland’s water services.


The Role
Uisce Éireann IT (UÉ IT) provides IT services and support to the wider Uisce Éireann business, and across the Local Authority user base.
The IT-OT team (Operational Technology) houses the Operational Technology skills necessary to ensure the implementation and availability of all IT-OT applications and infrastructure, including hardware, networks, data center and disaster recovery. The IT-OT team plan and manage technical OT projects to renew and update the underlying OT infrastructure and safeguard UÉ OT systems by implementing robust security standards such as the Network and Information Systems Directive. The team play a critical role in the operation, integration and connectivity of systems such as the National Telemetry System, Leakage Management System, Operational Data Store and Enterprise Data Historian, as well as site level IT-OT applications and infrastructure. The team manages and maintains these systems as befitting UÉ designation as an Operator of Essential Services.
Reporting to the IT Operational Technology Senior Manager, the IT-OT Operations & Service Manager will be responsible for the management of the delivery of frontline support services in relation to incidents, problems, and changes, striving to resolve IT-OT queries and issues in an efficient and customer-focused manner, including ensuring the implementation and availability of all site level IT-OT applications and infrastructure. This involves making provision for the IT-OT support model, embedding a service delivery culture and a customer first experience, acting as the level 1.5 support and triage function to the additional IT-OT pillars.. This role is customer-facing pillar, bridging the gap between technology and the business with a key focus on customer satisfaction and demand, requiring collaboration with IT, stakeholders and the remaining IT-OT pillars


Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Deliver IT Operational services and support to UÉ through the OT Applications, , Infrastructure (including site level IT-OT applications and infrastructure) and Service Management teams. This includes managing front-line IT-OT support services to stakeholders.
• Ensure support and operations of site level Treatment Plant OT Perimeter defense, site level cybersecurity monitoring systems and devices as well as ensuring availability and security of site level OT applications and devices on Uisce Eireann’s assets
• Provide effective leadership to a motivated and talented Operations & Service team. Coach, mentor and further develop the team to high performance in delivering OT application services with a strong customer service focus
• Manage outsourced OT Operational contracts and relationships with strategic suppliers and ensure service providers perform to the SLA’s documented in the contract
• Continuously evaluate the performance of service providers and define improvement initiatives
• Develop and maintain service delivery plans (including budgets, processes, tools, and staffing)
• Develop an IT-OT service delivery framework by which service will be measured, and ensure buy in from the business which maximises customer experience
• Maintain and communicate clear and unambiguous roles and responsibilities for the team’s services with all internal and external parties involved
• Capture KPIs and performance data across the IT-OT team and help drive the area to ensure that services and support levels are aligned with business requirements
• Manage the IT-OT Incident, Problem Management and Change Management processes, identifying long term trends and improving the rate of “first time fix” inclusive of ensuring P1 incidents and managed in a controlled, prioritised, and well communicated fashion, with rigorous oversight of RCA SLAs and action plans.
• Develop Service Level Agreements and Operational Level Agreement, validating and agreeing these with stakeholders for the support and delivery of OT systems.
• Adhere to Service Level Agreements, validating and agreeing these with stakeholders
• Review Service Levels on a periodic basis, measuring performance and recommending service improvement actions that maximise customer experience as part of IT’s Customer-first agenda
• Formalise business requirements into service requirements and manage the service introduction & service transition processes
• Ensure service readiness documents (release & deployment plan, release schedule, operational service documentation, readiness risk plans, etc.) are created & accepted by stakeholders & ensure that transition risks are identified and mitigated
• Responsible for the monitoring, reporting, analysing and escalation of day-to-day operational service delivery issues, taking ownership through to resolution
• Champion the use of ITIL standards and processes within the IT-OT team
• Ensure strong relationships are built with the Local Authorities, supply chain, system integrators and the user community to ensure integrity of the site IT-OT applications and infrastructure. Ensure the IT-OT team supports the identification, verification and documentation of business, functional and technical requirements in conjunction with the relevant stakeholders
• Develop the system support and services strategy and contribute to the overall strategy of the IT-OT mission and the broader IT strategy aligned with business objectives and leadership
• Develop technical capability and drive up quality, predictability and cost efficiency of services and support
• Ensure business continuity and fundamental reliability of the IT-OT systems, including those at site level
• Ensure appropriate controls and security protection is in place to mitigate the risk of cyber-attack/data breach
• Drive compliance with cybersecurity compliance requirements and best practice in line with the Network and Information Systems Directive (e.g: NIST Controls, CIS Hardening, IEC 62443 etc)
• Build strong relationships with peer IT-OT and IT managers with the aim of optimising cooperation and maximising efficiencies across the wider organisation
• Manage an OT budget for IT-OT Operations & Service Management and participate in the annual budget process
• Manage day to day issues and act as an escalation point, taking ownership through to resolution
• Support in management of IT-OT legacy systems as required
• Assist in the implementation of the Uisce Éireann Telemetry Strategy as a key contributor for Uisce Éireann IT, Asset Operations and Asset Management through the Telemetry Programme’s work streams
• Participation in On Call Rota and flexibility for out of hours work as required
Perform other duties as required from time to tim

General Duties and Responsibilities

• Collaboration with key internal stakeholders across the UÉ business, including but not limited to;
• Other IT-OT pillar Managers
• Wider IT Teams
• Teams across the Business Units (e.g. Asset Operations, Asset Management)
• Responsible for promoting and delivering health and safety commitments across UÉ and its supply chain, reinforcing positive behaviours and delivering health and safety objectives and requirements to the highest industry standards.
• Support the delivery of the Uisce Éireann Transformation Programme, driving results required within the Directorate and supporting organisation-wide objectives.
• Provide visible leadership for your team, coaching and developing them to achieve their full potential and deliver business objectives, promoting collaboration and highlighting the behaviours that are expected from everyone in the team.
• Other duties as required.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Relevant experience in service operations as well as managing external service providers is desirable
• ITIL certifications, preferably for service management such as ITIL Service Practitioner, are advantageous
• 7 years experience in a senior technical operational role in a complex 24x7x365, security focused environment is desirable
• Relevant third level qualification and or accreditation is desirable
• A minimum of 7 years experience in the water, utilities or similar industries is desirable and or relevant experience
• Demonstrated leadership ability, proactive development, motivation and engagement of staff
• Experience managing a large team, with strong people, change management and conflict resolution skills
• Experience of developing and maintaining effective strategic partnerships with key stakeholders
• Proven track record with dealing with complex issues, proactively and in a timely fashion along with the ability to communicate complex information to others
• Experience of supporting policies, systems and controls and driving the implementation of progressive policies
• You will have a proven track record in leadership, change & transformation experience ideally in a similar utility, regulated industry or multi stakeholder environment
Able to work to deadlines and adapt to changing conditions and ambiguity generating effective and pragmatic solutions to new situations and problems as they are presented.