Innovation Team Leader
Sweco
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
Sweco UK is seeking an experienced Innovation Team Leader to drive the AMP8 Innovation Strategy within the @one Alliance. You will lead a high-performing team, identifying opportunities across engineering, construction and operations, and shepherd trials from concept to adoption.
You will collaborate with universities, industry bodies and suppliers to deliver practical, scalable solutions, shaping sustainability, efficiency and digital transformation across major infrastructure projects.
Qualifications
- Proven experience leading innovation initiatives from concept through to implementation.
- Experience identifying, trialling and adopting innovative solutions.
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to present ideas, risks and benefits to a wide audience.
Responsibilities
- Lead and develop a high-performing innovation team, fostering curiosity and collaboration.
- Develop and deliver the AMP8 Innovation Strategy across the alliance.
- Collaborate with engineering, construction, delivery, carbon, procurement and performance teams to identify opportunities for innovation.
- Manage innovation trials from concept to evaluation and adoption; visit sites to identify improvements.
- Build relationships with suppliers, universities, start-ups and industry bodies and represent the alliance at industry events.
Skills
Education
Job description
The Anglian Water @one Alliance is a totally collaborative organisation made up of nine partner companies (Anglian Water, SWECO, Balfour Beatty, Barhale, Binnies, MMB, MWH Treatment, and Skanska) and an extended supply chain, delivering over half of Anglian Water’s capital investment programme.
Transforming society together, we’re planning and designing sustainable communities and cities of the future.
Solving the great societal challenges of our time is more relevant, demanding and inspiring than ever before. At Sweco, we bring together experts with different perspectives and skills to develop solutions that address the challenges of urbanisation, harness the positive power of digitalisation and make societies more sustainable.
We offer our clients a combination of global expertise and local presence, adapted to their business and reality. Our ambition is to be our clients’ most relevant partner, working together to help them solve their challenges, today and into the future.
To ensure we support our objectives of collaboration across the business whilst providing our workforce with the agility to achieve a healthy work/ life balance, we are asking our employees to have office or site presence on an average of three days a week.
At @one Alliance, we're redefining how major infrastructure is delivered. As we embark on one of the UK's largest and most ambitious investment programmes through AMP8, we're looking for an experienced and forward-thinking Innovation Team Leader to help us challenge convention, embrace new technologies, and deliver industry-leading solutions.
As Innovation Team Leader, you will develop and deliver the AMP8 Innovation Strategy, ensuring innovative ideas are identified, trialled, evaluated and successfully adopted across the business.
You’ll work closely with teams across the alliance, the wider Anglian Water innovation ecosystem, supply chain partners, academia and industry bodies to find practical solutions to some of our biggest challenges.
- Lead and develop a high-performing innovation team, fostering a culture of curiosity, collaboration and trust.
- Support team recruitment, succession planning, learning and development activities.
- Champion a strong health, safety and wellbeing culture across all innovation activities.
- Develop and deliver the @one Alliance Innovation Strategy for AMP8 and beyond.
- Collaborate with engineering, construction, delivery, carbon, procurement and performance teams to identify opportunities for innovation.
- Lead the identification, assessment and implementation of new technologies, products, materials and ways of working.
- Manage innovation trials from concept through to evaluation and adoption.
- Visit operational and construction sites to identify opportunities for improvement and innovation.
- Monitor project progress, risks and benefits, ensuring robust governance and reporting.
- Build relationships with suppliers, universities, start-ups, research organisations and industry bodies.
- Attend conferences, exhibitions and industry events to identify emerging technologies and best practice.
- Represent the @one Alliance as an innovation ambassador within the wider industry.
- Collaborate with Anglian Water's Innovation Team and support delivery of Ofwat Innovation Fund projects.
- Develop a strong understanding of the alliance commercial model and how innovation can drive improved outcomes.
- Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce costs and support carbon reduction ambitions.
- Promote innovation success stories and share learning across the business.
- Build strong relationships across all levels of the alliance.
- Influence and engage stakeholders to secure support for innovation initiatives.
- Promote a culture where innovation and continuous improvement thrive.
We're looking for someone who combines strategic thinking with a passion for practical delivery.
- Proven experience leading innovation initiatives from concept through to implementation.
- Experience identifying, trialling and adopting innovative solutions.
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to present ideas, risks and benefits to a wide audience.
- Experience working within engineering, construction, infrastructure or operational environments.
- Strong commercial awareness and business acumen.
- Degree qualified or equivalent industry experience.
- Water industry design and build experience.
- Engineering or technical background.
- Experience working within large-scale infrastructure programmes or alliance-based delivery models.
- Entrepreneurial mindset with the resilience to overcome challenges.
- Strategic and tactical thinking.
- Ability to create and communicate a compelling vision.
- Strong negotiation and influencing skills.
- Comfortable managing change and driving adoption.
- Highly collaborative with excellent relationship-building capabilities.
- Passion for emerging technologies, innovation and continuous improvement.
This role offers the opportunity to influence the future of infrastructure delivery across one of the UK's most progressive alliances.
- Lead innovation across a multi-billion-pound AMP8 programme.
- Work alongside industry-leading organisations and technical experts.
- Influence sustainability, carbon reduction and operational efficiency outcomes.
- Develop partnerships with innovators, universities and technology providers.
- Shape how the water industry approaches innovation for years to come.
- Flexible and hybrid working (Flexworks Policy)
- Competitive pension contribution
- Life Assurance
- Private Medical Insurance
- Discretionary Annual Bonus Scheme
- Payment of two relevant professional subscriptions
- 25 days holiday plus bank holidays (with the option to purchase up to 5 additional days per year)
- Cycle2Work Scheme
- Employee Assistance Programme (wellbeing, mental health, financial and work advice)
- Employee discounts via Sweco Benefit Select (Faircare)
- Salary Sacrifice Electric Vehicle Scheme
- We plant a tree for all new starters!
A Collaborative Alliance, Driving Change. Empowering Us To Set Global Benchmarks And Building a Better Environment For Our Customers. We Strive To
Empower our people; Delight our Customers; Embrace digital transformation; Deliver brilliance.
To bring environmental and social prosperity to the region we serve through our commitment to Love Every Drop we:
Build trust; Do the right thing; Are always exploring
It's important to us that that all our colleagues thrive at work - we strive to have a friendly and inclusive culture which respects the contribution individuals can bring to Sweco. We aim to promote equality, inclusivity and diversity for everyone.
Here at Sweco we positively encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy or maternity/paternity.
We have signed the Armed Forces Covenant to ensure those who serve or have served, and their families, are treated fairly. To find out more The Armed Forces Covenant - Our Commitments | Sweco UK.
We are an accredited Real Living Wage Employer which reflects our commitment to fair pay and support for all colleagues.
We are also proud to be a Disability Confident Committed employer, and will interview applicants covered by the Equality Act 2010 that opt into the guaranteed interview scheme on the application form and meet the minimum criteria for the role.
Our Preferred Supplier List was reviewed in November 2025 and we are not looking to add any additional agencies. We’ll be reviewing the PSL again at the end of 2026 and non-compliance with the above statements could be detrimental to you having the opportunity to be included.
Our Talent Community for experienced professionals is a great way to keep up to date with our latest news, insights, future vacancies, as well as gaining access to exclusive events hosted by our experts.
To learn more Join Our Talent Community - Sweco United Kingdom
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