Senior Associate Sector Governance and Policy

OFWAT; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A government regulatory authority in the UK is seeking a Senior Associate for its Sector Governance team. The ideal candidate will assess corporate governance in the water sector, develop regulatory policies, and ensure effective governance frameworks are in place. This role offers a hybrid working model, competitive benefits including extensive annual leave, excellent pension contributions, and opportunities for professional development. Join us to make a meaningful impact in the water industry.

Benefits

Flexible working hours

Professional development opportunities

Excellent pension contributions

Generous annual leave

Access to discounts on various services

Volunteering days

Qualifications

• Proven experience of assessing corporate governance activities and performance.
• Experience in a policy role, designing and assessing policy application.
• Good attention to detail and drafting accuracy.

Responsibilities

• Ensure water companies have the right board leadership and governance arrangements.
• Deliver and oversee governance frameworks and new regulatory governance policy.
• Support objectives of driving sector accountability and performance.

Skills

Assessing corporate governance

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

Problem-solving

Job description

Join Ofwat’s Sector Governance Team as a Senior Associate Sector Governance and Policy

*Office Location: London (E14 4HD) or Birmingham (B5 4UA) with hybrid working*

About Us

We are Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, a non‑ministerial government department responsible for regulating the water sector in England and Wales. Following the Independent Water Commission’s final report, the UK government has set out a bold new direction - one that brings together expertise from across the sector to deliver better outcomes for customers and the environment.

We are working in collaboration with the government and other regulators to help establish a new body for England, combining our strengths with those of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, the Environment Agency, and Natural England. We’re also continuing to engage with the Welsh Government to support future decisions for Wales.

While these changes take shape, our mission remains the same: to hold water companies to account, drive performance, and ensure the sector delivers real value for customers, communities, and the environment. If you’re passionate about making a difference, this is a unique moment to join us and help shape the future of water, and together we can continue to make a positive impact.

The Role

The Sector Governance team is looking for a governance expert with experience in assessing and critiquing the corporate governance of companies and group structures. Experience of developing policy positions for regulatory rules and supervision would also be advantageous.

The team's growth aligns with a renewed regulatory focus on governance issues. The overall aim of the team is to ensure water companies are well run through having the right board leadership and governance arrangements in place.

We lead on delivering and overseeing our governance frameworks as well as the design, implementation and delivery of new regulatory governance policy. We seek to ensure governance arrangements are transparent, allowing Ofwat and other stakeholders to scrutinise, challenge and address issues of legitimacy.

You will apply regulatory policy and understand the implications of a company’s governance arrangements and behaviours for its wider performance, so as to support the team's objectives of driving wider sector accountability and performance. The role will involve working on both existing water company governance oversight workstreams as well as new policy areas.

About You

Below are some of the key essential experience, skills & knowledge required for this post:

1. Lead criterion 1: Proven experience of assessing corporate governance activities and performance in a regulatory or comparable environment.
2. Lead criterion 2: Supervisory experience obtained by working for a regulator or for an organisation which is subject to supervisory regulation.
3. Experience in a policy role, both designing policy and being able to critically assess policy application in a regulatory or government context.
4. Good attention to detail and drafting accuracy.
5. Excellent stakeholder management skills with experience of effectively managing relationships both internally and externally to an organisation.
6. Excellent problem‑sol and strategically, and take a collaborative approach to finding solutions.
7. Analytical, adept at seeing complex interlinkages, and able to distil discussions from relevant workshops, government policy, internal and external stakeholder meetings, and materials into reports and policy considerations.
8. Familiarity with performance issues in the water sector.

Why You Should Join Us:

• People Centric: Our people are at the heart of Ofwat and everything we do - we ensure all voices are heard and treat each other with respect; you'll be given the autonomy and the support to do your role in the best way.
• Innovative Work Environment: We embrace agile and new ways of working and have a culture build on trust, flexibility, and collaboration.
• Development Opportunities: Gain valuable experience and develop your skills in a supportive and dynamic setting.
• Work-Life Balance: Enjoy the flexibility of working from home combined with the benefits of in‑person collaboration in our Birmingham and London offices.
• Excellent employer pension contributions of nearly 29%.
• 25 days’ annual leave, increasing to 30 with each year of service, plus bank holidays and an extra 2.5 days of privilege leave.
• Access to exclusive discounts on a variety of goods and services, including retail outlets, theatre tickets, holidays, insurance, and a gym membership.
• Fees paid for membership of relevant professional bodies.
• Up to 3 volunteering days per year.
• Recognition vouchers scheme rewarding your hard work.
• Generous shared parental leave and pay supporting your family life.

Follow the link to apply for full details about the role. Please ensure you have submitted your application in full before the below deadline.

Closing date: 23.55 on 01 March 2026.