Performance / Project Manager – Water & Utilities in Crawley, West Sussex

Performance / Project Manager – Water & Utilities

The opportunity

Our client, a large leakage detection company, is seeking an experienced Performance / Project Manager to oversee the delivery and performance of water industry contracts.

Working closely with water company stakeholders and internal delivery teams, you will ensure leakage detection programmes achieve agreed targets, meet contractual requirements and deliver a high standard of service. The role combines client relationship management, operational performance and commercial oversight, with responsibility for driving improvements across your contracts.

Key responsibilities

Client and stakeholder management

* Act as the main point of contact for water company stakeholders, building strong relationships across operational, leakage, commercial and contract management teams.

* Lead regular contract review meetings, presenting performance results, project updates, risks and improvement plans.

* Work with the client to agree priorities, understand requirements and align delivery plans with leakage reduction objectives.

* Manage escalations, ensuring issues are addressed promptly and agreed actions are followed through.

Contract and project delivery

* Manage the day-to-day delivery of leakage detection contracts, ensuring work meets agreed scope, timescales, budgets and quality standards.

* Develop and maintain delivery plans, coordinating resources with operational managers and field teams.

* Monitor workloads, milestones and outstanding work, identifying potential delays and implementing corrective actions.

* Manage changes to contract requirements, ensuring variations and their operational and commercial impacts are recorded and agreed.

* Maintain clear project records, action plans and reporting throughout the contract lifecycle.

Performance and continuous improvement

* Monitor contractual KPIs and service levels, including team productivity, survey completion, leak detection outcomes, reporting accuracy and client-agreed leakage reduction measures.

* Analyse operational data to identify trends, underperformance and opportunities to improve delivery.

* Develop and implement performance improvement plans with clear actions, owners and deadlines.

* Work closely with field managers and team leaders to address barriers to performance and share effective working practices.

* Ensure field data and reports are accurate, timely and suitable for client review.

Commercial and operational management

* Monitor contract budgets, costs and forecasts, supporting profitability while maintaining service quality.

* Work with commercial and finance teams to support accurate valuations, invoicing and reporting.

* Identify additional client requirements and support proposals for contract extensions or new work.

* Coordinate with operational teams to ensure contracts have the right staffing, equipment and technical support.

* Ensure delivery follows company and client health, safety, environmental and quality requirements.

About you

* Experience in project, contract, operational or performance management within leakage detection, water networks or a closely related utilities environment.

* A good understanding of leakage detection activities and the operational challenges involved in delivering water industry contracts.

* Proven experience managing client relationships and engaging with stakeholders at different levels.

* Confidence interpreting performance data, producing reports and turning findings into practical improvements.

* Strong commercial awareness, including experience monitoring budgets, costs and contractual obligations.

* Experience coordinating operational teams and holding people accountable for agreed actions and results.

* Full UK driving licence and willingness to travel across the relevant contract area.

Desirable experience

* Direct experience working for a water company or a specialist leakage detection contractor.

* Knowledge of district metered areas (DMAs), active leakage control and leakage investigation programmes.

* Experience using GIS, work management systems or performance dashboards.

* A recognised project management qualification, such as PRINCE2 or APM.

What success looks like

Successful performance in this role will mean consistently meeting contractual targets, maintaining strong client relationships, delivering work within agreed budgets and achieving measurable improvements in operational efficiency and service quality.

Ardour Associates values and promotes equality. No terminology in this advert is intended to discriminate against any of the protected characteristics that fall under the Equality Act 2010. We encourage and welcome applications from all sections of society and are more than happy to discuss reasonable adjustments and/or additional arrangements as required to support your application.

Candidates must be eligible to live and work in the UK.

For the purposes of the Conduct Regulations 2003, when advertising permanent vacancies we are acting as an Employment Agency, and when advertising temporary/contract vacancies we are acting as an Employment Business.

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