Assurance Manager

Thames Water Utilities Limited; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 76,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading water and wastewater company in the UK is seeking an Assurance Manager to oversee their external assurance ecosystem. The role involves ensuring alignment with regulatory standards and managing coordination among assurance partners. Ideal candidates should have significant experience in assurance programmes within complex environments, strong leadership skills, and a professional qualification in assurance or governance. The position offers up to £90,000 annually along with a comprehensive benefits package and hybrid working arrangements.

Benefits

Annual leave – 26 days holiday, increasing to 30

Private medical health care

Performance-related pay plan

Generous pension scheme

Health and wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Experience leading assurance programmes in regulated infrastructure.
• Success in coordinating external assurance providers.
• Ability to manage multiple work-streams simultaneously.

Responsibilities

• Develop and coordinate assurance ecosystem aligned with regulations.
• Establish Community of Practice for assurance partners.
• Coordinate assurance delivery across business projects.

Skills

Strategic influence

Collaborative leadership

Adaptive communication

Attention to detail

Building relationships

Education

Professional assurance, audit or governance qualification

Tools

MS Project

Power BI

Job description

Job title Assurance Manager Ref 43485 Division Strategy & External Affairs Location Hybrid - Clearwater Court - RG1 8DB Contract type Permanent Full/Part-time Full-time Salary Offering up to £90,000 per annum, depending on experience Job grade C Closing date 29/12/2025

This role will lead the development and coordination of Thames Water’s external assurance ecosystem, ensuring it is strategically aligned, risk-informed, and regulator ready. This role will establish and facilitate a cross-provider Community of Practice (CoP), bringing together our assurance partners and Internal Audit to share insights, respond to Ofwat feedback, and co‑develop Thames Water’s external assurance approach. The Assurance Manager will define rules of engagement, develop service‑level expectations, and embed a voice‑of‑the‑customer perspective from those being assured along with managing the external assurance PMO. Coordinate assurance delivery across business projects, maintaining a clear timeline of known assurance commitments through AMP8. Ensure supply chain resources are co‑ordinated to meet our requirements, particularly through peak periods.

What you’ll be doing as an Assurance Manager

• Establish and lead a structured, inclusive forum where assurance providers (commercial partners) maintain independence while collaborating on shared challenges. Use the forum to strengthen our approach to assurance and bring in best practices from across the community
• Work with the Director of Regulatory Reporting & Assurance to group feedback across assurance providers and build a consolidated view of delivery risk
• Connect the work of the team into the organisation's governance structure
• Support progressive assurance reporting to the Executive and Board, aligned to delivery milestones and regulatory expectations
• Coordinate assurance delivery across business projects, maintaining a clear timeline of known assurance commitments through AMP8
• Ensure supply chain resources are coordinated to meet our requirements, particularly through peak periods
• Develop specifications for work packages requiring assurance, and develop effective contracts for delivery with the supply chain
• Promote transparency, accountability, and delivery confidence through clear principles, expectations, and engagement pathways, ensuring the approach discharges regulatory duties to Ofwat while meeting internal delivery, governance and risk management needs
• Develop our approach for future assurance with the new water regulator, building in requirements for environmental (EA) and water quality (DWI) reporting
• Work to encourage the development of well‑documented controls and governance processes around the production of regulatory data and reports, supporting and coaching the business in developing risk‑based processes and helping teams prepare for audit

Hybrid - Reading

36 hours a week

What you should bring to the role

To thrive in this role, the essential criteria you’ll need is:

• Demonstrate strategic influence, collaborative leadership, and adaptive communication to align stakeholders, shape assurance direction, and drive meaningful engagement across diverse audiences
• Proven experience leading assurance programmes across complex, multi‑stakeholder environments, ideally within regulated infrastructure, utilities or public sector
• Demonstrated success in coordinating external assurance providers and managing assurance cycles across delivery plans, gated processes and regulatory submissions
• Strong attention to detail, with the ability to progress multiple work‑streams simultaneously
• A track record of building and maintaining effective relationships at different levels in the organisation, whilst maintaining independence and tenacity of approach

Additional skills and experiences would be great to have/bring:

• Proficient in programme planning, resource mapping, and delivery tracking tools (e.g. MS Project, Power BI, or equivalent)
• Professional assurance, audit or governance qualification (e.g IIA, ICAEW, IRM or equivalent)
• Familiarity with Ofwat expectations, PR24 frameworks and AMP8 delivery challenges

What’s in it for you?

• Offering up to £90,000 per annum, depending on experience
• Annual Leave – 26 days holiday per year increasing to 30 with length of service (plus bank holidays)
• Private Medical Health Care
• Performance‑related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON
• Access to many benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle‑to‑Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.