Asset Investment Planner

National Grid; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading energy provider is seeking an Asset Investment Planner to enhance decision-making processes in asset management. This role is pivotal in developing multi-year asset investment plans and requires a degree in a relevant field. Key responsibilities include analyzing network drivers and supporting IT enhancements. Ideal candidates will possess strong analytical skills and experience in investment planning. This role offers hybrid work options, ensuring flexible working arrangements in line with business needs.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in programme or portfolio investment planning.
• Ability to interpret large datasets for actionable insights.
• Experience in optimising investment decisions across multiple drivers.

Responsibilities

• Support the development of multi-year asset investment plans.
• Analyse network drivers for synergies and opportunities.
• Assist in creating decision-making frameworks.

Skills

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Problem-solving

Financial acumen

Education

Degree in Engineering, Business Economics, or Finance

Tools

Relevant software tools for investment planning

Job description

We are looking for an Asset Investment Planner to join the Asset Management team at National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED). This newly created role created role will support the delivery of optimised asset investment decisions, ensuring alignment with business objectives and regulatory requirements.

Working closely with the Asset Investment Planning Manager, you will help centralise decision-making and translate business plans, regulatory commitments, and long-term strategies into annual delivery plans for Field Operations. These plans will ensure NGED effectively manages network risk associated with asset condition and criticality.

You will also contribute to maintaining a central view of asset investment drivers, enabling better long-term, coordinated whole-system decisions. This includes identifying synergies between condition-based asset replacement and refurbishment, load-based reinforcement, connections, business commitments, and reopeners. In doing so, you will consider a range of metrics such as asset health and criticality, Network Asset Risk (NARM), whole-life cost, customer interruptions and faults, as well as deliverability, resourcing constraints, and procurement opportunities.

This role is ideally based in Bristol, Stoke, or Exeter, but can be located anywhere within our licence areas: East Midlands, West Midlands, South West, and South Wales. We also offer hybrid working, with approximately two days per week in the office.

Main Responsibilities

• Support the development of condition-based multi-year and annual asset investment plans in line with long-term asset strategy, policy, and regulatory commitments.
• Analyse and overlay load and non-load network drivers to identify synergies and whole-system opportunities, delivering network health improvements, financial efficiencies, and reduced outages.
• Assist in creating decision-making frameworks to help operational teams make informed asset-specific investment decisions.
• Understand deliverability constraints and test planning assumptions, such as unit costs, against actual delivery, ensuring that there is a consistent feedback loop from delivery vehicles into the planning cycle.
• Support and test IT and digital enhancements for the team.

Ideal Candidate

• Educated to degree level in a relevant discipline such as Engineering, Business Economics, or Finance.
• Proven experience in programme or portfolio investment planning, with a good understanding of the benefits, risks, and strategic implications of decisions.
• Industry knowledge in electricity distribution is ideal; experience in a similar utility industry will be considered.
• Strong analytical skills, with proficiency in data analysis and the ability to interpret large datasets from multiple sources to generate actionable insights.
• Experience using relevant software tools for investment planning and analysis.
• Confidence working with financial and numerical data, demonstrating strong financial acumen.
• Professional membership of a relevant body (e.g., IAM or ICE) with a commitment to continuing professional development.
• A continuous improvement mindset, with a desire to deliver process enhancements and efficiencies.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to summarise complex information clearly and collaborate effectively across departments.
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, with a proactive approach to identifying and addressing challenges.
• Experience in optimising investment decisions across multiple drivers, such as asset replacement and reinforcement (desirable).
• Working knowledge of digital platforms and tools for investment decision-making and optimisation (desirable).
• Familiarity with NGED internal systems (e.g., Electric Office, CROWN, ODI, E5) (desirable).
• Understanding of RIIO regulatory price control processes and associated funding mechanisms (desirable).

National Grid Electricity Distribution is committed to safeguarding the interests of the Company, colleagues and customers. This role is subject to a satisfactory Barring Service, (DBS) check, depending on the role different levels of screening and vetting are required. Some roles require a triannual check.

About Us

We’re National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED), the owner and operator behind the electricity distribution systems for the Midlands, the Southwest of England and South Wales. Serving communities of more than 8 million people, our expert teams deliver heat, light and power for homes and businesses.

National Grid employs over 29,000 people worldwide. We are building an inclusive workplace, a place to actively celebrate the cultures, personalities and preferences of our colleagues – who in turn help to build the success of our business and reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. Our vision is to be at the heart of a clean, fair and affordable energy future and we are doing this in a fast-moving industry with an increasing focus on tackling climate change, exploring new energy sources that are renewable, low carbon, and improve efficiency to meet demand.