Water Resources Planning Lead

* Office

Location:

Birmingham (B5 4UA
) or London (E14 4HD
) with hybrid working*

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

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 (WRMP
24) and our preparations for WRMP
29 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.

• 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.
• Academic or professional experience of wider environmental issues and good knowledge/understanding of those related to the water industry.
• Significant experience of policy development and implementation, and/or designing and delivering programmes of work within a relevant field.
• Highly numerate with significant experience of leading and completing complex technical analysis, critically evaluating the work of others and providing evidence-based…