Treatment Works Operative

About the role

We’re excited to offer an opportunity for a Treatment Works Operative to join our dedicated team, responsible for operating and maintaining water treatment assets across the Essex Water Supply area. Reporting to a Water Supply Team Manager, you’ll play a vital role in ensuring our Water Treatment Works deliver excellent quality drinking water to our customers every time they turn on the tap.

This is a hands‑on role with plenty of variety. One day you might be carrying out water sample checks or sand analysis, the next you could be maintaining site equipment, vehicles, and plant machinery. You’ll spend most of your time outdoors, whatever the weather, and occasionally work at heights or in confined spaces.

We provide full training and support, so you don’t need prior experience in water treatment, just transferable skills, a willingness to learn, and a proactive approach. If you’re looking for a role where no two days are the same and you can make a real difference to the quality of life in your community, this could be the perfect opportunity for you.

We’re looking for enthusiastic, self‑motivated individuals who can thrive in a role that involves supporting their team and managing a varied workload. A strong focus on safety is essential, so you’ll need to understand the importance of health and safety and the impact it has on everything we do.

This position offers the chance to work outdoors in all weather conditions and interact with customers, so adaptability and good communication skills are key. While a basic awareness of water treatment would be an advantage, and experience driving heavy plant machinery is preferred, these are not deal‑breakers. We’ll provide full training and support to help you develop the knowledge and skills you need to succeed.

If you’re proactive, eager to learn, and ready for a role where every day brings something different, we’d love to hear from you.

Here at Essex & Suffolk Water, we embrace and value Diversity, Inclusion and Equity, and encourage all colleagues to bring their most authentic self to work.

Our colleague network groups include our Rainbow Support Network (LGBTQIA+), REACH (Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Heritage), WiSTEM (Women in STEM) and Thisability (disability and neurodiversity) networks. They provide a safe space for colleagues from diverse backgrounds, welcoming all colleagues regardless of their personal characteristics to participate in valuable conversation that improves our organisational awareness, understanding and inclusivity.

We encourage and welcome all applications, as we strive to be an equal opportunity employer, committed to having diverse communities represented within all our teams, structures, and organisation.

Please note this role will require a DBS to be completed prior to employment.

NWG are an inclusive employer who support the rehabilitation of offenders, we will not, however consider candidates who have certain unspent convictions to ensure our commitment to fostering a safe and secure working environment for all OR colleagues, suppliers, customers and third parties.

Here are NWG we strive to make Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) a Great Place to Work, for all. We embrace and value Diversity, Inclusion and Equity and encourage you to bring your full self to work. As an equal opportunity employer we’re committed to having a diverse community represented across our business.

We’re aware that not everyone will have every skill listed in the job description, however if you have some of the skills listed, we would encourage you to apply.

Our purpose at NWG is caring for the essential needs of our communities and environment, now and for generations to come.

We do this by providing reliable and affordable water and wastewater services for our customers.

We make a positive difference by operating efficiently and investing prudently, to maintain a sustainable and resilient business.

Our vision is to be the national leader in the provision of sustainable water and wastewater services. To support us in achieving our vision, we have five core values which are the guiding principles, defining…