Business Support Officer

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) is one of the three independent regulators of the water industry in England and Wales. It operates on behalf of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in regulating the quality of drinking water supplied by those water companies whose area of supply is wholly or mainly in England, and on behalf of the Welsh Government for those water companies whose area of supply is wholly or mainly in Wales.

The jobholder would be part of a small, very busy team that provides administrative support to approximately 65 staff including technical Inspectors, Principal Inspectors and the Senior Management Team.

The Independent Water Commission’s final report in July 2025, acknowledged that the Inspectorate was a highly effective regulator. The Commission is recommending the water functions of all the existing regulators are combined into one integrated water regulator for England. The Inspectorate will have a leading role in the establishment and operation of the new regulator. In Wales, it is recommending that a new economic regulator is created.

This is an opportunity for a committed, self-motivated, organised, resourceful and flexible team player to work in a regulatory delivery unit responsible for drinking water quality.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate is an independent regulator within Defra and has a landing area in 2 Marsham Street, London. You will be expected to attend Inspectorate meetings in this location and support the Inspectorate with any other meetings as and when required. The Inspectorate supports flexible working where this is practicable.

Job description

You will be part of a team whose key responsibilities include:

• Public enquiries - Providing information and advice to the general public in response to enquiries both over the telephone and e-mail about drinking water quality; triaging freedom of information and environmental information requests; dealing with official correspondence such as ministerial post and PQs
• Finance and procurement – carrying out procurement duties, raising purchase orders and arranging payment of invoices; ensuring departmental policies are adhered to and appropriate records are maintained
• Recruitment – managing recruitment campaigns from start to finish; obtaining Eploy permissions, advertising vacancies on Oleeo vx and other platforms; managing DWI’s better regulation industry secondment programme
• Stakeholder engagement - Liaison with water companies and stakeholders
• Production and issuance of legal and official documents and letters to the industry; providing administrative support to the investigation of water quality events
• Diary support for Senior Management Team, event organisation, conference and meeting room arrangements, minute taking as required
• Co-ordination of DWI’s training and induction programme, provision of advice on Defra procedures and systems and management of DWI’s resources
• Organising travel and accommodation in line with Defra policy
• Data collection, updating databases and maintenance of electronic records

It is expected that there will be a focus on some aspects of the above responsibilities initially but with cross training opportunities to ensure skills in all areas in the longer term.

Person specification

• It is essential that you have experience of customer service and dealing with members of the public as you would be regularly communicating with the public, other relevant authorities and colleagues. This includes providing accurate technical information and advice to the public in response to enquiries both over the telephone and email. The role requires an individual capable of assimilating new technical information and explaining it in simple terms to members of the public.
• It is expected that you have good IT skills and are willing to develop your skills in the area: Word, Visio, Power BI, Power Apps
• Knowledge of finance, procurement and/or recruitment processes would be an advantage
• Ability to prioritise workload and work at pace to deliver the duties of the Business Performance Unit
• Always looking forward and planning ahead, anticipating and understanding what’s upcoming without being prompted and scheduling effectively
• Capacity to proactively make effective decisions whilst identifying risks
• To ensure outcomes are delivered on time to the expected quality standards
• Willing and capable of establishing positive, effective and trusted working relationships
• An understanding of the big picture
• An aptitude to train and develop colleagues

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £34,434, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £9,975 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%