Senior Sponsor - Bioresources

idibu; England; Hybrid; GBP 63,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading water company is hiring a Senior Sponsor (Programme Leads) to oversee wastewater projects, ensuring alignment with long-term goals. Applicants should have a background in operations and strong stakeholder engagement skills. The role offers a hybrid work model and competitive salary up to £75,000 per annum, along with additional benefits such as a generous pension scheme and private medical care.

Benefits

26 days holiday (increasing with service)

Car allowance

Annual bonus

Private medical health care

Access to health and wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Experience in operations, asset management, or investment planning, ideally within the utilities sector.
• Major project experience with significant political & stakeholder overview.
• Understanding of wastewater compliance at programme level.

Responsibilities

• Accountability for the delivery of wastewater projects.
• Contributing to business cases for investment.
• Engaging with stakeholders to build alignment.

Skills

Experience in operations

Strong communication skills

Stakeholder engagement

Understanding of wastewater compliance

Job description

At Thames Water, we make a daily difference to 16 million customers by supplying 2.6 billion litres of water through 32 000 km of pipes. We are hiring a Senior Sponsor (Programme Leads) to drive key water and wastewater infrastructure projects, ensuring they align with our long‑term goals and deliver real benefits for customers, communities, and the environment. This role is hybrid (2‑3 days in the office or on site depending on project requirements).

What you’ll be doing as a Senior Sponsor – Bioresources

As a Senior Sponsor – Bioresources you’ll play a key role in delivering wastewater projects, managing time, cost, quality, and performance commitments. Working alongside the Senior Principal Sponsor and engaging closely with internal and external stakeholders, you’ll provide end‑to‑end support for planning and execution, ensuring investment decisions align with long‑term goals and business outcomes.

Key responsibilities

• Accountability for the delivery of wastewater projects, ensuring alignment with time, cost, and quality.
• Major projects – significant political & stakeholder overview.
• Working with teams to resolve risks and trade‑offs in project execution.
• Contributing to business cases for investment and demonstrating alignment with Thames Water’s objectives.
• Assisting in governance and decision‑making processes, ensuring projects progress smoothly through approval stages.
• Managing risks, tracking benefits, and ensuring projects contribute to regulatory and operational goals.
• Engaging with stakeholders to build alignment and drive successful project outcomes.

Base location

Clearwater Court, Reading. Travel within the TV & London Patch.

Working pattern

Full‑time, Monday–Friday (36 hours per week). Hybrid with days in the office or on site depending on projects.

Essential criteria to bring to the role

• Experience in operations, asset management, or investment planning, ideally within the utilities sector.
• Major project experience with significant political & stakeholder overview.
• Understanding of wastewater compliance at programme level.
• Experience with sponsorship.
• A collaborative approach, with strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• The ability to deliver clear direction and drive change.
• A commitment to putting customers, communities, and stakeholders first.

Nice to haves

• Knowledge of best‑practice asset management (e.g., IAM qualifications or equivalent experience).
• A track record of successful project delivery.

Benefits

• Up to £75,000 per annum, depending on skills and relevant experience.
• 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with length of service (plus bank holidays).
• Car allowance.
• Annual bonus.
• Generous pension scheme through AON.
• Private medical health care.
• Access to a range of health, wellbeing and financial benefits (e.g., annual health MOTs, physiotherapy, counselling, Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance).

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.