Process Lead

South East Water; Snodland; On-site; GBP 39,000 - 47,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent Pension (up to 10% employer)

5 weeks holiday + bank holidays

Flexible annual leave

Volunteer days

Cycle to work

Health cash plan

Life assurance

Wellbeing benefits

Job summary

South East Water is seeking a Process Lead to guard and advance our documentation standards across Distribution, Leakage, E&M, Production and Water Quality. You will author SOMs and SOPs, deliver regulatory briefings, and lead governance to ensure timely approvals and publications.

You will work with multidisciplinary teams to identify risks, push simple fixes or escalate complex issues, and mentor frontline staff on procedural excellence.

Qualifications

• Degree in a scientific field relevant to the UK Water Industry.
• Valid EUSR Blue Card (Water Hygiene).
• Proven Water Industry experience with water treatment or distribution knowledge.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; translate jargon to clear instructions.
• Membership in a professional body related to the Water Industry.

Responsibilities

• Author high-quality SOMs, Contingency Plans and SOPs.
• Develop training materials and deliver annual briefings to frontline teams.
• Lead review groups with managers to secure document approvals.
• Conduct site visits and desktop studies to identify risks or opportunities.
• Liaise with Water Resources, Environment, H&S, Engineering and Assets for integrated standards.
• Peer-review colleagues’ work to maintain a gold standard of documentation.

Skills

Process Engineering

Technical writing

Communication

IT literacy

Education

Degree in a scientific field (water industry)

Tools

Microsoft 365

Job description

Summary

Are you a technical expert with a passion for operational excellence? As our Process Lead, you will be the guardian of our standards. You'll play a critical role in ensuring our frontline teams across Distribution, Leakage, E&M, Production, and Water Quality operate safely, consistently, and in full compliance with industry regulations.

Main Responsibilities

• Documentation Mastery: Author high-quality Site Operating Manuals (SOMs), Contingency Plans, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Knowledge Transfer: Develop engaging training materials and deliver annual briefings to frontline teams on internal updates and wider regulatory shifts.
• Collaborative Governance: Lead review groups with key managers to secure document approval and publication.
• Risk & Innovation: Conduct site visits and desktop studies to identify risks or opportunities. You'll be empowered to push through "simple fix" resolutions or escalation complex issues via corporate systems.
• Cross-Functional Liaison: Act as the bridge between teams such as Water Resources, Environment, H&S, Engineering, and Assets to ensure integrated standards.
• Quality Assurance: Peer-review the work of colleagues, providing expert feedback to maintain a gold standard of documentation across the team.

What You'll Bring

You are a methodical professional who enjoys the "deep dive" into process science but can also step back and communicate the big picture to diverse audiences. You take pride in accuracy and thrive when working independently to meet deadlines.

Technical Requirements

• Education: A degree in a scientific field relevant to the UK Water Industry.
• Certification: Valid EUSR Blue Card (Water Hygiene).
• Industry Experience: Proven experience within the Water Industry, including a solid understanding of water treatment and/or distribution processes.
• Communication: Exceptional written and verbal skills-you can turn technical jargon into clear instructions.
• IT Literacy: Expert-level proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), with the ability to create bespoke document templates.

Experience and Qualifications

• Over 5 years of industry-specific experience.
• A background in Process Science or Process Engineering.
• Direct experience in technical or procedural writing.
• Membership in a professional body related to the Water Industry.

Grow a career with a meaningful purpose.

Benefits package:

• Excellent Stakeholder pension scheme, up to 10% employer contribution.
• 5 weeks holiday plus bank holidays per annum, increasing to 6 weeks with length of service.
• Flexible annual leave policy to buy or sell holiday leave.
• Paid volunteering days.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Health cash plan.
• Life assurance.
• Wellbeing related benefits.

South East Water kindly asks that recruitment agencies refrain from submitting CVs to our employees or associates without explicit invitation from our HR Resourcing team. CVs sent on a speculative basis will not be acknowledged and will not assume any responsibility for fees or commissions in the event that we hire a candidate who applied directly or subsequently introduced by an instructed agency.

Compensation package:

Up to £43,000 + £6,492.29 car allowance