Standardisation Design Lead; Secondment

Together we are Trusted to Serve Scotland.

Scottish Water is trusted to serve Scotland and were transforming how we deliver infrastructure through standardisation. Were looking for a forward‑thinking leader to embed repeatable approaches and drive innovation across our capital programme.

This is your opportunity to lead a strategic transformation that improves how we design, build and operate our assets making every project faster, smarter and more sustainable.

Imagine a world where every project starts with a head start where proven methods, pre‑designed solutions and shared best practices eliminate guesswork and accelerate delivery. Thats the power of standardisation and youll be at the heart of it. Youll lead the development and implementation of standardised delivery practices across Scottish Water’s capital programme driving consistency, reducing costs and carbon and improving performance.

You will lead collaboration across engineering consultancy and delivery teams embedding repeatable design and delivery practices across asset life cycles. You will influence technical specifications, risk management and value creation while supporting communities of practice and knowledge addition you will ensure alignment with regulatory standards, business needs and customer expectations.

You will bring engineering experience in design, construction or operations ideally in the water sector. You will have a proven ability to drive transformation and embed new ways of working along with strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills. Experience in quality improvement and technical governance will also be key. You should be degree‑qualified in engineering (or similar) ideally Chartered or working towards it.

This fixed‑term role offers a unique development opportunity to broaden your strategic influence, lead change at scale and gain visibility across Scottish Water’s capital programme. Youll be at the forefront of innovation working with senior stakeholders and delivery partners to shape how infrastructure is delivered across Scotland.

Youll need to be within commuting distance of one of our main offices in the central belt (Stepps, Edinburgh or Stirling) and travel to the office is expected 1–2 times a week.

While the work we do is important we know its not the only thing that matters. Thats why we make sure you have everything you need to find a good work‑life balance.

Youll get plenty of time to recharge with 38 days of holiday every year (including public holidays). And you can even buy five more if you need a little extra time. You can also take paid time off to volunteer in your community.

When it comes to major life events we have family‑friendly policies around adoption, maternity and parental leave. And for the everyday We embrace flexible working.

For your future there’s our pension (the know‑what‑you’ll‑get‑when‑you‑retire kind) as well as life assurance.

As for some nice extras you can expect an annual company bonus. Not to mention access to SW Splash handy rewards that can save you money on holidays, bills and shopping.

This role will be Grade 7. If youre new to Scottish Water you’ll join us on a starting salary of 44,030. Performance‑driven pay progression would then allow you to move through the range to a maximum of 55,000.

If youre interested in this role or know someone else who might be - well we are accepting applications until midnight on the 25th November 2025.

We operate Balanced Hybrid working at Scottish Water and we encourage people to work half their time in a Scottish Water location.

Job offers at Scottish Water are conditional and will be confirmed on completion of our pre‑employment screening e.g. referencing criminal record checks, license checks etc. Screening is conducted on our behalf by a third party and must be completed before your start date. Dont worry – we only start these checks once youve accepted an offer.

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