Portfolio Capital Efficiency Lead

Thames Water Utilities Limited; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Car allowance

Performance-related pay

Generous pension

Private medical health care

Health and wellbeing benefits

Job summary

Thames Water Utilities Limited is seeking a Portfolio Capital Efficiency Lead to shape how capital is delivered across our water and wastewater programmes. This hybrid role, based at Clearwater Court (RG1 8DB), combines office presence with travel as needed.

You will translate priorities into focused efficiency activity, influence senior decision-makers, and collaborate with Sponsor Directors to drive value across our multi‑billion pound investment programme.

Qualifications

• Experience in capital planning, investment programmes or portfolio management in asset-intensive environments.
• Ability to interpret performance information and turn it into recommendations.
• Experience supporting senior decision-making through insight, analysis and strategic challenge.
• Strong stakeholder-management and influencing skills across organisational boundaries.
• Ability to communicate complex risks, opportunities and priorities clearly.
• Experience driving improvement and embedding change.
• Commercial awareness and delivering value.
• Confidence to lead through influence at all levels.

Responsibilities

• Act as the strategic capital efficiency lead for either Water or Waste portfolio, translating priorities into focused efficiency activity.
• Provide insight, challenge and recommendations to shape senior leadership decisions.
• Review portfolio performance, identify risks, gaps, opportunities and trends.
• Translate sponsor priorities into focused activity across delivery teams via Capital Efficiency Partners.
• Assess maturity and deliverability of efficiency opportunities before presenting to sponsors.
• Develop compelling portfolio narratives explaining performance and intervention needs.
• Influence strategic direction and keep attention on high-value areas.
• Collaborate across Sponsorship, Delivery, Finance and PMO to align portfolio view.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder management

Data analysis

Influencing skills

Communication of risks

Change management

Commercial awareness

Leadership through influence

Job description

Job title Portfolio Capital Efficiency Lead Ref 46063 Division Asset Operations & Capital Delivery Location Hybrid - Clearwater Court - RG1 8DB Contract type Permanent Full/Part-time Full-time Salary Competitive salary up to £75,000 per annum depending on skills and experience. Job grade C Closing date 21/10/2026

Ready to Make a Strategic Impact?

Do you enjoy seeing the bigger picture, influencing decisions and turning insight into action? Join us to help shape how one of the UK’s largest capital programmes delivers value.

We’re building a new Capital Efficiency team and looking for strategic thinkers who bring challenge, curiosity and fresh perspective. You may come from water, energy, transport, rail, construction, utilities or another asset-intensive sector. What matters most is your ability to connect complex programmes, people and insight to help leaders make better decisions.

You’ll work alongside senior leaders, influence investment priorities and help drive efficiency across our Water or Waste portfolio. If you’re excited by the challenge but don’t meet every requirement, we’d still love to hear from you. We value transferable skills, diverse experiences and different career journeys because they make our teams stronger.

As a Portfolio Capital Efficiency Lead, you will:

• Act as the strategic capital efficiency lead for either our Water or Waste portfolio, working closely with Sponsor Directors to translate agreed portfolio priorities into focused efficiency activity.
• Provide insight, challenge and recommendations that help shape decision-making at a senior leadership level.
• Review portfolio performance, identifying key risks, gaps, opportunities and emerging trends.
• Translate sponsor priorities into focused activity across delivery teams through our Capital Efficiency Partners.
• Use delivery evidence and input from our Capital Efficiency Partners to assess the maturity, credibility and deliverability of efficiency opportunities before they are presented to sponsors.
• Develop compelling portfolio narratives that explain performance, progress and areas requiring intervention.
• Influence strategic direction and ensure attention is focused on the areas that will deliver the greatest value.
• Work across Sponsorship, Delivery, Finance and PMO functions to create a coherent portfolio-wide view of efficiency performance.
• Help shape the future capital efficiency strategy across one of the UK's largest infrastructure investment programmes.

This is a hybrid role based at our Clearwater Court office, with an expectation to work on site and in the office 2–4 days per week. You’ll need a full driving licence and access to transport to support travel as part of the role.

What you should bring to the role:

• Experience within capital planning, investment programmes, portfolio management or capital delivery within a complex infrastructure or asset-intensive environment.
• The ability to interpret performance information and turn it into clear recommendations and actions.
• Experience supporting senior decision-making through insight, analysis and strategic challenge.
• Strong stakeholder-management and influencing skills, with the confidence to work across organisational boundaries.
• The ability to communicate complex risks, opportunities and priorities in a clear and engaging way.
• Experience driving improvement, embedding change and helping teams focus on what matters most.
• Commercial awareness and a passion for delivering value.
• The confidence to lead through influence all levels of internal and external stakeholders.

It Would Be Great If You Also Have

• Experience within the water, waste, utilities, energy, transport, rail or wider infrastructure sectors.
• Experience working with Sponsor, Finance, Engineering, PMO or Portfolio Management teams.
• Knowledge of portfolio governance, investment controls and strategic planning processes.
• A qualification in project, programme, portfolio management, engineering, commercial management, finance or continuous improvement.

Water or waste sector experience is beneficial but absolutely not essential. We're equally interested in candidates with transferable experience who can bring new ideas, fresh thinking and a strong track record of influencing performance within complex organisations.

What's in it for you?

This is a unique opportunity to join a brand-new Capital Efficiency team and help shape how efficiency is delivered across Thames Water's multi-billion-pound investment programme. You'll work closely with Sponsor Directors and senior leaders, influencing strategic decisions that drive value for customers, communities and the environment.

You'll play a visible role in shaping strategy, influencing priorities and driving meaningful improvements across major capital programmes, while building a strong network across Sponsorship, Delivery, Finance and PMO teams.

In return, we offer:

• Competitive salary up to £75,000 per annum depending on skills and experience.
• Car allowance of £5,800 per annum.
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Private Medical Health Care.
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks (Please note different T&Cs apply if on secondment)

Who are we?

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process . If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support .

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.