Haydn Knowles

Past Graduate

Head of Operations

I currently work as Head of Operations at Dalriada Water Services in Northern Ireland, one of the Kelda Water Services companies. I started work with Yorkshire Water as a graduate and have had various roles within my seven years' service with the group.

Thinking back, one of the things that first attracted me to apply were the opportunities to work across the whole of the Kelda Group, Yorkshire Water and all its different business units plus Kelda Water Services. The graduate programme was great as you have a mentor, and the graduate support network along with a very structured 2 year programme which enables you to gain lots of different experiences and exposure to different scenarios.

It wasn't just about the training Yorkshire Water offered but about being able to contribute and shape the business too.

I started as a Yorkshire Water Graduate and progressed to Head of Operations at Dalriada within six years.  After the graduate programme finished I moved into training and development working with the Yorkshire Water's Water Business Unit and Trade Unions to develop Development Plans across the Service Improvement department. After this I spent a year in a cross-business-unit function leading change management, and then spent three years as Water Production Area Manager managing around 37 Water Treatment Works and up to 29 staff. This experience was beneficial as I have learnt about different areas of the group and it has been vital for my role as Head of Operations.

The areas I most enjoy about my role are vast - the responsibility that comes with the Head of Operations position along with the accountability for performance of Dalriada and the financial management aspects are the key areas. I really enjoy the leadership side and coaching staff too. I also enjoy being a key player in shaping the business for the future, carrying out recruitment and finding the best talent to work with us and then sharing knowledge with them and seeing them develop.

Haydn works in Kelda Water Services, there are many roles available such as: Leakage Engineer, Area Operations Co-ordinator, Asset Planner, Process Engineer, ICA Technician, Water and Waste, Water Field Technician, Project Manager, Co-ordinator, Operator, Asset Technician, Tender Manager, H&S and Quality Manager, Technical Specialist.