As an Operations Manager at EDF, you are at the forefront of powering the future. Whether you are overseeing on-site renewable energy assets in Texas or managing remote operational frameworks in the UK, your leadership directly impacts the reliability, safety, and efficiency of our energy generation. This role is not just about keeping the lights on; it is about driving operational excellence in a rapidly evolving energy landscape.

You will serve as the critical link between high-level strategic goals and day-to-day site execution. EDF relies on Operations Managers to champion our "Zero Harm" safety culture, optimize asset performance, and manage complex budgets. You will frequently interact with cross-functional teams, including engineering, maintenance, and commercial departments, ensuring that every operational decision aligns with our commitment to sustainable and efficient energy production.

What makes this role particularly unique at EDF is the blend of extreme technical rigor and deep human leadership. You will often find yourself leading highly tenured teams—many of whom have been with the company for over a decade. Successfully navigating this environment requires a leader who respects institutional knowledge while confidently introducing modern operational efficiencies and fostering a cohesive, integrated team culture.

The questions below are representative of what candidates face during the EDF interview process. They are designed to test your reflexes, your operational philosophy, and your leadership maturity. Use these to identify patterns in how EDF structures its inquiries.

Safety & Risk Management

Safety is embedded in every action at EDF. These questions test if your commitment to safety is practical and unwavering.

• How do you ensure "Zero Harm" is a daily practice rather than just a corporate slogan?
• Describe a situation where you had to override a commercial decision because of a safety risk.

Preparation for the Operations Manager role requires a balanced focus on technical operations, safety compliance, and emotional intelligence. Your interviewers want to see that you can manage critical infrastructure while earning the trust of veteran teams.

Focus your preparation on these key evaluation criteria:

• Operational Excellence & Safety – Safety is the foundational metric at EDF. Interviewers will evaluate your uncompromising commitment to Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) standards. You must demonstrate how you embed safety into daily operations rather than treating it as an afterthought.
• Leadership & Team Integration – You will be assessed on your ability to lead, influence, and integrate into established teams. Candidates who show a clear plan for building internal networks and earning the respect of long-standing employees stand out significantly.
• Adaptability & Problem-Solving – EDF operates complex, high-stakes infrastructure. You must show how you structure your approach to unexpected outages, resource constraints, or critical incidents, balancing immediate fixes with long-term root-cause analysis.
• Stakeholder Communication – You will interact with everyone from site technicians to executive leadership. Interviewers will look for your ability to tailor your communication style, translate technical issues into business impacts, and proactively manage expectations.

The interview process for an Operations Manager at EDF is designed to evaluate both your practical operational knowledge and your leadership presence. Typically, the process begins with an informal telephone interview with the HR department. This initial screen focuses on your high-level experience, salary expectations, and basic alignment with the role's location and working model requirements.

Following the HR screen, you will advance to a formal panel interview, usually conducted via Microsoft Teams. This panel frequently includes two or more Heads of Departments or Senior Operations Directors. The tone of this interview can sometimes feel direct and fast-paced. You are expected to take ownership of the conversation, especially if introductions are brief. The panel will dive deeply into your operational track record, your approach to safety, and your strategies for team management.

At EDF, we value candidates who are proactive. Because you will be stepping into a complex organizational structure, the panel expects you to ask insightful questions about team dynamics, integration, and overarching site goals.

This timeline illustrates the progression from your initial HR screening through to the final panel interviews with department leadership. Use this visual to pace your preparation, ensuring you are ready to pivot from high-level behavioral discussions in the first round to deep, scenario-based operational and leadership questions in the final stages.

To succeed in your interviews, you must demonstrate mastery across several core competencies. Below is a breakdown of the primary areas your interviewers will explore.

Safety Leadership and Risk Management

At EDF, safety is our overriding priority. This area evaluates your practical experience in enforcing Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) protocols and your philosophical approach to risk. Strong performance here means proving that you do not just follow safety rules—you actively cultivate a culture where safety is a shared responsibility.

