Customer Policy Analyst

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 Customer Policy Analyst to join our Customer Policy Team within Casework, Enforcement & Customers 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

This role is based in the Customer Policy team within Ofwat's Casework, Enforcement & Customers Directorate.

The Customer Policy team is central to understanding company customer service and support, and acting where we identify potential harm and poor service. This includes in relation to customers who need extra help, whether financially or non-financially, and customer who experience repeated poor service and/or failures. We work closely with teams across Ofwat to identify appropriate action to improve customer service and protect customers, including considering new regulatory tools, interventions, and enforcement action.

Our team works with a diverse range of stakeholders, including water companies, new entrants to the sector, customer groups and charities, Government, other regulators, and customers. Communicating effectively with our customers and internal and external stakeholders is central to our team's success.

This senior associate in the policy profession is working across our customer policy and insights function. Our team, in CEC, leads Ofwat's aspiration to transform companies' performance with respect to customer service and support; and engagement with government and CCW on consumer matters. Recent examples of our work include developing guidance under condition G, the customer-focused licence condition; our assessment of companies' sewer flooding customer service and support; engagement with Government on changes being considered to the consumer landscape; and research with CCW into customers' experience of incidents such as supply interruptions.

Key deliverables:

• Successfully contribute to the development of Ofwat's customer policy work including in relation to financial and non-financial vulnerability. This includes analysing and reporting on data and information, understanding companies' performance in relation to support for customers needing extra help and supporting Ofwat in preparing responses to enquiries from Government, press and Parliament in relation to customer vulnerability;
• Support the design and delivery of appropriate policy solutions to support company compliance and improved performance against Licence Condition G, our customer focused licence condition, being considerate of risks and opportunities;
• Build and maintain effective relationships with key external stakeholders to optimise the impact of our work, including customers, water companies, representative bodies and Government departments as we prepare for water reforms;
• Engage effectively with internal stakeholders to share insights and expertise from and for our customer policy work, to identify interdependencies and support delivery of better outcomes for customers, in particular supporting the New Appointee team in relation to customer service;
• Provide support and guidance to members of the Customer Policy team to help develop work packages and contribute to the wider work programme and business as usual activities;
• Create and champion an inclusive working environment that supports growth, well-being, and continuous improvement in our delivery.

Person specification

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

Experience, skills and knowledge

1. Experience of developing policy in a government, public sector or regulatory organisation.
2. Understanding of policy issues in relation to customer service, in particular supporting customers who may be financially and/or non-financially vulnerable.
3. Experience of effectively planning, prioritising and managing a varied and changing workload, delivering high-quality work to often tight and competing deadlines.
4. Ability to prepare deliverables with a high degree of independence, including reviewing customer research reports, drafting policy recommendations and preparing assessments of companies' performance.
5. Experience of building and maintaining constructive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders to understand their needs and expectations, and to influence and collaborate effectively to deliver desired outcomes.
6. Excellent written and oral communications skills, including concisely explaining policy in non-technical language.

Attributes

1. Champion and leader or change
2. Promotes collaboration
3. Adaptable thinker

Benefits

• Excellent employer pension contributions of nearly 29%.
• 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