SRO Engineering Lead

South West Water Limited; Exeter; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Salary

Company Car or Car Allowance

Annual Bonus Scheme

Pension Scheme

Healthcare Benefits

Professional Development

Employee Discounts

Generous Annual Leave

Job summary

South West Water is seeking an Engineering Lead for its Strategic Resource Options programme, based in Exeter or Bristol with hybrid working and a salary up to £100,000. You will shape strategic engineering solutions, lead reviews with partners, and ensure whole-life performance and environmental balance.

You’ll manage cross-disciplinary teams, drive value engineering, and influence major investment decisions that secure water infrastructure for the South West.

Qualifications

• Degree-qualified in an engineering discipline or equivalent practical experience.
• Significant experience delivering complex infrastructure projects through multiple lifecycle stages.
• Strong understanding of engineering governance, assurance and risk-based decision making.
• Experience leading consultants, designers and delivery partners in a client-side or intelligent client role.
• Ability to balance engineering, environmental, planning, operational and commercial priorities.
• Excellent communication skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Shape strategic engineering solutions from feasibility through to construction support and delivery.
• Lead technical reviews and challenge partner designs to ensure the right outcomes.
• Drive value engineering, balancing whole-life cost, carbon reduction, resilience and performance.
• Bring together engineering, environmental, planning, commercial and operational considerations into robust recommendations.
• Influence major investment decisions that will define future water infrastructure across the region.
• Embed constructability, maintainability and operational excellence into every stage of project development.
• Coach and mentor engineers and colleagues, helping build a strong engineering culture across the SRO programme.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Stakeholder communication

Delivery management

Problem solving

Education

Engineering degree

Job description

Powered by Water, Driven by Purpose

South West Water keeps the South West flowing with safe, reliable drinking water and wastewater services across some of the UK’s most stunning landscapes.

We’re proud to be part of Pennon Group, a leader in the UK water sector, working towards a greener future. Our goals? As well as lowering our carbon footprint, we’re working with partners to plant 300,000 trees, restore peatlands and supporting farmers and landowners to improve water quality and wildlife.

Whether you’re starting out or seeking a new challenge, our scale and ambition create opportunities for you to shape your own career.

Engineering Lead – Strategic Resource Options (SRO)

Join South West Water’s Strategic Resource Options Programme
Strategic Resource Options Programme
Exeter or Bristol HQ | Hybrid working | Full-time
Up to £100,000 per annum plus an excellent benefits package (experience dependent)

Help Shape the Future of Water in the South West

What if your next engineering challenge wasn't just a project—but a legacy?

Across the South West, communities, businesses and future generations depend on one thing we can never take for granted: water resilience.

As climate pressures increase and demand grows, South West Water is investing in some of the most significant infrastructure programmes the region has ever seen. Our Strategic Resource Options (SROs) are more than engineering schemes—they are long-term solutions designed to secure water supplies, protect the environment and support thriving communities for decades to come.

This is where you come in.

The Story You're Joining

Imagine sitting at the table where critical decisions are made.

A new reservoir. A strategic transfer scheme. A complex piece of infrastructure that will change how water is managed across the region. At the earliest stages there are questions, challenges and possibilities. Multiple stakeholders. Competing priorities. Bold ambitions.

As Engineering Lead, you'll help turn those possibilities into reality.

You'll be the engineering voice that guides projects from concept and feasibility through design, procurement and delivery. You'll challenge assumptions, bring clarity to complexity and ensure every engineering decision balances performance, affordability, resilience, sustainability and long-term customer benefit.

You'll work alongside industry-leading consultants, delivery partners and multidisciplinary teams, acting as an intelligent client who influences outcomes rather than simply reviews them.

This isn't about maintaining the status quo.

It's about helping deliver nationally significant infrastructure that will support the South West for generations.

The Impact You'll Have

You'll lead the engineering workstream across major SRO programmes, providing technical leadership and assurance as projects progress through key regulatory, governance and delivery milestones.

You’ll:

• Shape strategic engineering solutions from feasibility through to construction support and delivery
• Lead technical reviews and challenge partner designs to ensure the right outcomes are achieved
• Drive value engineering, balancing whole-life cost, carbon reduction, resilience and performance
• Bring together engineering, environmental, planning, commercial and operational considerations into robust recommendations
• Influence major investment decisions that will define future water infrastructure across the region
• Embed constructability, maintainability and operational excellence into every stage of project development
• Coach and mentor engineers and colleagues, helping build a strong engineering culture across the SRO programme

Most importantly, you'll help answer one of the industry's biggest challenges:

How do we deliver resilient water resources for future generations while protecting the environment and delivering value for customers?

Who We're Looking For

You're likely an experienced engineering professional who thrives on solving complex problems and influencing major infrastructure outcomes.

You may have delivered projects in:

• Water and wastewater
• Energy and utilities
• Transportation
• Major infrastructure
• Large-scale capital programmes

You understand that great engineering is about more than technical excellence. It's about bringing together people, disciplines and ideas to create solutions that can genuinely be delivered.

You are comfortable challenging, influencing and leading—whether that's in a design review, a programme board meeting or a conversation with delivery partners.

Essential Experience

• Degree-qualified in an engineering discipline, or equivalent practical experience
• Significant experience delivering complex infrastructure projects through multiple lifecycle stages
• Strong understanding of engineering governance, assurance and risk-based decision making
• Experience leading consultants, designers and delivery partners in a client-side or intelligent client role
• Ability to balance engineering, environmental, planning, operational and commercial priorities
• Excellent communication skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders

We'd Love It If You Also Have

• Chartered Engineer status (or working towards it)
• Experience within regulated infrastructure sectors
• Familiarity with DPC or alternative regulated delivery models
• Experience supporting planning, consenting or environmental assessment processes

Why This Role Matters

Years from now, when communities across the South West benefit from secure, sustainable water supplies, you'll know you played a part.

You'll see projects move from an idea on paper to infrastructure that serves millions.

You'll help create solutions that balance engineering excellence with environmental responsibility.

And you'll join a team that's not just delivering projects— but shaping the future of water.

Ready to leave a legacy?

Join South West Water's Strategic Resource Options team and help deliver the infrastructure that tomorrow depends on.

At South West Water, we believe in rewarding our people for their hard work and dedication. As our SRO Engineering Lead, you’ll enjoy:

• Competitive Salary – Based on experience and expertise
• Company Car or Car Allowance – Supporting your role
• Annual Bonus Scheme – Rewarding performance
• Pension Scheme – Helping you plan for your future
• Healthcare Benefits – Including private healthcare and wellbeing support
• Professional Development – Ongoing training and career progression
• Employee Discounts – Across a range of services
• Generous Annual Leave – Supporting your work-life balance

Closing Date: 12th October 2026

Please note that the successful candidate will be subject to a mandatory DBS check as part of the onboarding process.

Be yourself, we like it that way. Together, we will build a culture of belonging, where inclusion is instinctive. Diversity is our strength and a reflection of our communities. We care, we value everyone, we celebrate uniqueness.

Our core values, which are essential to our success, are:

Be Rock Solid - Build trust and be trusted. Be the one we all look to and can depend on.

Be You - We want you to bring your best everyday. Be yourself and make your mark in your individual way.

Be the Future - Embrace change. Drive Progress. Own the challenge.