Innovation Partner – Operational Transformation - FTC

At Affinity Water, we're committed to delivering continuous improvement and innovation across our business. We're looking for a Change & Innovation Partner to join our Transformation team and play a key role in shaping and delivering strategic change across our operational business on a 12-month FTC, with a strong intention for the position to become permanent, subject to business requirements.

Partnering with teams responsible for field service delivery, workload planning, resource scheduling, and operational performance, you'll identify, challenge and prioritise opportunities for improvement, helping ensure investment and change activity are focused on delivering the greatest value.

As a key member of our Transformation & Change Centre of Excellence, you'll lead our flagship Operational Excellence transformation programme while working with operational leaders to develop business cases, shape investment decisions and translate ideas into deliverable programmes and initiatives. You'll provide constructive challenge, helping the business make informed decisions about where to focus effort, investment, and transformation activity.

• Partner with operational leaders and teams to identify, challenge, prioritise and deliver strategic business change.
• Translate operational challenges into deliverable programmes and projects.
• Lead the development and mobilisation of our Operational Excellence programme, defining the business case, investment requirements, delivery approach, and measurable benefits.
• Develop and maintain a change roadmap for the directorate aligned to business objectives.
• Support leaders to define problems, opportunities, and desired outcomes.
• Facilitate prioritisation of initiatives based on strategic value, customer impact, operational benefit, and affordability.
• Lead projects and transformation initiatives from planning through to successful delivery.
• Manage project governance, budgets, risks, dependencies, and benefits realisation.
• Support the delivery of innovative solutions within Customer Delivery and Ofwat innovation initiatives where appropriate.
• Contribute to our Transformation & Change Centre of Excellence by sharing best practice and supporting continuous improvement.

You’ll be an experienced transformation, programme, or business change professional with a track record of shaping, prioritising, and delivering complex change within operational environments. You’ll be confident working with senior stakeholders, influencing decisions and driving meaningful change across a business.

• Experience delivering business change and transformation projects.
• Experience developing business cases, investment proposals and benefits realisation plans.
• Experience shaping programmes from early concept through approval and mobilisation.
• Proven ability to provide constructive challenge to senior stakeholders and influence decision making in a complex operational environment.
• Experience defining future-state operating models and translating these into practical, deliverable transformation programmes.
• Strong project management skills, with experience of Agile and/or Waterfall delivery methodologies.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills.
• The ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining a collaborative and customer-focused approach.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to use data to support decision‑making and measure success.
• A recognised Project Management or Change Management qualification (such as PRINCE2, APM, Lean, Six Sigma or PROSCI) would be advantageous

Advert closes Friday 16th October

• Salary £70,000 dependant on skills and experience
• Office based in Hatfield 2 days per week (non…