People Project Specialist

Yorkshire Water; Leeds, Bradford; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading water utility company is seeking a Project Specialist to drive people strategy changes in Leeds. The successful candidate will have substantial HR transformation experience, project management skills, and effective communication abilities. This role offers a hybrid working model with a focus on collaboration and flexibility in supporting business change.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Annual performance-related bonus

Attractive pension scheme

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Health cash plan scheme

Online GP service

Gym membership discounts

Qualifications

• Considerable experience in delivering People and HR transformation projects.
• Proven track record of delivering business change.
• Leadership of multi-disciplinary teams through the project lifecycle.
• Robust financial management skills.
• Excellent communication skills with stakeholders.
• Self-management and initiative.
• Effective time management and multi-tasking capability.
• Diligent with strong attention to detail.
• Valid UK driving licence required.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist support and insight for HR transformation.
• Lead reviews of current HR practices and implement changes.
• Collaborate with relevant specialist teams for project success.

Skills

Project management

Financial/budget management

Communication skills

Teamwork

Attention to detail

Microsoft Office (Excel, Project, PowerPoint, Word)

Job description

Hello! Thanks for stopping by. Let us tell you about all the great reasons to join us here at Yorkshire Water:

Salary & Benefits

We offer a competitive salary of around £50-55k per annum, depending on experience.

• Annul performance related bonus
• Attractive pension scheme (up to 12% company contribution)
• Life assurance cover of 4 times pensionable salary
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays – plus an extra wellness day!
• A great benefits package – choose from health cash plan scheme, critical illness insurance, dental insurance, life assurance flex and partner cover.
• Retail savings scheme
• Online GP service, cycle to work scheme, gym membership discounts and many more!

Location

This role will initially be based in Bradford but we’re moving our office to Leeds Valley Park in Summer 2026, so you’ll be based from there in the future. There will be hybrid working in place for this role, with an expectation to be in the office 2-3 days per week.

Work type

This is a fixed term role for around 12-18 months. Working 37 hours per week, Monday – Friday between the working window of 8:00am-6:00pm.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Project Specialist to join the People Team at Yorkshire Water and be a part of driving key business change. Could this be you?

What we do

Everyone has an idea of what a water company does. Here in Yorkshire, we make sure that over 5.4 million people living in the region and the millions of people who visit our region each year, can rely on our services, and have clean and safe drinking water on tap and that their wastewater is taken away. But for us, it’s so much more than this.

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.

Where you fit in

We are looking for a forward thinking and accomplished project specialist to provide specialist support and insight, to lead a review of current ways of working and HR practices. The review will take into account internal data, industry standards and external best practice and be instrumental in implementing changes to support the delivery of our people strategy.

Within the wider people function you will support the wider change programme as required as a specialist on Reward/Employee Relations/People related activity collaborating with the relevant specialist teams where necessary.

What skills and qualifications you will need

• Had considerable experience in delivering People and HR transformation projects in a live unionised, operational environment.
• Proven track record of delivering business change, project management, planning, and financial / budget management and have achieved APM or similar certification.
• Experience of leadership and managing multi-disciplinary teams through the project life cycle.
• Robust financial management skills and commercial awareness to allow for effective business decision-making.
• Excellent communication skills, leading on engagement with key stakeholders and ownership of wider communications.
• Able to work on own initiative and self-manage.
• Effective time manager, capable of meeting timescales, with the ability to multi-task.
• A team player, supports colleagues to achieve the best outcome and values the input of colleagues.
• Diligent with strong attention to detail.
• Advanced user of Microsoft Office packages – Excel, Project, PowerPoint, and Word.
• Valid UK driving licence (required as travel to different sites).

We embrace a flexible working model, where our hybrid setup typically requires an average of 2-3 days in the office per week. This could be slightly more when collaborative efforts, training, workshops or meeting deadlines demand it. For those who prefer to work on‑site, our office is open Monday-Friday during working hours.

Application

If you’re an experienced HR Project Specialist and want to help us deliver business change then apply today to find out what a career with Yorkshire Water can offer for you.

Please apply online and submit an up-to-date CV and covering letter outlining your suitability for the role.

Recruitment Process

Closing Date – 5th December, 2025.

All roles are subject to medical questionnaire, pre‑employment checks including Basic Disclosure Check and potentially security vetting (Counter Terrorist Check or Security Check clearance). If successful, pre‑employment checks that will include a Basic Disclosure Check, carried out through a Third‑Party Company, prior to commencing employment. If needed, security vetting.

We are committed to removing barriers and ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to everyone. We offer a range of adjustments to make your application experience as comfortable and straightforward as possible.

If you have an accessibility need, disability, or condition that requires changes to the recruitment process, please include this information in your application. We will then discuss any reasonable adjustments required.

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.