Principal Water Resources Planning Lead

We are Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, a non-ministerial government department responsible for regulating the water sector in England and Wales.

We have an opportunity for a Principal Water Resources Planning Lead to join our Water Supply Team within the RAPID & Environmental Planning Directorate.

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.

Job description

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.

Key deliverables:

• Lead on our statutory duties in water resources planning, including delivery oversight of current WRMPs and planning for future WRMPs, giving technical steer and making decisions on complex supply-demand balance and supply security issues.
• Lead our strategy with our partner regulators and government on the evolving strategic planning frameworks, including WRMPs, business plan links, and new planning frameworks developed through Defra's White Paper on a new vision for water.
• Support wider water resources efficiency policy and regulator guidance development working with government, other regulators, water companies and wider stakeholders.
• Collaborate closely with other principals in the Water Supply team on cross-working issues and policies associated with WRMPs, demand management, and the positioning of the SROs within WRMPs.
• Manage a small water resources team, supporting workload prioritisation, as well as their growth and professional development.
• Contribute to the RAPID and Environmental Planning directorate strategy and the Price Review directorate more broadly as required.

Person specification

To be successful in this role you will need the below essential attributes, experience, skills and knowledge:

Experience, skills and knowledge

1. 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.
2. Academic or professional experience of wider environmental issues and good knowledge/understanding of those related to the water industry.
3. Significant experience of policy development and implementation, and/or designing and delivering programmes of work within a relevant field.
4. Significant experience of building and maintaining constructive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, influencing decisions and delivering outcomes across organisational boundaries.
5. Highly numerate with significant experience of leading and completing complex technical analysis, critically evaluating the work of others and providing evidence-based recommendations.
6. 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.

Attributes

1. Delivers Outcomes
2. Adaptable Thinker
3. Champion and leader of change
4. Promotes Collaboration

Benefits

• Good 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
• Flexible working arrangements that suit your lifestyle
• Fees paid for membership of relevant professional bodies
• Up to 3 volunteering days per year
• Recognition vouchers scheme
• Generous shared parental leave and pay
• Enhanced sick pay
• Regular development opportunities
• Health and wellbeing initiatives
• Cycle-to-work scheme
• Season ticket loan for home-to-office travel
• Free eye tests and contribution to lenses/spectacles for VDU users