Water Resources Planning Lead

Ofwat; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

People Centric

Innovative Work Environment

Development Opportunities

Work-Life Balance

Employer pension contributions

Annual leave: 25–30 days

Job summary

Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, seeks a Principal Water Resources Planning Lead to join the Water Supply team in Birmingham or London with hybrid working. You will lead national water resources policy, engage with regulators and governments, and drive WRMP24 delivery while planning for WRMP29 and PR29.

You will manage a technical team, align regulatory frameworks, and work with partner regulators to deliver policy decisions impacting customers and the environment.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in water resources planning across regulatory, technical or policy roles.
• Knowledge of wider environmental issues related to the water industry.
• Experience in policy development and delivering programmes of work.
• Highly numerate with experience in complex technical analysis and evidence-based recommendations.
• Experience building relationships with internal and external stakeholders to deliver outcomes.
• Excellent oral and written communication to explain complex concepts to varied audiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead engagement with governments, regulators and stakeholders on national water resources policy and investment policy, including WRMP24 delivery and preparations for WRMP29/PR29.
• Manage a technical team to design and plan approaches to meet statutory responsibilities and align related regulatory frameworks.
• Oversee collaboration with partner regulators and forums (e.g., TAG) to develop policy and communicate technical issues.
• Interface with SRO leads and ensure delivery plans and price control deliverables are aligned with regulatory commitments.

Skills

Water resources planning

Policy development

Stakeholder engagement

Technical analysis

Regulatory knowledge

Communication skills

Job description

Join Ofwat's Water Supply Team as a Principal Water Resources Planning Lead

*Office Location: Birmingham (B5 4UA) or London (E14 4HD) with hybrid working*

About Us

We are Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, a non-ministerial government department responsible for regulating the water sector in England and Wales. The water sector is entering a new chapter. The government has set out a bold new direction, bringing together expertise from across the sector to deliver better outcomes for customers and the environment. We are collaborating with fellow regulators to respond to recommendations in The Independent Water Commission Report, the Welsh Government’s response to the Green Paper, Shaping the Future of Water Governance in Wales, and the Government’s White Paper, A new vision for water.

Ofwat is working with the government and other regulators to help create a new body for England, bringing together our strengths with those of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, the Environment Agency and Natural England. We are also continuing to work with the Welsh Government to support decisions on the future arrangements for Wales.

While these changes take shape, our mission remains the same: to hold water companies to account, drive performance, and ensure the sector delivers real value for customers, communities, and the environment. If you're passionate about making a difference, this is a unique moment to join us and help shape the future of water, and together we can continue to make a positive impact.

The Role

We're looking for a Water Resources Planning Lead to join our Water Supply team within the RAPID and Environmental Planning directorate at Principal level. The sector is facing unprecedented challenges, and we want someone who relishes the opportunity to apply their skills and experience to improve our water environment. Whilst there are specific policy areas you will lead on, you will also play an important role in driving the collaborative work programme across Governments and with other regulators to improve future water resources management.

The Water Resources Planning Lead role has an important and valuable contribution to enable us to deliver on our goals and regulatory commitments. You will lead our engagement with wider governments, regulators and a varied range of stakeholders on national water resources policy and investment policy, including delivery of current 2024 water resource management plans (WRMP24) and our preparations for WRMP29 and the 2029 price review (PR29). This includes bringing together partner regulators (Drinking Water Inspectorate, Environment Agency, Natural England and Natural Resources Wales) to agree on policy development and technical assessment outcomes. You will utilise forums such as the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to present, communicate and consult with the industry on Ofwat's water resources policy decisions and technical issues. You will also have the opportunity to steer the development of new planning frameworks developed under Defra's White Paper on a new vision for water.

You will lead a technical team to undertake water resources work and their engagement with the water companies. You will be responsible for designing and planning the team's approaches to meeting our statutory responsibilities, and aligning our work across related and dependant regulatory frameworks and processes. This includes our involvement in the government's Water Delivery Taskforce; Ofwat's PR24 and PR29 teams including delivery plans and price control deliverables (PCDs); and interfacing with principal leads for the strategic resource options (SROs) in the RAPID programme. Your work on this area will hold companies to account on their delivery on behalf of customers and the environment.

About You

• Relevant experience in water resources planning (including adhering to or designing planning frameworks, supply scheme development, water efficiency or environmental strategy). This can be regulatory, technical or policy experience gained within the water sector.
• Academic or professional experience of wider environmental issues and good knowledge/understanding of those related to the water industry.
• Significant experience of policy development and implementation, and/or designing and delivering programmes of work within a relevant field.
• Highly numerate with significant experience of leading and completing complex technical analysis, critically evaluating the work of others and providing evidence-based recommendations.
• Significant experience of building and maintaining constructive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, influencing decisions and delivering outcomes across organisational boundaries.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex concepts to technical and non-technical audiences in order to inform policy making, decision making or recommendations.

Why You Should Join Us

• People Centric: Our people are at the heart of Ofwat and everything we do - we ensure all voices are heard and treat each other with respect; you'll be given the autonomy and the support to do your role in the best way.
• Innovative Work Environment: We embrace agile and new ways of working and have a culture build on trust, flexibility, and collaboration.
• Development Opportunities: Gain valuable experience and develop your skills in a supportive and dynamic setting.
• Work-Life Balance: Enjoy the flexibility of working from home combined with the benefits of in person collaboration in our Birmingham and London offices.
• Excellent employer pension contributions.
• 25 days' annual leave, increasing to 30 with each year of service, plus bank holidays and an extra 2.5 days of privilege leave.
• Access to exclusive discounts on a variety of goods and services, including retail outlets, theatre tickets, holidays, insurance, and a gym membership.
• Fees paid for membership of relevant professional bodies.
• Up to 3 volunteering days per year.
• Generous shared parental leave and pay supporting your family life.