Control Systems ADMS Applications Specialist

About Us

When you join WPD you become a part of our 6,500 plus strong team of professional, clerical and administrative staff looking after our extensive electricity distribution network, serving 7.8 million customers in the Midlands, South Wales and South West. We cover highly populated and beautiful remote areas such as:

• Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham and Cardiff
• The Brecon Beacons, Dartmoor and the Peak District

You will become integral to a company offering many benefits, which is committed to investing in the latest technologies and working methods to improve service to customers.  We know that our people are at the heart of this success and work hard to create a purposeful working environment which everyone can be a part of.

If this is your opportunity to join us, you’ll find we offer a supportive, rewarding and friendly working environment where you’ll be empowered to build a career. Along the way, you’ll be invested in, be enabled by the latest technology and find that we’re always interested in evolving our systems and processes so that we get even better, every day.

You will enjoy a package of benefits designed to reward your hard work and incentivise your ambition. Everyone here enjoys a competitive salary, generous annual leave allowance, company pension scheme, protective clothing where required, an Employee Assistance Programme and a managed back care programme.

Western Power Distribution is an equal opportunities employer, a Disability level 1 Employer and a corporate signatory of WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) programme. Our desire is to bring in more employees from diverse backgrounds to build further on our inclusive culture. We value and celebrate individual difference and we believe that an inclusive culture will help the business grow as a positive, strong and innovative company.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early should sufficient numbers of suitable applications be received. We recommend that you submit your application as soon as possible.

Job Introduction

An opportunity has arisen for a Control Systems ADMS Application Specialist based at Castle Donington.  ADMS, Advanced Distribution Management System, is the system WPD uses to manage its electricity distribution network that delivers electricity to its customers.  

The successful applicant will report to the ADMS Application Team Manager within Control Systems, part of the Electricity System Management department. The successful candidate will be responsible for application test environments and production of test schedule and packaging of updates into formal ADMS releases.

* The successful candidate may initially be appointed to a lower salary until training has been completed and experience gained.

If you are offered a position, you will be required to complete and provide a satisfactory basic DBS check that shows any unspent convictions or conditional cautions.

We recommend using Google Chrome to complete your online application.  Should you have any questions regarding this or require additional support to complete your online application, please email recruitment@westernpower.co.uk

Main Responsibilities

• Develop/Maintain Policy associated with ADMS applications management
• Assessment of operating system, database and application patches issued by third party vendors (eg. Redhat, Microsoft, Oracle and GE)
• Bundling of patches into releases for test/implementation
• Execution of testing in line with policy and maintenance of testing plans/records
• Development / maintenance of Automated, Template and AI solutions for testing
• Production of release notes for implementation by Control Systems Support teams
• Delivery of security and feature patches and compliance with ADMS release management policy
• Support across WPD teams in a technical consultancy role on specialisms
• Coordination with the Control System Support and Development Teams
• Undertake project management duties and some supervisory duties associated with the work of the team appropriate to the grade.
• Organise own time to ensure that the priorities and programmes of the team are met
• Supervise contractors working for WPD on Control Systems
• Develop Test Lifecycle Management framework, including: Test Analysis, Test Planning, Test Development, Test Environment Setup, Test Execution and Closure
• Develop Defect Lifecycle Management framework, including: Capture, Assignment, Resolution and Testing
• Maintain appropriate records of work carried out to ensure that performance analysis can be completed
• Provide general availability out-of-hours support
• Work at other company locations as required
• Undertake other duties commensurate with the grade

The Ideal Candidate

You should have a thorough understanding of IT Systems, Databases, interfaces, Data Validation, OMS (Outage Management Systems), DMS (Distribution Management Systems) and SCADA systems as well as a good understanding of test frameworks and methodologies, including automated testing.

You will have experience of working within a product test team and/or software development environment.

Expertise in one or more programming/scripting languages is desirable along with good logical thinking and analytical skills, good communication and interpersonal skills including report, writing, presentation skills and an ability to communicate at all levels.

You should have an understanding of Patch Management and its role within Vulnerability Management, be highly PC literate – Proficient in the use of desktop applications including Word/Excel/Access and educated to at least equivalent NVQ level 4/5 or BTEC Higher National Diploma.

Good oral & written communication skills, interpersonal and team skills are a must as is a strong customer awareness and a commitment to excellent customer service.

Knowledge of safety and quality procedures are necessary.