Technical Specialist

We are looking for a Technical Specialist to join Thames Water permanently.
As part of the West Thames Valley water production team, you will work across water production sites in Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds.

You will be a technically competent person in water/waste processes, engineering or operations who manages significant risks through the investment process to project completion.

You will be representing the production team throughout the risk process - involving scoping, design, delivery and commissioning of solutions.
Key to the role is collaboration and stakeholder engagement, both within and outside of Water Production.

You will also be required to take part in an out-of-hours rota once fully trained.

• 36 hours per week Monday – Friday.
• Offering a salary up to £52,000 depending on skills and experience + you will receive a car allowance.
• Location: Farmoor - Oxford - OX2 9NS, Latton - Cirencester - GL7 5QF.

What you will be doing as a Technical Specialist?

• Technical Competence: Continuously develops and maintains operational expertise in an area/and or across certain asset types, and can work to tight timescales with multiple stakeholders to deliver projects on time and within scope.
• Capital Delivery Interface: Responsible for ensuring projects progress through the project stage gates, by effective liaison with the relevant teams (asset management, project definition, operations and capital delivery) to ensure that the projects are delivered on time and within scope. Supporting facilitation of all projects (either delivered directly or through the area operations teams) including permitting, outage management and team engagement.
• Risk Management: owns the risk management process for an area, supporting the identification of risks (and optimisation opportunities) and then ensuring that the corporate risk system is up-to-date, fully populated and provides a representative view of risk for the area operations team at all times; interfacing with Operational Excellence (OpEx) in Water Production and the Asset Management.
• Process Assurance: provide process assurance to the production teams through the application of appropriate methods to test, review and drive improvements to drinking water and environmental regulatory compliance; assist with investigations of process non-compliances (waivers) or incidents, including disinfection incidents.
• Audits: complete water quality, process and health and safety audits.
• Incident Management: provide incident response in and out of hours including running emergency exercises and contributing to a learning environment through updating operating procedures.
• Commercial Acumen: Appreciation of Opex targets and budgets in the area and how project delivery impacts financial risk. Identifies and leads changes to improve asset compliance and value for money.
• Health and Safety: compile permits and safe systems of work. Write business cases to secure funding for health and safety risks.

What should you bring to the role?

• You will be a technically competent person in water processes and water production operations. (wastewater experience also considered)
• Good understanding of the risk management principles.
• Construction and/or asset management experience would be advantageous.
• Ability to write business cases and risk briefing notes to secure funding.
• IOSH; knowledge of Health and Safety legislation and application.
• Strong IT skills (especially Excel) and an ability to interrogate data.
• Good communicator and ability to develop effective relationships.
• You will demonstrate confidence to present to and influence Leaders in the organisation at all levels.
• Excellent organisational skills, and a keen eye for detail.
• Financial and commercial acumen.
• You will have a passion for driving positive behaviours throughout your region.
• You will be able to deliver against stretching operational targets and must be commercially astute.
• Ideally you will be degree-qualified (preferably in an engineering/science discipline) however this is not essential.
• Due to the nature of the role, a full UK Driving licence is required.

What’s in it for you?

• Offering a salary up to £52,000 per annum depending on skills and experience plus you will receive a car allowance.
• GymPass, a free fitness plan and access to several well-being apps for you and up to three family members as well as discounted plans nationwide.
• Cycle to work scheme, always on and up to £3,000 save money, get fit and help protect the environment.
• WeCare, a variety of health and wellbeing services for you and your family including up to 10 specialist counselling sessions, 24/7 access to a virtual GP, get fit programmes and access to a nutritionist.
• Benefits on Tap, access to discounts, cashback and instant vouchers.
• Generous Paternity Leave, including 4 weeks paid and an optional 2 weeks unpaid.
• Enhanced Maternity Leave, 26 weeks full pay and 13 weeks half pay.
• Contributory pension – Defined Contribution - Maximum of 12% -2x employee contribution.
• Personal Medical Assessments – Open to all once a year.
• Wider benefits scheme including our benefits hub, which is packed full of offers and information to save you money and support your wellbeing.
• 26 days holiday per year increasing to 30 with the length of service. (Plus bank holidays)
• Ongoing performance development reviews to help you be your best and identify growth opportunities.

Who are we?

At Thames Water, our purpose is crystal clear - to deliver life’s essential service so our customers, communities and planet can thrive.

Water is life’s great leveller. Every living thing needs it, every single day. From people to plants, birds to bees, farms to factories, we all need it to thrive, and we’re committed to taking care of it for us all.

But keeping water flowing is becoming harder. From scorching summers to wetter winters, extreme weather affects everything from our pipes to our local rivers. We need to keep millions more kettles boiling, public services operating, washing machines spinning, showers running and more, so every drop is more precious than ever. Are you ready to play your part?

Working at Thames Water

At Thames Water, we recognise that people are at the heart of our business. To help us succeed in providing life's essential service, we need a range of skills and capabilities, representative of society throughout our business.

We seek to attract and retain a cultural mix of people who can offer different but complementary attitudes, values, talents, and knowledge. We understand the importance of appreciating and harnessing the unique skills, experiences, backgrounds, and differences that each individual brings.

Our over-arching diversity and inclusion aim is to ensure Thames Water is a diverse and inclusive great place to work. We encourage applications from everyone and offer extra support for those who need it throughout the recruitment process.

Find out more about working at Thames Water.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business, meet colleagues and earn some extra money along the way.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.