Technical Author / Utility Infrastructure

Technical Author / Utility Infrastructure
Utilities
Predominantly remote but with some travel to operational sites from the Midlands down to the South
6 months
£600 per day

In short: We require a Tech Author to write for onsite infrastructure so utilities or Operational Technology experience would be great.

In full:

Overview

We're seeking an experienced Technical Author / Utility Infrastructure Specification Lead to undertake a critical review, redevelopment and standardisation of technical specifications used within supplier procurement and tendering activities.

This role will play a key part in supporting the successful delivery of future capital works programmes by creating clear, consistent and commercially robust specifications that improve supplier understanding, reduce ambiguity and ensure high-quality tender submissions.

The existing specification suite has evolved over a number of years and currently generates a significant volume of supplier clarification requests, as well as internal challenges around interpretation and consistency. The successful candidate will be responsible for reviewing current documentation, identifying opportunities for improvement, benchmarking against industry best practice and producing a revised suite of fit-for-purpose specifications.

This is not a traditional technical writing role. We are looking for an experienced utility or infrastructure professional with extensive knowledge of construction, engineering and procurement practices within regulated utility environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Review and assess existing technical specifications issued to suppliers.
• Identify inconsistencies, ambiguities, duplication and opportunities for improvement.
• Evaluate current practices against industry standards and approaches adopted by comparable utility organisations.
• Engage with internal stakeholders to understand engineering, operational, commercial and procurement requirements.
• Translate complex technical requirements into clear, structured and tender-ready documentation.
• Rewrite and standardise specifications to create a consistent suite of supplier-facing documents.
• Ensure specifications are practical, technically accurate and commercially robust.
• Reduce supplier queries and improve the quality and consistency of tender returns.
• Support procurement and supplier engagement activities where technical clarification is required.
• Maintain document governance, quality assurance and version control throughout the programme.

Essential Experience & Qualifications

The successful candidate will demonstrate significant experience developing technical specifications for major utility, infrastructure or civil engineering projects.

Essential Requirements

• Proven track record authoring technical specifications used within procurement and tendering processes.
• Minimum 10-15 years' relevant experience within electricity distribution, utility infrastructure or related sectors.
• Experience working on large, complex infrastructure programmes, ideally with project values exceeding £100m.
• Extensive knowledge of:
• Excavation works
• Trenching
• Cable installation
• Ducting systems
• Jointing activities
• Backfilling
• Reinstatement works
• Utility civil engineering construction
• Highway and street works associated with utility infrastructure
• Strong understanding of utility construction standards, legislation, codes of practice and regulatory requirements.
• Experience translating engineering, operational and commercial requirements into clear supplier-facing documentation.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence and engage a wide range of internal and external parties.
• Excellent technical writing, document management and quality assurance capability.
• Ability to operate independently and lead a significant specification development programme through to completion.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will be a highly experienced utility infrastructure professional with a strong technical background and demonstrable expertise in specification development.

Likely backgrounds may include:

• Technical Standards Manager
• Technical Standards Engineer
• Engineering Assurance Manager
• Principal Engineer
• Asset Standards Engineer
• Construction Standards Lead
• Specification Manager
• Engineering Governance Lead
• Utility Infrastructure SME

Candidates will ideally show evidence of the above in their CV in order to be considered.
Please be advised if you haven't heard from us within 48 hours then unfortunately your application has not been successful on this occasion, we may however keep your details on file for any suitable future vacancies and contact you accordingly. Pontoon is an employment consultancy and operates as an equal opportunities employer.

We use generative AI tools to support our candidate screening process. This helps us ensure a fair, consistent, and efficient experience for all applicants. Rest assured, all final decisions are made by our hiring team, and your application will be reviewed with care and attention.