Control Business Partner

Thames Water; England; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A major UK water company is seeking a Controls Business Partner to drive governance and enhance internal control systems. The ideal candidate will have strong oversight experience, excellent communication skills, and a commitment to quality. This is a significant opportunity to work in a collaborative environment, directly impacting risk management and compliance within the organization. Competitive salary and benefits included.

Benefits

Competitive salary of £55,000 - £75,000 per annum

Annual Leave – 26 days holiday, increasing to 30

Performance-related pay

Generous Pension Scheme

Personal Medical Assessments

Access to health and well-being benefits

Qualifications

• Experience in compliance, finance, internal audit, or controls is essential.
• Values-driven with high attention to detail.
• Comfortable engaging with senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead control design and implementation reviews.
• Test and report on the design and operating effectiveness of key controls.
• Champion a strong control culture across the business.

Skills

Strong understanding of adequate and effective control

Experience in oversight functions

Clear and confident communicator

Business partnering experience

Job description

Are you passionate about driving strong governance and embedding meaningful controls? Join Thames Water’s Controls Transformation Team, where you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping and strengthening our internal control environment. This is a fantastic opportunity to influence how we manage risk, ensure compliance, and deliver assurance across the business. If you thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced environment and enjoy working with senior stakeholders to make a real impact, this role is for you.

As part of the Controls Transformation Team, you’ll drive the development and oversight of our internal control system by designing, documenting, and testing control effectiveness and supporting governance and ongoing maintenance.

What you will be doing as Controls Business Partner

• Lead or contribute to control design and implementation reviews, including being heavily involved in an end-to-end business wide controls transformation programme of work.
• Test and report on the design and operating effectiveness of key controls.
• Champion a strong control culture across Thames Water, including strengthening control ownership and clarity.
• Deliver clear, insightful reporting on control performance and risks.
• Collaborate with wider assurance teams across Thames Water including Internal Audit & Assurance, Enterprise Risk, Digital Assurance, etc., all in support of enhancing integrated assurance across the control environment.

What you should bring to the role?

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

• Strong understanding of adequate and effective control.
• Experience in oversight functions (e.g., compliance, finance, internal audit, controls).
• Knowledge of either financial, compliance, reporting and/or operational controls.
• Values-driven, with a high attention to detail and commitment to quality.
• Clear and confident communicator, both written and verbal.
• Comfortable engaging and constructively challenging senior stakeholders, including providing constructive feedback on control weaknesses.
• Business partnering experience (e.g., supporting business areas to design, document and embed control).

Extra qualities that would be a great fit for our team:

• First-hand experience of working within a regulated utility, heavy industry, or other engineering-based environment.
• Experience designing and embedding controls.
• Strategic mindset with pragmatic problem-solving skills.
• Adaptable in dynamic, ambiguous environments.

What’s in it for you?

As our internal control environment matures, new opportunities for career growth and advancement will emerge for the right candidate, offering a rewarding career path. This is an exciting time to join Thames Water as we continue to deliver our innovative turnaround plan.

• Competitive salary of £55,000 - £75,000 per annum, depending on experience.
• Annual Leave – 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays).
• Performance-related pay is directly linked to company performance measures and targets.
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Personal Medical Assessments – Open to all once a year.
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of your and your family’s health and well-being, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Who are we?

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.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water

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.