A foreman electrician is a senior electrician with a number of years experience, who has normally served as both electrician and charge hand; and is fully conversant with the Electricity at Work Regulations, the Health and Safety at Work Act, Construction, Design and Management Regulations, the various Employment Acts and Regulations and the IET Regulations. (The rewards for all that experience and knowledge are grief - you get it from behind, below, above and from both sides - it will almost certainly not be financial or an increase in social status).
It has to be mentioned that a foreman can also be a forewoman, however the term foreman is for all intents and purposes is now a unisex term.
The duties of a foreman can include the hiring and firing of electricians, the appointment of charge hands (those duties may alternatively be undertaken at head office). Duties will normally be the timely ordering of materials, checking receipt of those materials and authorising payment for same and sourcing alternatives when necessary. Then there are the office tasks that the foreman undertakes including receiving and checking time sheets of the charge hands, electricians, apprentices and labourers. A foreman will also be the focal point for technical queries and often becomes a 'grandfather' figure for his staff.
A foreman for electrical installation works will lead a number of groups of electricians, each group of electricians being led by a charge hand on a particular project or sub project. A foreman may lead a larger group of electricians without charge hands on smaller projects. Duties will include the allocation of work and the monitoring of the works against the project program that is the easy part. In the allocation of work it will be the foreman, and usually the area charge hand that reviews the drawings and mark out the works; it will also be the foreman's responsibility to mark up the drawings to enable the record drawings to be produced. The preparation of reports for the contract manager, never forget you the foreman are his scapegoat for everything that goes wrong (thats when you get it from behind - ie stabbed in the back).
Where the foreman is the senior electrical presence on site for a project or sub project he/she will also be the point of contact for the main contractor and as such will need to coordinate the works with the other trades as well as attend site meetings. The foreman will effectively be the electrical contractor's representative and will need to attract the respect of the client, other contractors and his/her staff.
A foreman for maintenance work will lead the maintenance electricians and on large sites their charge hands. Duties will include the allocation of planned maintenance works and staff to breakdowns and call outs, the monitoring of maintenance work and adjusting the frequency of maintenance to suit site conditions. He/she will ensure the instruments used in maintenance operations are calibrated and are within date.
A foreman for production work will lead the production teams to ensure the smooth flow of works through the production cycle, and will monitor the quality of the products and oversee the testing of the products through to the organising of the transportation and delivery of the products. He/she will ensure the instruments used in the production operation are calibrated and are within date.