Be ready to go over:

• Incident Response – How you manage the immediate aftermath of a safety breach or near-miss.
• Root Cause Analysis – Your methodology for investigating operational failures and implementing preventative measures.
• Compliance and Auditing – Ensuring site operations meet strict regulatory and internal EDF standards.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Predictive risk modeling, integrating new safety technologies into legacy systems, and managing psychological safety within operational teams.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Walk us through a time you had to halt operations due to a safety concern. How did you manage the commercial pushback?"
• "How do you ensure safety protocols are followed by a team that has been doing the job the exact same way for 15 years?"
• "Describe your process for conducting a post-incident investigation."

Team Integration and Change Management

Many EDF teams consist of highly tenured employees who joined through graduate schemes and have over a decade of institutional knowledge. Interviewers will heavily evaluate your emotional intelligence and your strategy for integrating into these established groups without causing friction.

Be ready to go over:

• Building Internal Networks – Your 30-60-90 day plan for establishing trust and understanding the unwritten rules of the team.
• Driving Change – How you introduce new processes to a team that is historically resistant to change.
• Conflict Resolution – Addressing performance issues or disagreements among senior technicians.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Organizational design optimization and remote team engagement strategies (for hybrid/remote variations of the role).

Example questions or scenarios:

• "You are joining a team where everyone has worked together for 10+ years. What is your exact plan to build your internal network and gain their trust?"
• "Tell us about a time you had to implement a new operational process that your team fundamentally disagreed with."
• "How do you balance respecting existing institutional knowledge with the need to modernize workflows?"

Asset Management and Operational Efficiency

This area tests your hard skills in running a site or operational unit. You must show that you can manage the financial, technical, and logistical aspects of energy generation or site management. Strong candidates speak confidently about metrics, budgets, and continuous improvement.

Be ready to go over:

• P&L and Budget Management – Overseeing site budgets, forecasting maintenance costs, and optimizing OPEX.
• Maintenance Strategy – Balancing preventative, predictive, and reactive maintenance to maximize asset uptime.
• Contractor Management – Overseeing third-party vendors and ensuring they adhere to EDF safety and quality standards.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Lifecycle extension of energy assets and integrating renewable grid technologies.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How do you prioritize maintenance tasks when your site budget has been unexpectedly reduced by 15%?"
• "Describe a time you identified a major operational inefficiency. What data did you use, and how did you resolve it?"
• "How do you hold third-party contractors accountable to the same safety standards as internal EDF staff?"

As an Operations Manager, your daily responsibilities will revolve around maximizing operational availability while strictly adhering to safety and environmental regulations. You will serve as the primary point of accountability for your assigned site or operational domain. This involves conducting daily operational briefs, reviewing performance metrics, and coordinating with maintenance teams to ensure that scheduled downtime is executed flawlessly.

A significant portion of your time will be dedicated to stakeholder management and team leadership. You will work closely with engineering departments to troubleshoot chronic asset issues and collaborate with commercial teams to align site output with market demands. For roles that involve remote management, you will be responsible for orchestrating virtual team check-ins, planning face-to-face team-building days, and ensuring remote staff remain aligned with broader EDF objectives.

Furthermore, you will drive continuous improvement initiatives. This includes analyzing operational data to identify bottlenecks, managing site budgets, and overseeing contractor performance. You are expected to proactively identify risks—whether they are equipment degradation or team burnout—and deploy strategic interventions before they impact the business.

To be a competitive candidate for the Operations Manager position at EDF, you need a robust blend of technical operational experience and exceptional people management skills.

• Must-have skills – Proven experience in operational leadership within a highly regulated industry (energy, manufacturing, or heavy engineering). You must have a strong working knowledge of HSE standards, budget management, and continuous improvement methodologies (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma). Exceptional communication skills and the ability to lead seasoned, tenured teams are non-negotiable.
• Nice-to-have skills – Direct experience in the energy sector (specifically renewables like wind or solar for our Texas sites). An engineering degree or technical certification is highly valued. Experience managing remote or hybrid teams, as well as familiarity with enterprise asset management software (e.g., SAP, Maximo), will set you apart.