Innovation Project Manager

Southern Water; Brighton; Hybrid; GBP 48,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading water utility company is seeking an Innovation Project Manager to join their Environment & Innovation team in Falmer. This role focuses on developing and leading projects aimed at enhancing water quality and flow. Ideal candidates will have a minimum of three years in project management, a commercial mindset, and experience in the utilities sector. The position offers a salary of £48-52k and a hybrid working model, with various benefits including pension contributions and annual leave.

Benefits

Generous pension up to 11% company contribution

25 days annual leave

Life assurance equal to 4x salary

Salary sacrifice electric car scheme

Health Cash Plan

Funded eye tests

Two paid volunteering days

Occupational health service

Discounts with over 800 popular retailers

Digital GP service

Study support for job-related qualifications

Competitive maternity leave

Qualifications

• Minimum of three years relevant experience within project management.
• Experience within innovation / R&D functions.
• Experience in utilities with knowledge of water and/or wastewater operations is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead innovation projects aligned with business priorities.
• Ensure projects drive innovation into the business.
• Manage budget, milestones, risks, and relationships.

Skills

Project management

Commercial acumen

Innovative mindset

Technical knowledge of water

Job description

Overview

Closing Date: 2025-10-10

Job Title: Innovation Project Manager(s)

Location: Falmer, West Sussex (1-2 days per week)

Contract Type: Permanent

Hours: 37 hours per week

Salary: £48-52k, dependent on skills and experience

The Environment & Innovation team is at the forefront of Southern Water’s drive to enhance and protect the environment. Deploying the latest innovative solutions and working in partnership with our customers and stakeholders, the team takes an holistic approach to managing water quality and flow across the region. This is a fast-paced team that is now expanding to continue to deliver a larger programme of sustainable and innovative solutions that benefit our customers and the environment.

Two brand new positions have been created to join our Environment & Innovation team as Innovation Project Managers; a blend of delivery and technical subject matter expertise.

Job Responsibilities

• Responsible for developing and leading innovation projects which are aligned with the business priorities (water or wastewater). And ensuring that those projects drive innovation into the business.
• Technical assurance of potential concepts, ideas and projects.
• Development of project scope and plans.
• Managing budget, milestone, benefit tracking, risk, etc.
• Develop and maintain key relationships within the business to sponsor the innovation projects and develop adoption commitments for each project.
• Support the innovation lead with steering groups and technical working groups.

About You

• Minimum of three years relevant experience within project management.
• Commercial acumen with an innovative mindset.
• Experience delivering a portfolio of projects from conception to delivery.
• Experience within innovation / R&D functions.
• Experience in utilities (preferably water) with technical knowledge of water and/or wastewater operations, capital delivery and assets is desirable.

Package & Benefits

This role will be full time Monday to Friday with a hybrid approach to working from our Falmer office and home. We are offering a salary of between £48-52,000 as well as other benefits including:

• Generous pension up to 11% company contribution
• 25 days annual leave
• Life assurance equal to 4x salary
• Salary sacrifice electric car scheme (after 6 months service)
• Health Cash Plan
• Full funded eye tests
• Two paid volunteering days a year
• Occupational health service
• Discounts with over 800 popular retailers
• Digital GP service
• Study support may be available for job-related qualifications
• Competitive maternity leave and flexible return to work options
• Cycle to work scheme

Additional Information

Join our Environment & Innovation team and see how far your career could progress with a company committed to career progression, training and development opportunities, our customers and the environment. Does this opportunity excite you but you’re not 100% sure if you meet all the requirements for the role? Or are you concerned that ‘normal’ office hours aren’t possible given your personal circumstances? Whilst we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we’ll try to find a practical solution. So why not engage with us and find out more about this role?

Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, because delivering water for life is our core purpose. To achieve this, we need 24/7 support in place to resolve incidents quickly and efficiently. All our employees understand the importance of out-of-hours incident support – because when problems appear, fixing them is our top priority. Joining the Southern Water family means you’ll become part of our incident support team. During your interview, your manager will speak to you about any incident support rotas that apply to your position.

Privacy Statement

Please note: If you are an existing Southern Water employee, you will need to confirm within your application that your Manager is aware of your application.

All applicants must be eligible to live and work in the UK. You will need to provide evidence of eligibility (e.g. a passport or long birth certificate and proof of NI) and current proof of address (dated within the last 3 months), will be required as part of the recruitment process. If you do not meet these criteria, your application will not be considered.