Senior EIR Lead - Strategy, Escalation & Disclosure

Southern Water; Worthing; Hybrid; GBP 56,000 - 68,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company bonus

Generous pension

Life assurance

Job summary

Southern Water is seeking an Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) Lead to provide strategic and operational leadership for the EIR service. You will guide complex cases, advise Legal Services, and ensure compliance with regulatory obligations while managing risk across the business.

The role focuses on high-profile, sensitive disclosures and cross-functional improvements in information governance. Hybrid working includes two days per week at the Durrington office and expansive

Qualifications

• Significant experience managing Environmental Information Regulations or Freedom of Information requests within a complex organisation.
• Advanced knowledge of EIR legislation and/or Freedom of Information, including ICO guidance, decision notices and relevant case law
• Demonstrable experience interpreting legislation and applying legal and regulatory requirements to complex situations
• Exceptional judgement, analytical thinking and decision-making in ambiguous, contentious or high-profile cases
• Experience providing specialist advice and influencing senior stakeholders
• Experience leading organisational improvement initiatives, projects or programmes
• Excellent written communication, with the ability to prepare clear, legally robust and defensible responses and recommendations
• Degree-level qualification or equivalent professional experience

Responsibilities

• Leading the triage, prioritisation, allocation and quality assurance of EIR requests
• Acting as the senior point of escalation for complex, sensitive, novel and high-risk cases
• Interpreting EIR legislation, ICO guidance, legal precedent and disclosure obligations to provide clear, defensible recommendations
• Advising on disclosure, exceptions, public interest tests and regulatory risk
• Building effective relationships with Heads of Function, information owners, Legal Services and operational teams
• Leading cross-functional improvement projects covering information governance, transparency, process design and self-service access to information
• Overseeing internal reviews, ICO complaints, investigations and regulatory challenges, ensuring evidence and legal rationale are robust
• Providing guidance, coaching and training that strengthens EIR understanding and ownership across the business
• Analyzing demand, requestor behaviour, regulatory developments and performance information to identify trends and improvement opportunities

Skills

EIR expertise

Regulatory knowledge

Stakeholder influence

Analytical thinking

Legal understanding

Written communication

Education

Degree-level qualification

Job description

Southern Water is seeking an Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) Lead to provide strategic and operational leadership for the EIR service. You will guide complex cases, advise Legal Services, and ensure compliance with regulatory obligations while managing risk across the business.

The role focuses on high-profile, sensitive disclosures and cross-functional improvements in information governance. Hybrid working includes two days per week at the Durrington office and expansive