Water Safety Plan Scientist — Field & Data Focus

South East Water UK; Farnborough; Hybrid; GBP 25,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Annual leave

Cycle to work

Health cash plan

Life assurance

Wellbeing benefits

Job summary

South East Water is looking for a Water Safety Plan Scientist to join the core Water Quality team. You will translate environmental science into practical engineering actions to ensure drinking water meets safety standards, while working in the field across the business to prevent issues before they arise.

You will lead DWSP development, risk assessments, and regulatory reporting, with emphasis on PFAS and radiological strategies, data analysis, and cross-disciplinary collaboration to protect

Qualifications

• Degree in Environmental Science, Chemistry or Hydrology.
• Strong knowledge of the water cycle and water quality challenges.
• Excellent analytical ability to turn data into clear, actionable reports.
• Strong IT and stakeholder communication skills.
• Clean driving licence.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain Drinking Water Safety Plans (DWSP) for all catchments.
• Conduct risk assessments, site walkovers; quantify risks from runoff and pathogens.
• Lead PFAS and Radioactivity strategies to stay ahead of chemical threats.
• Collaborate with Operations, Assets and Engineering to integrate safety actions into capital delivery.
• Manage regulatory compliance by producing and submitting WSP returns and annual reports to the DWI.
• Design and monitor sampling programmes for raw water sources to provide early warning.
• Analyse datasets to identify trends and produce high-quality technical reports for senior management and regulators.
• Investigate water quality anomalies and provide immediate remediation recommendations.

Skills

Water cycle knowledge

Water chemistry

Biology

Analytical skills

IT and communication

Driving licence

Education

Degree in Environmental Science / Chemistry / Hydrology

Job description

South East Water is looking for a Water Safety Plan Scientist to join the core Water Quality team. You will translate environmental science into practical engineering actions to ensure drinking water meets safety standards, while working in the field across the business to prevent issues before they arise.

You will lead DWSP development, risk assessments, and regulatory reporting, with emphasis on PFAS and radiological strategies, data analysis, and cross-disciplinary collaboration to protect