Treatment Operator - Water

Together we are Trusted to Serve Scotland.

Most people don’t think too much about how clean water reaches their taps. Or what happens to their waste water.

But Scottish Water does. In fact, it’s all we think about.

Want to join us? As a Water Operative working from Caithness & North Coast of Sutherland, you’ll be on the front lines of making sure Scotland’s water is totally, dependably pure.

You’ll join an experienced team that really knows its water, helping to monitor and maintain the quality of water at our treatment works and pumping stations. Our TOMS procedures will be your guiding star in operating the plant – you’ll calibrate monitors, filters, tank levels and more. And you’ll be the source of recordings on water quality, sorting the ‘exceptional’ from the ‘needs attention’ across measures including pH, chlorine, aluminium and phosphate.

You probably figured it out already, but our aim is always to go beyond what the law and regulations expect of us.

Join, and we’ll get you measured for a hardhat – regular inspections of plants, reservoirs and dams are part of the routine. You’ll also handle risk assessments and keep a close eye on health and safety protocols. As part of the team, you’ll take your turn on the standby rota for out‑of‑hours cover.

We’ll get you fully up to speed on the technical bits of the job. You’ll bring strong communication skills and confidence working on your own. And be comfortable turning your hand to new computer systems – we like to move with the times.

Attention to detail is a must: on your watch there should be no risk of inaccurate recordings or health and safety failures. An eye for spotting trends is helpful and you’ll love solving a problem – on your own initiative and with help from site colleagues.

You’ll need a valid driving licence, but we’ll provide the van. All for the good of Scotland’s water.

Beyond that, we’re looking for a few ‘nice‑to‑haves’. Knowledge of water treatment processes and distribution systems would obviously be great. Mechanical maintenance experience? Perfect. But none of these are essential.

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

But you’ll 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 a Grade 4. If you’re new to Scottish Water, you’ll join us on a starting salary of £30,440. Performance‑driven pay progression would then allow you to move through the range to a maximum of £35,260.

Job offers at Scottish Water are conditional, and will be confirmed on completion of our pre‑employment screening, e.g. referencing, criminal record checks, licence checks, etc. These checks are conducted on our behalf by a third party. Don’t worry – we’ll ask your permission before starting these checks.

If you’re interested in this role – or know someone else who might be - we’ll be accepting applications until the 5th January 2026 at midnight.

Research shows that some people avoid applying for jobs unless they can meet every single criteria. If you’re interested in this job, but don’t tick all the boxes, apply anyway! We hardly ever hire people who can do every part of a job from Day One. Everyone has a learning curve. So don’t rule yourself out!

Let us know if there are any changes we can make to our recruitment process to help you perform at your best. Lots of our people have disabilities or…