Water Quality Manager

THAMES WATER UTILITIES LIMITED; Reading; On-site; GBP 52,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading water management company in Reading is seeking a Water Quality Manager to build and lead a sampling team, ensuring high-quality operations aligned with regulations. The ideal candidate will have proven experience in environmental monitoring and management skills. This role offers a competitive salary of £52,000 to £70,000, along with flexible benefits and opportunities for career growth.

Benefits

Competitive salary

26 days holiday

Generous pension scheme

Health and wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Proven experience in water or waste sampling.
• Strong understanding of water or waste regulations.
• Experience managing operational delivery.
• Degree or equivalent in environmental science.
• Excellent engagement skills.

Responsibilities

• Design and lead Capital Delivery Sampling team.
• Plan sampling needs across capital programs.
• Maintain procedures for sampling and data management.
• Develop a high-performing team culture.
• Manage budgets and contracts for delivery.

Skills

Water or waste sampling experience

Understanding of regulations

Stakeholder engagement

Budget management

Change management

Education

Degree in environmental science or related field

Tools

SAP

LIMS

GIS

Microsoft Office

Job description

Overview

As a Water Quality Manager, you'll play a key role in shaping and leading an in-house sampling capability that supports Thames Water's capital delivery programmes. You'll build and lead a team from the ground up, embedding robust processes and ensuring high-quality sampling operations aligned with regulatory and project requirements. Please note, the internal title for this role is Capital Delivery Sampling Manager.

What you'll be doing as a Water Quality Manager

• Designing, recruiting, and onboarding a new Capital Delivery Sampling team.
• Contributing to long-term planning for sampling needs across capital programmes for Waste and Clean Water.
• Developing and maintaining robust procedures for sampling, analysis, and data management.
• Leading and developing a high-performing team with a strong safety culture.
• Managing budgets, resources, and contracts to ensure efficient and cost-effective delivery.

Base location: Clearwater Court, Reading (Hybrid)

Working hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm

What you should bring to the role

• Proven experience in water or waste sampling, environmental monitoring, or a related field.
• Strong understanding of water or waste regulations and quality standards.
• Experience managing operational delivery in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.
• Degree or equivalent qualification in environmental science, water quality, or project management.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, budget management, and change management skills.
• Competence in digital systems such as SAP, LIMS, GIS, and Microsoft Office.

Desirable

• Experience managing infrastructure project lifecycles.
• Familiarity with Power BI or SharePoint for data visualisation.
• Experience implementing digital transformation in sampling workflows.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary from £52,000 up to £70,000 per annum, depending on skills and experience.
• 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (plus bank holidays)
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Access to a range of benefits to support health, wellbeing and finances, including annual health MOTs, physiotherapy and counselling, Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers, and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks

Who are we?

We're the UK's largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It's a big job and we've got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you'll enjoy fast-tracked career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

Whether you're interested in a role in one of our call centres or science labs, we're looking for people like you with real passion and a burning desire to make things better.

So, if you're looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people's lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we'll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

Our overarching aim is to ensure that Thames Water is a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and offer extra support for those who need it throughout the recruitment process. We aim to remove any real or perceived barriers to success, so if you need assistance, we're here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you'll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It's also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

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.