Customer Care Agent

Pertemps Thames Water; Reading; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 34,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme (through AON)

Health, wellbeing and financial perks

Cycle to Work

Generous holiday entitlements

Job summary

Thames Water is hiring a Customer Care Agent in Reading to support customers during incidents and events. You will coordinate communications, update event bulletins, and contact priority service users about outages and alternative water supplies.

A permanent full-time contract with salary £26,000–£34,000 depending on skills and experience. You will also assist the Operations Contact Centre with updates on repairs and progress, working with internal teams and external stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Customer service experience
• Understanding of water and wastewater customer journeys helpful
• Incident management experience advantageous
• Confident decision maker under pressure
• Ability to manage deadlines and respond promptly

Responsibilities

• Coordinate communications during incidents and operational events.
• Support priority customers and communicate updates on outages and water supplies.
• Create and update event bulletins for teams.
• Contact priority service customers with outage updates.
• Assist Operations Centre with information on repairs and progress.
• Escalate issues when additional support is needed.
• Monitor service changes and use data to identify trends.

Skills

Customer service

Communication

Decision making

Deadline management

Incident awareness

Job description

Working full time as a Customer Care Agent in Reading, the postholder supports customers throughout incidents and operational events. Serving as a key contact, duties include coordinating communications, creating and updating event bulletins, and contacting priority service users about outages and alternative water supplies. The role also involves assisting the Operations Contact Centre with updates on repairs. Strong communication, organisation and calm decision‑making under pressure are essential. Salary ranges from £26,000 to £34,000 annually, dependent on skills and experience. This permanent contract suits someone who enjoys keeping people informed and helping customers when it matters most.

As a Customer Care Agent, you’ll play an important part in supporting our customers during incidents and events, making sure they receive clear, timely information when they need it most.

What you’ll be doing as a Customer Care Agent

As a Customer Care Agent, you’ll be a key point of contact during incidents and operational events. You’ll help coordinate communications, support priority customers and make sure important updates reach the right people. Creating and updating event bulletins to keep teams informed. Contacting priority service customers to provide updates about outages and alternative water supplies. Supporting the Operations Contact Centre with clear information about repairs, incidents and progress. Working with internal teams and external stakeholders, including emergency services, Transport for London, the Environment Agency and local authorities.

Monitoring any changes in service and escalating issues when additional support or action is needed. Using information and data to identify trends and support appropriate actions.

Base location: Kemble Court, Reading, RG2 6AD

Working pattern : 36 hours per week, working a varied shift pattern between 6am and 10pm. For example, your shift pattern may include 4 days working 6am to 5pm, followed by 4 days off, then 4 days working 11am to 10pm, followed by another four days off.

What you should bring to the role

• Сustomer service experience, including handling calls and helping resolve customer complaints
• An understanding of water and wastewater customer journeys and operational processes would be helpful
• Any experience in incident management would be advantageous
• Confidence making decisions and adapting as priorities change in a fast-paced environment
• The ability to manage deadlines and respond promptly when situations change

What’s in it for you?

• This role will be paid from £26,000 to £34,000 depending on skills and experience
• 24 days holiday per year, increasing to 28 days with length of service, plus bank holidays.
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Access to a wide range of benefits to support you and your family’s health, wellbeing and finances, including annual health MOTs, physiotherapy and counselling, Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.
• Find out more about our benefits and perks (Please note different T&Cs apply if on secondment)

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.