Head of Smart Metering

Southern Water; Worthing; Hybrid; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading water services company is seeking a Head of Smart Metering to drive a major programme to rollout smart meters. This pivotal role involves leading a dedicated team, managing a significant budget, and fostering strong stakeholder engagement to ensure successful delivery of water-saving initiatives. The position offers a competitive salary, hybrid working options between office in Worthing and home, and a strong benefits package including bonuses and health provisions.

Benefits

Company and performance-related bonus

Generous pension with up to 11% company contribution

Life assurance payment equal to four times your annual salary

Health benefits through a Cash Plan

Two paid community volunteering days a year

25 days annual holiday

Occupational health service

Retail platform offering discounts and savings

Study support for job-related qualifications

Flexible parental leave options

Qualifications

• Proven success in delivering large-scale, complex, multi-year change programmes.
• Experience in regulated utilities, ideally with metering and operational management expertise.
• Strong financial planning and budget management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Smart Programme team and ensure alignment of plans with strategy.
• Act as the voice of Smart across the business.
• Develop and deploy strategy iteratively using a 'test, learn, and do' approach.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Budget management

Communication skills

Change management

Customer focus

Job description

Closing Date

2025-11-27

Job Title : Head of Smart Metering

Location : Hybrid working between our Head Office in Worthing (2-3 days pw) and remote working.

Contract Type : Permanent

Hours : 37 hours per week, Monday - Friday

Salary : Competitive salary commensurate with experience + £500 monthly car allowance, single PMI, and up to 20% bonus

Job Overview

Southern Water is embarking on one of the most ambitious programmes in its history : the rollout of around 1 million smart meters between 2025 and 2030. This initiative is part of an industry-wide challenge to transform how customers use real-time data to manage water consumption and reduce leakage, addressing a generational issue of water scarcity in the South East.

The Smart Metering Programme will empower customers to interact with water services as they do with other utilities, moving from two meter reads per year to over 8,000 data points in the same period. This data will be presented through a digital experience that builds trust, provides tailored advice, and helps customers understand where their water comes from and where it goes.

As Head of Smart Metering, you will lead both the strategic direction and delivery of this groundbreaking programme, as well as manage a first-of-its-kind commercial contract with a Metering Asset Provider responsible for delivering metering data as a service.

This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of water efficiency, customer engagement, and operational resilience!

Accountabilities include, but are not limited to :

• Lead the Smart Programme team, ensuring alignment of plans with strategy and owning all aspects of delivery.
• Act as the voice of Smart across the business, providing assurance and guidance to the Executive Committee.
• Deliver initiatives that reduce water consumption and leakage, achieving Ofwat outcome delivery incentives (ODIs).
• Develop and deploy strategy iteratively using a “test, learn, and do” approach.
• Build strong stakeholder engagement across Southern Water and external partners.
• Maintain positive relationships with regulators, industry bodies, and consumer groups.
• Manage a large multi-year budget and ensure robust operational decisions to maintain agility.
• Establish and maintain effective partnerships with delivery partners and internal teams.
• Be the voice of the customer within the Smart Programme, ensuring a customer-centric approach.

About You

We’re looking for a strategic and commercially minded leader with :

• Proven success in delivering large-scale, complex, multi-year change programmes.
• Experience in regulated utilities, ideally with metering and operational management expertise.
• Strong financial planning and budget management skills.
• Exceptional leadership, stakeholder engagement, and communication skills.
• Ability to influence, negotiate, and build high-performing teams.
• Customer-focused mindset and resilience in a fast-changing environment.

Package

This role will be full time Monday to Friday with a hybrid approach to working between our Head Office in Worthing and home.

We are offering a competitive salary dependent on skills and experience as well as other benefits including :

• Company and performance-related bonus
• Generous pension with up to 11% company contribution
• Life assurance payment equal to four times your annual salary
• Health benefits through a Cash Plan
• Two paid community volunteering days a year
• 25 days annual holiday
• Occupational health service
• Retail platform offering discounts and savings on several products and experiences
• Study support may be available for job-related qualifications
• We offer competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave and flexible return to work options

Join Southern Water and see how far your career could progress with a company committed to career progression, training and development opportunities, our customers and the environment.

Why Southern Water?

Southern Water is at the forefront of transforming Britain’s water industry, investing significantly to enhance resilience, sustainability, and service excellence. With £7.8bn planned investment for 2025-30, this is an unparalleled opportunity to join a business committed to delivering a generational shift in the way water services are managed.

You will be joining at a time of significant change, working alongside a highly skilled leadership team with a clear vision for the future. We offer an environment where senior professionals can make a meaningful impact, influence major strategic decisions, and drive long-term value creation.

At Southern Water, diversity and inclusion are core values. We actively encourage applications from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an environment where every individual is empowered to succeed.

This is more than a role; it’s an opportunity to lead, innovate, and make a lasting impact. Apply now to be part of our transformational journey.