Do you cover utilities as well as data centre firms?

Yes, for the leadership seats on large-load and transmission programmes. The same people move between the two sides.

Sectors | Power, grid and energisation

Power and grid leadership search across the GCC, the UK and the US.

A data centre takes three to six years; the grid behind it can take fifteen. I find the power and energisation leaders who set the date.

Seats like these open quietly. Open to a move? Talk to me in confidence.

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Not ready to brief? Get a pay benchmark for your open seats

A benchmark of your open seats carries no fee. A full compensation study is a fixed-fee piece, credited against a search.

Last reviewed 31 October 2026, the date of the market facts on this page.

Looking at your next move? See this page for leaders

Hiring for one of these seats? See this page for clients

The seats

Head of power and energy for data centre developers and operators
Head of grid connections, energisation director
HV, substation and transmission programme directors
Head of HVDC and interconnector delivery
On-site generation, storage and battery leads for campuses
Utility-side programme and commercial leaders for large-load connections

What is driving hiring, and the timelines

Grid is the binding constraint. New grid takes 5 to 15 years against 3 to 6 for a data centre, and grid spend of about USD 400bn a year must approach generation spend of about USD 1tn by the early 2030s (IEA, World Energy Investment 2025).
The UK spend is set. Ofgem's RIIO-3 final determinations allow GBP 43.3bn ex ante from April 2026 to March 2031, with more through uncertainty mechanisms (Oxera; Ofgem).
The US and the Gulf are funding transmission. US investor-owned utilities plan more than USD 1.1tn for 2025 to 2029 (Edison Electric Institute). Saudi Electricity has set out SR220bn (USD 58.7bn) for 2025 to 2030, SR135bn of it for transmission (MEED).

Where I find them

I built a retained desk for renewables and storage across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, then ran energy and EPC search across the Middle East.

Questions clients ask

Do you cover utilities as well as data centre firms?: Yes, for the leadership seats on large-load and transmission programmes. The same people move between the two sides.

Retained search. A fee on signing, a shortlist date in writing, the balance on the start date, a six-month replacement. The terms

Brief me on a power, grid and energisation seat

The more you tell me, the more useful my first reply. I'll come back within one working day.

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Please keep this search confidential

Seats I search for in this family

Head of power and energy for data centre developers and operators
Head of grid connections, energisation director
HV, substation and transmission programme directors
Head of HVDC and interconnector delivery
On-site generation, storage and battery leads for campuses
Utility-side programme and commercial leaders for large-load connections

Most of these searches are confidential and never advertised. Published ones are on the careers page.

What they pay

Seat	Published pay	Source
Programme director, transmission and distribution, UK	GBP 140,000 to 175,000 a year	Published figure: LSP Renewables, 2026
Project director, transmission and distribution, UK	GBP 110,000 to 145,000 a year	Published figure: LSP Renewables, 2026
Grid connections director, UK	Up to GBP 125,000 a year	Published figure: Piper Maddox, job advert

Published figures from the sources named, not my own data. Base pay unless stated; Gulf packages usually add housing, transport and schooling. For your own seat, ask for a confidential market check.

How a confidential conversation works

A call, not a form. What you run today, what you would move for, and what you would not.
Nothing shared without your say-so. Your profile goes to a client only with your permission for that one role.
The real package, in writing, before you interview: base, housing, schooling, bonus and relocation.
The move handled: notice, visas and family questions, into or out of the Gulf.
You never pay a fee.

Sources

An energisation date that depends on one hire?

Tell me the seat and the date. Not ready to brief? Ask for a pay benchmark for your open seats.

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