Company Engagement Specialist

Ofwat; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Pension scheme

Annual leave 25 days

Job summary

Ofwat’s Sector Performance Delivery Directorate seeks a Company Engagement Specialist to lead and support coordinated engagement with water companies. This fixed-term post runs until 31 December 2027 and offers hybrid working with London or Birmingham offices.

You will analyse company performance, gather intelligence, identify risks, and support informed regulatory decisions while developing relationships with key stakeholders across the sector.

Qualifications

• Understanding of regulation, public policy, utilities or similar environment and ability to apply it to regulatory work.
• Experience bringing together information from different sources, identifying issues and communicating clear conclusions.
• Experience building relationships with internal and external stakeholders and clear written/verbal communication.
• Strong organisational skills, coordinating activity, handling information and priorities.
• Ability to take responsibility, solve problems and adapt to changing priorities while meeting deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Play a substantive role in developing Ofwat’s understanding of individual water companies by aggregating intelligence across the organisation.
• Support Ofwat’s relationships with water companies and engage with allocated companies as knowledge grows.
• Assist Principals on companies requiring more intensive supervision and contribute to regulatory decision-making.

Skills

Regulatory understanding

Analysis and judgement

Communication and relationships

Organisation and coordination

Ownership and adaptability

Job description

Join Ofwat’s Sector Performance Delivery Directorate as a Company Engagement Specialist

This is a fixed-term post until 31 December 2027.

Office Location: London (E14 4HD) or Birmingham (B5 4UA) with hybrid working

About Us

We are Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, a non-ministerial government department responsible for regulating the water sector in England and Wales.

The water sector is entering a new chapter. The government has set out a bold new direction, bringing together expertise from across the sector to deliver better outcomes for customers and the environment. We are collaborating with fellow regulators to respond to recommendations in The Independent Water Commission Report, the Welsh Government’s response to the Green Paper, Shaping the Future of Water Governance in Wales, and the Government’s White Paper, A new vision for water.

Ofwat is working with the government and other regulators to help create a new body for England, bringing together our strengths with those of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, the Environment Agency and Natural England. We are also continuing to work with the Welsh Government to support decisions on the future arrangements for Wales.

While these changes take shape, our mission remains the same: to hold water companies to account, drive performance, and ensure the sector delivers real value for customers, communities, and the environment. If you’re passionate about making a difference, this is a unique moment to join us and help shape the future of water, and together we can continue to make a positive impact.

The Role

The Company Engagement Team plays a central role in Ofwat's regulation of the water sector by leading and supporting coordinated, consistent, and strategic engagement with water companies. The team also brings together and maintains company insight and knowledge to support informed, aligned, and impactful oversight. As Ofwat continues to evolve its approach to supervision, the team is increasingly supporting more complex cross-organisational coordination and holistic company oversight.

The team:

• provides extensive internal and external stakeholder management activities, with a principle focus on the relationship between Ofwat and water companies;
• leads and supports the execution of strategic engagement between Ofwat and companies;
• brings together intelligence, evidence and insight from across Ofwat, water companies and external stakeholders to identify emerging risks, understand company performance and support informed regulatory decision-making in an increasingly supervisory context.

You will play a substantive role in developing Ofwat’s understanding of individual water companies, bringing together intelligence from across the organisation to identify key issues, risks and priorities. You will support Ofwat’s relationships with water companies and, as your knowledge and experience develop, may take greater responsibility for engagement with allocated companies.

You will also support Principals on companies requiring more intensive supervision.

About You

To be successful in this role you will need the below essential attributes, experience, skills and knowledge:

• Regulatory understanding (Lead criterion) - An understanding of regulation, public policy, utilities or a comparable environment, and the ability to apply that understanding to support effective regulatory work.
• Analysis and judgement - Experience of bringing together information from different sources, identifying key issues and implications and communicating clear conclusions. Ability to develop an understanding of a new or complex area quickly.
• Communication and relationships - Experience of building effective professional relationships with internal and external stakeholders. Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate confidently and explain information clearly and concisely for different audiences.
• Organisation and coordination - Strong organisational skills, with experience of coordinating activity, managing information and competing priorities, maintaining accurate records and following actions through to completion.
• Ownership and adaptability - Ability to take responsibility for allocated work, use judgement to solve problems and respond flexibly when priorities change, while delivering good-quality work to deadlines.

Why You Should Join Us

• People Centric: Our people are at the heart of Ofwat and everything we do - we ensure all voices are heard and treat each other with respect; you'll be given the autonomy and the support to do your role in the best way.
• Innovative Work Environment: We embrace agile and new ways of working and have a culture build on trust, flexibility, and collaboration.
• Development Opportunities: Gain valuable experience and develop your skills in a supportive and dynamic setting.
• Work-Life Balance: Enjoy the flexibility of working from home combined with the benefits of in person collaboration in our Birmingham and London offices.
• Excellent employer pension contributions.
• 25 days’ annual leave, increasing to 30 with each year of service, plus bank holidays and an extra 2.5 days of privilege leave.
• Access to exclusive discounts on a variety of goods and services, including retail outlets, theatre tickets, holidays, insurance, and a gym membership.
• Fees paid for membership of relevant professional bodies.
• Up to 3 volunteering days per year.
• Generous shared parental leave and pay supporting your family life.