Operational Readiness Lead

Salary: £63,000-68,000Hours: Full-timeLocation: The role can be undertaken remotely within the UK with occasional travel to London required for events and team activities.Who are RECCo?

We are an independent, non-profit organisation responsible for the Retail Energy Code — a key part of how the GB retail energy market is regulated.

But we don’t just manage rules. We look ahead, not just react, helping the market change in the right way. We deliver secure digital services, clear governance, and practical solutions that protect consumers, support innovation, and help the energy system move towards net zero.

The Operational Readiness Lead leads and coordinates operational readiness activities to ensure that RECCo programmes and regulatory changes are successfully transitioned into stable, compliant, and sustainable business-as-usual (BAU) operations.

The role is responsible for setting the organisational approach to operational readiness, embedding readiness requirements into programme delivery, and providing structured readiness assessments and recommendations to support go-live decision making. Acting as an interface between programme delivery, operations, service providers, and governance bodies, the role ensures that operational readiness is treated as a core delivery outcome, not a downstream assurance activity.

This role provides independent operational challenge and recommendations to programme leadership to protect operational integrity and regulatory compliance.

What you’ll be doingStrategic Operational Readiness Leadership

• Develop and maintain RECCo’s operational readiness framework and standards, ensuring alignment with organisational objectives, regulatory obligations, and service management principles.
• Embed operational readiness as a mandatory delivery discipline across RECCo programmes, influencing programme design, planning, and delivery decisions.
• Act as the primary operational point of contact on readiness matters, providing clear recommendations on implementation readiness, sequencing, and risk acceptance.

Programme Accountability & Decision Authority

• Oversee operational readiness activities across programmes to support successful transition into BAU.
• Define and approve readiness criteria, operational acceptance conditions, and early-life support arrangements.
• Provide formal readiness assessments and go-live recommendations to senior management and governance forums.
• Escalate material operational risks, capacity constraints, or readiness gaps where delivery timelines or scope threaten sustainable operations.

Transition, Delivery & Resource Oversight

• Lead the transition of programmes into BAU, ensuring clear ownership, resourcing models, operating procedures, and controls are in place.
• Work with senior stakeholders to ensure appropriate operational capacity, funding assumptions, and supplier readiness are reflected in programme plans.
• Oversee dependencies between internal teams, service providers, and industry participants to ensure coordinated and controlled implementation.

Governance, Risk & Assurance

• Identify and manage operational readiness risks across programmes and escalate material concerns appropriately.
• Provide structured reporting, insight, and recommendations to senior leadership and governance bodies, including Portfolio and Programme Boards.
• Ensure operational processes and controls meet REC governance, assurance, and regulatory requirements prior to implementation.

Organisational Capability & Continuous Improvement

• Build and mature RECCo’s operational readiness capability, including frameworks, artefacts, tooling, and best practice.
• Drive continuous improvement through post-implementation reviews and lessons learned, strengthening future programme delivery and transition outcomes.
• Act as a senior subject matter expert on operational readiness within RECCo and across the wider industry where appropriate.

About You

You are an experienced change and operations lead with the credibility and authority to influence at a senior level. You combine strategic oversight with deep operational understanding and are comfortable challenging delivery assumptions where necessary to protect long-term sustainability.

You demonstrate:

• Proven experience operating within a regulated or complex governance environment.
• Strong judgement and confidence in making go/no-go recommendations.
• Deep understanding of change governance, operational risk, service management, and regulatory compliance.
• Excellent stakeholder influence skills, including at an executive level and in external forums
• Strong analytical capability and ability to assess cumulative and systemic risk.
• Experience designing and embedding operational readiness or implementation assurance frameworks.
• High levels of personal accountability, integrity, and resilience.
• Significant experience in service transition, change governance, or programme assurance.
• Experience managing cross-portfolio change impacts and operational risk.

Ideally but absolutely not essential, you’d also have:

• Knowledge of REC governance frameworks.
• Experience working with outsourced service providers and complex delivery ecosystems.
• Formal qualifications in programme management, service management, risk, or governance (e.g., MSP, PRINCE2, ITIL, MoR).

What You’ll Get In Return

We offer a great range of benefits and a collaborative culture in which you’ll have the opportunity to shape how we do things from the ground up during an exciting period of growth.

Employee benefits:

• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays and a holiday buy scheme
• Private medical insurance and life cover
• Employee Assistance Programme with access to an online portal containing a wealth of wellbeing resources, online self-help courses and shopping discounts
• Company pension scheme with 7% employer contributions
• Enhanced parental leave and pay
• 2 paid volunteering days per annum to get involved with a charity or community group of your choice and access to a payroll giving scheme if you'd like to make regular donations to charity
• £40 well-being allowance every month
• Access to lease an Electric Vehicle via a salary sacrifice scheme
• Learning budget which you can use towards courses, books, webinars or conferences
• Knowledge-sharing sessions, e-learning and an online hub of training resources to aid your professional development

Our Commitment

At RECCo we are committed to cultivating an environment that promotes equality, diversity and inclusion. We want you to bring your authentic self to work every day and feel comfortable being you, no matter your age, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, disability status or otherwise.