Water Quality Technician

idibu; Reading; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading water company seeks a Water Quality Technician in Reading. The role involves collecting and testing water samples, requiring strong customer service skills and a clean driving license. You'll work independently and manage sampling records, ensuring water quality standards are met while enjoying competitive hourly pay.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Career development opportunities

Qualifications

• Excellent customer service skills as visiting customers' homes is essential.
• Confidence in cold calling residential and commercial properties.
• Organised and able to work well independently.

Responsibilities

• Collecting samples from treatment works, reservoirs and customer addresses.
• Managing sampling records and ensuring compliance with standards.
• Driving a commercial van and planning efficient routes.

Skills

Customer Service

Attention to Detail

Communication

Organisation

Job description

Thames Water is the UK’s largest water and wastewater company. We make a daily difference to our 15 million customers by supplying 2.6 billion litres of water through 32,000 km of pipes, keeping taps flowing and toilets flushing.

At Thames Water, every one of our actions, big and small, matters every day. Water is essential to life, so our business is always open.

What you’ll be doing as a Water Quality Technician

Every year, we carry out over 500,000 tests on samples of water that we routinely collect from our treatment works, reservoirs, and randomly selected customer properties, to ensure your drinking water is of the highest quality.

• Collecting samples from treatment works, reservoirs, and customer addresses will involve regular cold calling, so a high level of assurance and strong customer service skills are an absolute necessity. These samples will be your responsibility to test for the relevant testing which has been requested. You will have access to the equipment you need to complete testing on your vans. This will include bottles, thermometers, and other relevant equipment required for your role.
• You’ll oversee the management of the maintenance of your sampling records and sampling equipment to UKAS and DWI standards.
• Planning your workload and delivering a monitoring program, liaising with the Technical Scheduling team, CSWQ group, and Process Team for technical data and Regulatory and Performance team for all reactive work, all in line with Company Protocols.
• Other duties will include investigating possible supply issues, whilst effectively planning routes and collection programs.
• Arranging appointments with customers and sampling customer complaints, and taking part in events.
• Taking part in an out-of-hours roster which includes weekends, working on a five-week rotation.
• Driving is a huge part of this role, so to be happy driving for a large portion of your day.

What you should bring to the role

• Having excellent customer service skills is needed as you will be visiting customers' homes on behalf of Thames Water.
• Have the confidence to cold call upon residential and commercial properties.
• Be organised and work well on your own.
• Have excellent attention to detail, as you will have to keep records of all samples taken daily.
• Have existing knowledge or be open to learning about the water industry and processes relevant to this area of work.
• Have excellent written and oral communication and interpersonal skills, as well as being computer literate.
• To be comfortable driving a large-sized commercial van and be poised driving in busy environments, such as city centres or enclosed estates, as well as remote rural locations.
• A clean driving license is essential, journey planning and route-finding demonstrate efficiency as well as good driving knowledge, as you will be working as part of a busy team across a wide geographical area.

What’s in it for you?

• Hourly Pay rate: £14.03
• Location: Reading, RG2 0SF. This role will heavily involve being field-based around the Thames Valley area.
• Length of assignment: 26 weeks
• Hours: 38 hours per week.
• Please note you will be on assignment at Thames Water via Pertemps.

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's 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 ga reat, 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.