About the Role

When you join our 24-month Higher Apprenticeship Programme as an Outage Planner, you’ll have a mixture of formal training and managed office-based experience where you will be able to put into practice the new skills you’re developing and acquiring throughout the programme. This role is a dynamic and varied role, requiring advanced organisation skills, stakeholder management skills and a keen drive to take ownership and make intelligent decisions to support National Grid’s outputs.

At the start of the programme, you’ll learn how Operational Planning fits into the wider organisation, and you’ll receive a detailed insight into the processes, procedures, systems and working practices.

You’ll be assigned to a geographical area giving you the opportunity to develop the necessary skills by working alongside Outage Planners. Through this programme, you’ll gain the knowledge in order to undertake robust decision making, ensuring successful delivery of the portfolio of works.

You’ll spend your time equally between Aston University, studying for a Foundation Degree in Electrical Power Engineering, our National Training Academy in Eakring, Nottinghamshire, completing a variety of in-house, specialist training, and our office headquarters in Warwick.

Your academic studies will take up a significant proportion of your time. However, when you are in the office you will be given exposure to various departments and be encouraged to network extensively to really immerse yourself in the business. You will carry out various projects and assignments to help you develop your knowledge, build your skills, and provide value to the business.

You’ll also have the opportunity to spend some time on site with our engineers and fitters, so you can see for yourself the work that our Operations teams do in substations up and down the country. You will receive hands on experience and will develop practical skills which will support your academic studies and on-the-job learning.

Along with this you will perform a fundamental role that is responsible for the successful planning and delivery of a portfolio of work through the management of Electricity System Outages and be involved in strategic and year ahead planning.

Once qualified you will be able to:

• Optimise the outage plan, ensure prioritisation of business outcomes aligning to regulatory commitments and manage any potential delivery risks
• Lead on the customer interfaces with regards to outages and take accountability for the customer satisfaction score for outages
• Ensure all outage planning decisions are documented in the relevant systems and are communicated with reasoning to all relevant stakeholders
• Manage and reoptimize system access changes in operational timescales, having agreed those in cross-functional, System Operator and customer interface meetings

About You

Joining us in Operational Planning, you’ll be part of an organisation with ambitious, world-changing plans for the future, right on the front line of the energy industry. We will provide you with a range of skills, experiences, and qualifications to help you drive a long and successful career with National Grid.

On successful completion of the Apprenticeship, you will receive a Foundation Degree (FdEng) in Electrical Power Engineering (Power Systems Management) – fully subsidised and paid for by National Grid.

You’ll need to have a GCSE in English Language and Maths at Grade C/4 or above (or equivalent) with one of the following:

• 2 A Levels A* - C (1 must be in either Maths OR Physics)
• BTEC National Certificate Level 3 in Electrical and Electronic Engineering or Engineering Grade Merit or Distinction (Essential the Maths modules should be at Merit or Distinction)
• BTEC National Diploma Level 3 in Electrical and Electronic Engineering or Engineering Grade Merit or Distinction (Essential the Maths modules should be at Merit or Distinction)
• ONC in Electrical and Electronic Engineering Grade Merit or Distinction (Essential the Maths modules should be at Merit or Distinction)
• HNC/HND in Electrical, Electronic or Mechanical Engineering Grade Pass, Merit or Distinction
• Degree in Maths, Physics, Chemistry or Engineering discipline

You must have a full, UK Driver’s Licence prior to joining the programme, and you must be willing to relocate to within a reasonable commute of Warwick within 1 month of the start date.

You’ll also be comfortable working at heights and will be required to take a colour-blind test as part of the assessment process.

What You'll Get

We are proud to offer a starting salary of £25,874.

As a first step to your career in the energy industry, our Higher Apprenticeship Programmes are like no other! You’ll gain an insight into how we work at National Grid, understand what a career with us can offer, and receive some great rewards and benefits:

• 25 days annual leave + statutory holidays
• A competitive ‘match and double’ pension scheme
• Sharesave options, plus other flexible benefits
• Two years quality development
• Full board accommodation whilst at our Academy and Aston University

You will have the opportunity to:

• Build strategic relationships through working collaboratively across the business
• Develop a strong understanding of how the electricity transmission system operates in real time
• Develop an awareness of Performance Excellence tools and techniques
• Interact with operational employees and customers

You will be challenged from the start as you juggle studying for your Foundation degree with invaluable work experience, but we’ll support you every step of the way.

National Grid is committed to the personal development of our staff. Joining us, you’ll be supported as you develop a wide range of business, and technical skills through structured training and on the-job experience. You’ll work closely with your line manager to establish and navigate through a Personal Development Plan that is tailored to your needs.

About Us

National Grid is at the heart of the energy future, and our people are at the heart of National Grid. We’re 30,000 colleagues strong. In the UK, National Grid don’t generate or sell energy – we join the dots to get energy from A to B. From making a cup of tea in the morning, to keeping the lights on in hospitals, our electricity network puts power in the hands of people. Without it, the world as we know it would grind to a halt.

The world of energy is changing beyond recognition as we focus on building a cleaner, greener future. Working at National Grid, you won’t just be touching the lives of almost everyone in the UK – you’ll be shaping the way we use and consume energy for generations to come.

Our values and principles

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the heart of who we are and what we do. Our commitment to these values is unwavering and they are central to our mission. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries and we are happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments that you require.

Further Information

The closing date for this role is 6th March 2023, however, we encourage you to apply as early as possible to ensure you obtain the place you want in the application process.

Assessment centres will be held from March 2023.