Environmental Strategy, Policy & Regulation Manager

Anglian Water Services; Bedford; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 57,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Personal private health care

26 days annual leave

Bank holidays

Life cover at 8x salary

Personal accident cover

Flexible working options

Competitive pension (6%+ match)

Bonus scheme

Flexible benefits

Job summary

Anglian Water is seeking an Abstraction Strategy and Regulation Manager to lead strategy, regulatory risk, and public interest case development. You’ll manage licence change risks across AMP programmes and coordinate with regulators and internal teams to deliver on commitments.

Reporting to the Water Resources Environment Manager, you’ll influence long-term strategies, integrate abstraction requirements into WRMP29/PR29, and drive innovative licensing approaches while maintaining a strong focus

Qualifications

• Degree in an environmental, policy or regulation field or equivalent professional experience.
• Experience leading complex project or programme management activities.
• Experience with regulators within environmental or water sectors.
• Proven ability to present robust, evidence-based regulatory cases.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead abstraction strategy and regulatory risk management across programmes.
• DevelopPublic Interest Case reports (IROPI/OPI) when caps cannot be met.
• Collaborate with regulators, consultants and internal experts to balance environment and water security.
• Maintain central records of licence changes, risks, drivers and mitigations.
• Shape long-term sustainable abstraction strategy within WRMP29, PR29 and AWINEP.
• Provide strategic insight on regulatory trends and emerging risks.
• Manage consultant support for technical, regulatory and evidence-based case work.
• Promote health, safety and continuous improvement across the team.

Skills

Regulatory leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Analytical thinking

Project management

Regulatory reporting

Communication skills

Influencing across teams

Organisational skills

Education

Degree in environmental/policy/regulation/science/engineering

Job description

Salary: Circa £50,000 - £57,000 depending on skills and experience
Permanent, Full time (With options for Part-Time)
Location: Flexible within the Anglian Water region, with regular travel required to central offices including working in Cambridge on Mondays.

Join us at Anglian Water and help shape the future of sustainable water management across one of the UK's most environmentally important regions. This is a rare opportunity to influence environmental policy, shape long-term resource strategy, and work directly with regulators to balance environmental protection with water security for millions of customers.

As climate change, population growth, and environmental pressures intensify, ensuring abstraction remains sustainable has never been more critical. In this role, you’ll provide strategic, regulatory, and analytical leadership to protect water supplies for customers while enhancing the natural environment.

About the role

Reporting to the Water Resources Environment Manager, the Abstraction Strategy and Regulation Manager will lead on abstraction strategy, regulatory risk management, and public interest case development.

You’ll act as the focal point for managing abstraction licence change risks across AMP programmes, ensuring emerging risks are identified early, robust mitigation is in place, and regulatory commitments are delivered on time. Working collaboratively across the business and with external regulators, you’ll shape long‑term sustainable abstraction strategy and integrate abstraction requirements into key programmes such as WRMP29, PR29, AWINEP, and the Environmental Destination Strategy.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the assessment and management of environmental and regulatory risks that could impact water resource availability and long-term resilience.
• Work with regulators, environmental bodies, consultants and internal experts to develop solutions that protect the environment while maintaining secure water supplies.
• Maintain a central record of proposed licence changes, tracking drivers, risks, dependencies, and mitigations
• Monitor progress and emerging risks, ensuring timely escalation and intervention where required
• Identify when abstraction caps cannot be met and lead the development of robust Public Interest Case reports (IROPI / OPI)
• Collaborate with the Sustainable Abstraction Programme Team to design environmental mitigation and compensatory measures
• Shape and influence long‑term sustainable abstraction strategy, including innovative approaches such as dynamic abstraction licensing
• Ensure abstraction needs and licence caps are fully and accurately reflected in our longer term plans (WRMP29, PR29), and wider environmental programmes
• Provide strategic insight on emerging regulatory trends, risks, and opportunities
• Influence future regulatory direction through proactive engagement and policy shaping
• Manage consultant support to deliver technical, regulatory, and evidence‑based case development
• Champion a strong health, safety, and continuous improvement culture

Required skills and experience

• Degree qualified in an environmental, policy/ regulation, scientific, engineering or related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
• Experience leading complex project or programme management activities
• Strong experience working with regulators, ideally within environmental or water sectors
• Proven ability to develop and present robust, evidence‑based regulatory cases
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with confidence presenting to senior stakeholders
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret emerging risks and complex data
• Ability to lead, influence, and inspire across multidisciplinary teams
• Highly organised, self‑motivated, and comfortable managing competing priorities
• Working towards chartered status (desirable)
• Water company or utilities sector experience (desirable)

As a valued employee, you’ll be entitled to:

• Personal private health care
• 26 days annual leave, rising with service, plus Bank Holidays
• Option to swap Christmas and Easter holidays for those celebrated by your religion
• Life cover at 8x your salary
• Personal accident cover up to 5x your salary
• Flexible working options
• Competitive pension scheme – Anglian Water double‑matches your contribution up to 6%
• Bonus scheme
• A wide range of flexible benefits to support your wellbeing and lifestyle

Why Anglian Water?

Anglian Water is not your typical water company. What we do really matters. Water is the lifeblood of our world, and we’re proud of the difference we make every day. We put people at the heart of our business and champion innovation, collaboration, and sustainability to protect our environment now and for future generations.

If you’re passionate about environmental protection, enjoy working with complex data and regulations, and want to make a tangible difference, we’d love to hear from you.

Closing Date: 11/09/2026

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