Graduate - Programme Graduate Water

Kelda Group Limited 0000411940 - Kelda Group Limited; Bradford; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 37,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading water services company in Bradford is seeking graduates for their two-year Water Graduate Programme. This role includes various placements across operations, supporting essential water services for over 5.4 million people. Applicants should have a degree in a relevant field, excellent communication skills, and a willingness to travel. The package includes a starting salary of £32,000, various bonuses, and a solid benefits scheme.

Benefits

£2,000 signing bonus

Annual bonus

25 days holiday + bank holidays + wellness day

Health cash plan

Pension: Up to 12% company contribution

Gym membership savings

Qualifications

• Enthusiasm and a drive to succeed.
• Full Clean UK Driving Licence and willingness to travel.
• Brilliant communication and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent collaboration and teamworking skills.
• Ability to prioritize in a dynamic environment.

Responsibilities

• Manage water network operations across various teams.
• Support performance reporting and analytical teams.
• Drive improvements across operational contracts.
• Assist in delivering customer service enhancements.
• Undertake tailored placements to develop water business knowledge.

Skills

Communication skills

Teamwork

Analytical skills

Resilience

Self-learning

Education

Minimum 2:1 Bachelor's degree in Science, Engineering, Environment, Geography

Job description

Yorkshire Water Graduate Scheme - Programme Graduate Water

Starting salary: £32,000, rising to £37,000 by end of year 2

• Extras: £2,000 signing bonus, annual bonus, 25 days holiday + bank holidays + wellness day
• Pension: Up to 12% company contribution
• Life assurance: 4x pensionable salary
• Permanent substantive role offer upon completion of programme subject to performance

Flexible Benefits Package

Includes health cash plan, critical illness and dental insurance, life assurance flex (with partner cover), retail discounts, online GP access, cycle-to-work scheme, gym membership savings, and more.

Location: West Yorkshire with requirement for flexible travel across Yorkshire & Humber.

Work type: 37 hours per week between a working window of 8:00am-6:00pm Monday - Friday

Why Yorkshire Water?

Yorkshire Water delivers essential water and wastewater services to over 5.4 million people. But we're more than taps and toilets-we protect the environment, support communities, and help shape Yorkshire's future.

From tackling climate change to planning for droughts and floods, we're solving some of the biggest challenges facing our region and we need talented graduates to help us do it.

Your Graduate Programme

Our two-year programme offers you five placements across your allocated business area, complemented by a choice of placements to suit your personal development needs in core functions such as Finance, Health & Safety, People, and Procurement, enabling you to have a balanced understanding of the business. You'll gain hands-on experience, technical and leadership training, and support from mentors, managers, graduate alumni, and our Early in Careers team to support you from the day you make the decision to join us.

By the end of the scheme, you'll be ready to step into a permanent role and make a lasting impact.

Your Team:

The variety within the programme will see you working across our business and undertaking activities alongside your colleagues to meet the challenges faced by our industry ranging from how to achieve net zero carbon emissions through to how we plan for drought or flood events. The Water Distribution team covers a number of connected, yet discrete areas, with the opportunity to work across exciting areas, such as identifying and delivering innovation opportunities, championing nature based solutions, through to contributing to strategies central to Yorkshire Water achieving our vision.

We look after communities, protect the environment, and plan to look after Yorkshire's water, today, tomorrow 24/7, 365 days a year. We provide essential water and wastewater services to every corner of the Yorkshire region, and play a key role in the region's health, wellbeing, and prosperity.

New environmental legislation, unprecedented levels of investment and changing expectations from customers means that this is an exciting time to discover opportunities within the water industry. Water Distribution is a key part of how we plan to meet the changing expectations of customers and regulators.

Your Role

As a Water Graduate you will:

Work as part of a team managing the water network across a range of operational teams; Leakage, Field Operations, Distribution Maintenance, Metering and Operational Contracts working to deliver the following Water Performance Commitments - Leakage, CML, Water Quality and Mains Repairs.

You will have a number of tailored placements working as part of the various teams in Water Distribution to develop a foundation of skills and knowledge to understand our operational water processes and customer journeys. This could include:

• Working with our Operational Field teams to proactively manage our water network and resolve customer problems, delivering un-interrupted water supplies 24/7.
• Deliver outputs in our reporting and analytical teams; supporting and understanding our performance requirements and regulatory reporting.
• Drive an improvement in Operational Contracts performance working across stakeholders and partner groups, and supporting the delivery of the Water Services Partnership.
• Support the Distribution Maintenance Teams to deliver the flushing program to improve the service provided to customers by conditioning water mains to protect public health.
• Deliver projects to drive continuous improvement in performance across front line operational teams.
• You will help influence your development programme and experience to be structured towards achieving your personal career goals and the business's needs, but at the core it will be designed to develop your water business and process knowledge, technical understanding, personal and people leadership skills, strategic thinking and delivery of excellent environmental performance. The ultimate goal is to equip you for an exciting career as a future Operational Leader or Technical Specialist in water service delivery.

What you'll need to be successful:

• Minimum 2:1 Bachelor's degree, ideally in a Science, Engineering, Environment, Geography or similar discipline.
• Full Clean UK Driving Licence and willingness to travel across the region
• Enthusiasm and a drive to succeed
• Brilliant communication and interpersonal skills
• Excellent collaboration and teamworking skills
• Resilient to working in a dynamic environment under pressure and ability to prioritise workload
• Information analysis and presentation
• Internally driven and ambitious self-learner

If you have an enquiring mind and want to join our business at a time where you can make a difference to our customers, our environment and join our sustainability led efforts - please apply!

Please click on the button to apply and complete out graduate application form.

Recruitment Process -

Closing date: 9th November 2025

Assessment Centres: between 17th November 2025 to 5th December 2025

Start date: 14th September 2026

We are proud to serve the Yorkshire region and are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment that is reflective of the communities we serve. We strongly encourage candidates of all different backgrounds to apply.

If successful for the role, you will be required to undergo pre-employment checks that will include a Basic Disclosure Check, carried out through a Third Party Company, prior to commencing employment. Depending on the role, you may also be required to go through the security vetting process for either a Counter Terrorist Check or Security Check clearance.

Kelda Group reserve the right to close this position before the published closing date, should the need occur. We therefore advise that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible.