Change & Innovation Partner – Operational Transformation - 12 month FTC

Affinity Water; Hatfield; On-site; GBP 63,000 - 77,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Pension scheme

Life Assurance

Wellbeing support

Volunteer days

Tap4Perks discounts

Care benefits

Job summary

Affinity Water is seeking a Change & Innovation Partner to join our Transformation team on a 12-month FTC with a strong intention for permanency. You will shape and deliver strategic change across our operational business, partnering with field service delivery, workload planning and performance teams to prioritise high-value opportunities.

As part of the Transformation & Change Centre of Excellence, you will lead the Operational Excellence programme, develop business cases and translate ideas

Qualifications

• Experience delivering business change and transformation projects.
• Experience developing business cases, investment proposals and benefits realisation plans.
• Experience shaping programmes from early concept through approval and mobilisation.
• Proven ability to provide constructive challenge to senior stakeholders and influence decision making in a complex operational environment.

Responsibilities

• Partner with operational leaders and teams to identify, challenge, prioritise and deliver strategic business change.
• Translate operational challenges into deliverable programmes and projects.
• Lead the development and mobilisation of our Operational Excellence programme, defining the business case, investment requirements, delivery approach, and measurable benefits.
• Develop and maintain a change roadmap for the directorate aligned to business objectives.
• Support leaders to define problems, opportunities, and desired outcomes.
• Facilitate prioritisation of initiatives based on strategic value, customer impact, operational benefit, and affordability.
• Lead projects and transformation initiatives from planning through to successful delivery.
• Manage project governance, budgets, risks, dependencies, and benefits realisation.
• Support the delivery of innovative solutions within Customer Delivery and Ofwat innovation initiatives where appropriate.
• Contribute to our Transformation & Change Centre of Excellence by sharing best practice and supporting continuous improvement.

Skills

Transformation & Change

Programme management

Stakeholder management

Agile / Waterfall delivery

Data-driven decision making

Communication & facilitation

Education

Project Management or Change Management qualification

Job description

At Affinity Water, we're committed to delivering continuous improvement and innovation across our business. We're looking for a Change & Innovation Partner to join our Transformation team and play a key role in shaping and delivering strategic change across our operational business on a 12-month FTC, with a strong intention for the position to become permanent, subject to business requirements.

Partnering with teams responsible for field service delivery, workload planning, resource scheduling, and operational performance, you'll identify, challenge and prioritise opportunities for improvement, helping ensure investment and change activity are focused on delivering the greatest value.

As a key member of our Transformation & Change Centre of Excellence, you'll lead our flagship Operational Excellence transformation programme while working with operational leaders to develop business cases, shape investment decisions and translate ideas into deliverable programmes and initiatives. You'll provide constructive challenge, helping the business make informed decisions about where to focus effort, investment, and transformation activity.

What you'll be doing

• Partner with operational leaders and teams to identify, challenge, prioritise and deliver strategic business change.
• Translate operational challenges into deliverable programmes and projects.
• Lead the development and mobilisation of our Operational Excellence programme, defining the business case, investment requirements, delivery approach, and measurable benefits.
• Develop and maintain a change roadmap for the directorate aligned to business objectives.
• Support leaders to define problems, opportunities, and desired outcomes.
• Facilitate prioritisation of initiatives based on strategic value, customer impact, operational benefit, and affordability.
• Lead projects and transformation initiatives from planning through to successful delivery.
• Manage project governance, budgets, risks, dependencies, and benefits realisation.
• Support the delivery of innovative solutions within Customer Delivery and Ofwat innovation initiatives where appropriate.
• Contribute to our Transformation & Change Centre of Excellence by sharing best practice and supporting continuous improvement.

What we're looking for

You’ll be an experienced transformation, programme, or business change professional with a track record of shaping, prioritising, and delivering complex change within operational environments. You’ll be confident working with senior stakeholders, influencing decisions and driving meaningful change across a business.

You’ll also have:

• Experience delivering business change and transformation projects.
• Experience developing business cases, investment proposals and benefits realisation plans.
• Experience shaping programmes from early concept through approval and mobilisation.
• Proven ability to provide constructive challenge to senior stakeholders and influence decision making in a complex operational environment.
• Experience defining future-state operating models and translating these into practical, deliverable transformation programmes.
• Strong project management skills, with experience of Agile and/or Waterfall delivery methodologies.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills.
• The ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining a collaborative and customer-focused approach.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to use data to support decision‑making and measure success.
• A recognised Project Management or Change Management qualification (such as PRINCE2, APM, Lean, Six Sigma or PROSCI) would be advantageous

Advert closes Friday 16th October

Benefits:

• Salary £70,000 dependant on skills and experience
• Office based in Hatfield 2 days per week (non negotiable)
• Learning and development opportunities, including mentoring and a range of formal courses and open learning resources.
• Entry into the company annual bonus scheme.
• Annual leave from 26-30 rising with length of service, and the option to purchase up to 5 extra days.
• A 'Celebration Day' in addition to public holidays that people can use to celebrate a religious festival or other occasion that is important to them.
• A generous 'double match pension scheme' that doubles the contributions you make (company contribution capped at 12%)
• We offer a range of family benefits including enhanced Maternity, Adoption, Paternity, Shared Parental Leave, Fertility Support Leave and up to 5 full or 10 half days of paid Carers Leave.
• Menopause policy and Reasonable Adjustment policy to help everyone perform at their best.
• Access to our Wellbeing Centre with support for looking after your physical and mental health.
• Discounts at a Range of Retail Outlets through our Tap4Perks scheme
• Discounts on Dental and Medical Insurance through our Tap4Perks scheme through salary sacrifice
• Up to 4 Affinity days a year to volunteer in the community.
• Life Assurance.

Disability Confident

As a Disability Confident employer, we’re committed to offering interviews to disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria and opt in on the application form. Ask the Talent Acquisition lead for the full job description to see all the criteria. If we have a very high volume of applicants and we’re not able to offer interviews to all, we’ll take a fair and proportionate number of disabled candidates through.

Affinity Water recognises the benefits of greater diversity in our workforce to better reflect the communities we serve. We are committed to building a more inclusive culture where every member of our workforce can thrive.

You can find out what it’s like to work at Affinity Water through our career site https://www.affinitywatercareers.co.uk/ where our colleagues share their career development stories and you can get a feel for our company culture.