Forecasting and Process Development Manager; DSO

Forecasting and Process Development Manager (DSO)

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Forecasting & Process Development Manager to lead a team that delivers valuable insight into how the National Grid Electricity Distribution system needs to evolve. Reporting to the Head of System Planning in the Distribution System Operator, we can offer flexibility on where the role is based across our National Grid Electricity Distribution offices.

As the Forecasting & Process Development Manager, you will lead and inspire a team of highly skilled engineers and analysts and own relationships with key external stakeholders responsible for co-creating forecasts used for distribution system and financial planning. You will lead the team to deliver critical activities and projects that include:

• Developing and maintaining long-term electrical load forecasts across four National Grid Electricity Distribution licence areas, published as part of the Distribution Future Energy Scenarios publication
• Translate pathways and Ofgem guidance into forecasts for connections volumes, providing insights to internal stakeholders to inform financial and workforce planning
• Maintain and continuously develop assumptions for how our customers use electricity at different times of day and across the year, maximising the opportunities made available through enhanced visibility and flexibility of customer loads.
• Collaborating with stakeholders to ensure forecasting meets wider business requirements

This is a highly innovative part of the electricity industry that requires a motivated leader to continue to drive forward the progress made by electricity networks that is supporting the energy transition.

As part of our hybrid working approach this role offers a mix of office and home working. Hybrid working can only be considered once your initial training is complete and subject to business need.

The Forecasting & Process Development Manager role is critical in ensuring National Grid are able to produce robust load forecasts that comply with Licence Condition obligations. The role responsibilities span people leadership, delivery leadership of technical outputs and stakeholder engagement, ensuring that each team’s outputs support both operational needs and the transition to a smarter, more flexible energy system.

People Leadership and Team Management

• Lead, motivate and develop a team of engineers and analysts, fostering a high-performance and supportive environment.
• Build and maintain a high-autonomy operating culture with clear accountabilities and guardrails to ensure effective and timely delivery of outputs.

Oversee delivery of technical outputs

• Lead the end-to-end delivery governance for the Distribution Future Energy Scenarios (DFES) process, ensuring long-term load forecasts are produced on time, quality assured and audit-ready across the four licence areas, in-line with the DSO strategic objectives.
• Establish and maintain the methodology review and change-control process for connections volume forecasts, ensuring improvements are evidence-based, documented and implemented predictably.
• Ensure required input datasets and evidence packs are available, controlled and assured to meet Licence Conditions, Grid Code, CUSC and RIGs obligations, including clear ownership, lineage and audit trail.
• Ensure the team interfaces with the wider business and proactively works with data owners and maintainers to continually improve data quality and system integration.

Governance and quality

• Own the assumptions and change governance process to incorporate updated government policy and stakeholder inputs into team deliverables on a regular cadence
• Ensure controls around reproducibility, documentation, data quality and audit trail are consistently applied.
• Act as the primary business point of contact for information on forecasting process and data; triage and prioritise requests.
• Lead engagement with internal and external stakeholders to support their use of forecasting data, with a particular focus on making data openly available externally.
• Represent National Grid in technical working groups with National Energy System Operator to support the development of Regional Energy Strategic Plans
• Translate technical content into clear narratives for senior stakeholders through preparing briefing documents.

We are looking for someone who is self-motivated, inquisitive, and with a passion for driving the change required in the energy system to meet our changing customer requirements.

A strong understanding of the role of electricity distribution in the UK electricity industry is required, with knowledge of the principles for how we forecast electrical load across our network desirable.

The role requires exceptional organisational skills and the ability to lead a team of technical specialists that deliver multiple projects and deliverables simultaneously. Formal management experience and relevant qualifications are desirable, and familiarity with product…