Principal Process Specialist

Thames Water Utilities Limited; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 36,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Car allowance

Generous pension

Annual leave 26 days

Job summary

Thames Water is seeking a Principal Process Specialist to lead environmental compliance for wastewater treatment works in South London. This senior role blends process science, engineering, operations and regulation to tackle high-complexity escalations and regulatory requirements.

You will provide strategic outlook on regional compliance, mentor teams, and drive continuous improvement, including training and developing wastewater learning materials.

Qualifications

• Significant experience with wastewater processes, regulation and pollution investigations.
• Proven track record in fault finding, process improvements and delivering change.
• Confident in technical conversations and communicating to non-technical audiences.
• Experience in leading technical teams and mentoring others.
• Full UK driving licence and access to transport with business-use insurance.

Responsibilities

• Provide subject matter expertise in wastewater treatment and regulation across sites and processes.
• Analyse wastewater KPIs, report results, and strategise improvements.
• Lead project design, delivery and commissioning of capital schemes as a technical lead.
• Coach and mentor sub-teams, drive knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.
• Coordinate input from multiple teams to deliver complex outputs.

Skills

Wastewater expertise

Regulatory knowledge

Data analysis

Communication

Education

BSc/ MSc in science or engineering

Tools

UK Driving Licence

Job description

Job title Principal Process Specialist Ref 43949 Division Asset Operations & Capital Delivery Location Hybrid - Beddington (STW) - CR0 4TH, Hybrid - Hogsmill (STW), Hybrid - Mogden (STW) - TW7 7LW Contract type Permanent Full/Part-time Full-time Hours 36 Hours per week Salary Offering a salary up to £60,000 per annum, depending on skills and experience, plus a car allowance on top. Job grade B Closing date 02/11/2026

Are you a wastewater treatment technical lead? We’re seeking a subject matter expert to help shape and lead our environmental compliance across our sewage treatment works in the South London area.

As the most senior technical position in process compliance, Principal Process Specialists provide leading wastewater knowledge to achieve regulatory requirements.

The job blends process science, engineering, operations, and regulation to address escalations and matters of high complexity.

You will provide a strategic outlook on regional compliance performance and horizon scanning for future risk. Acting as coach, mentor and leader, you promote continuous improvement and drive for leading quality, assurance and consistency.

The role embodies a compliance-driven culture and seeks to improve our environmental performance.

What will you be doing as a Principal Process Specialist:

Technical Expertise

• Being a subject matter expert in wastewater treatment and regulation, using extensive operational experience to solve problems across different sites & process streams.
• Data analytics of wastewater treatment KPIs, reporting and strategising on results.
• Comprehensive understanding of all permitting requirements and innovative idea generation to solve non-compliances.
• Key representative of Operations teams for project design, delivery and commissioning of capital schemes – capable of confident calculation handling.
• Optimisation of site processes to reduce our cost-of-treatment, with a holistic understanding of cost vs benefit.
• Lead reduction of flow-related compliance issues, including storm discharges.
• Undertake technical training, holding key process safety roles.
• Proactive in learning about new wastewater technologies and disseminating knowledge.
• Lead, coach, and mentor to drive knowledge sharing, upskilling and improved competency of those you work with.
• Thought leadership in your field, capable of positive, proactive problem-solving and bringing colleagues on board with novel solutions.
• High confidence in presenting and communicating to all audiences.
• Produce root cause analysis and peer review the work of others, sharing lessons learned to prevent repeats.
• Out-of-hours rota participation, offering advice during event scenarios.
• Look after a sub-team of other Process Specialists as a driven, organised, empathetic and supportive leader.
• Act as a central keystone in coordinating input from across multiple teams and departments across the business to deliver complex outputs.
• Spearheading the development of wastewater learning materials, asset standards and project scopes.

Working Pattern: 36 Hours per week (Mon – Fri) plus the inclusion of a standby rota for which you will receive additional payment.

What should you bring to this role?

To thrive in this role, the essential criteria you’ll need are:

• Significant experience working with wastewater processes, regulation and pollution investigations.
• Proven track record in leading on fault finding, process improvements and delivering change – being curious, self-driven & motivated.
• Confident in holding in-depth, technical conversations and being a great communicator who can relay complex information to non-technical audiences.
• Experience in managing and leading technical teams is key, as well as coaching & mentoring.
• A full UK driving licence is mandatory, with access to your transport and business-use insurance. (Car allowance is provided).
• Strong with data handling, processing, reporting, and adapting to IT systems.
• Superb time management skills, able to self-organise and be a true self-starter.

Additional skills and experiences would be great to have/bring:

• BSc/MSc in science/engineering is highly advantageous.

What’s in it for you?

• Offering a salary up to £60,000 per annum, depending on skills and experience, plus a car allowance on top.
• Annual Leave: 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (plus bank holidays)
• Company Car Allowance Provided.
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets.
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Generous Paternity Leave, including 4 weeks paid and an optional 2 weeks unpaid.
• Enhanced Maternity Leave, 26 weeks full pay and 13 weeks half pay.
• 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, 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.