At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead knowledge sharing initiatives to drive innovation in the water sector.
- Company: Join Spring, the open-innovation hub for the UK and Irish water industry.
- Benefits: Up to £50K salary, 27 days holiday, private health, and pension scheme.
- Other info: Remote/hybrid work with opportunities for professional growth and travel.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by fostering collaboration and sharing insights across the water sector.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in knowledge transfer or innovation roles; strong communication and facilitation skills.
The predicted salary is between 45000 - 50000 £ per year.
Salary: up to £50K DOE
Contract: Perm, Mon-Fri (Remote/Hybrid)
Holiday: 27 days of annual leave plus bank holidays
Benefits: Pension Scheme (6% employer contributions), Private Health, Life Assurance, 3 paid volunteering days each year.
Purpose of the Role
This role supports the delivery of Spring Innovation's sector-wide knowledge sharing ambitions, aligned with Ofwat's requirement for innovation projects to be open by default. It exists to embed the Spring and Ofwat Knowledge Sharing Vision - to unlock faster adoption by creating a world-class knowledge sharing culture - by ensuring insights and lessons are captured, shared, and applied across the water sector.
The role will promote and apply six core knowledge sharing principles:
- Learn before innovating
- Share early and often
- Be open by default
- Share successes and failures
- Centralise and open up knowledge
- Empower learning from external sources
Responsibilities
As the Knowledge Transfer Lead, you will lead the full knowledge sharing lifecycle including planning, delivery and follow up for projects and events that turn learning into action across the water sector. You will work closely with project teams before, during and after each engagement to extract critical insights, craft compelling lessons learnt and make knowledge easy to find, understand and adopt. This is essential to maximising the impact of innovation, avoiding duplication, and driving faster adoption of solutions across the sector.
Experience
- Proven track record of at least five years in knowledge transfer, knowledge management or innovation roles within the water industry or a comparable complex infrastructure environment.
- Experience in designing and running multi stakeholder workshops and events that capture lessons learnt and drive adoption of new solutions.
- Demonstrated success in persuading project teams and senior stakeholders to prioritise knowledge capture and quality storytelling.
- Hands on experience converting research or technical findings into practical guidance, case studies or policy recommendations.
Skills
- Information Synthesis: Able to distil complex technical and operational detail into clear, engaging formats such as infographics and one-page briefs.
- Facilitation and Training: Skilled in designing and leading interactive workshops, breakout sessions and reflection exercises.
- Communication and Storytelling: Excellent written and verbal skills, with the ability to craft compelling narratives that demonstrate measurable impact.
- Relationship Building and Influencing: Adept at forging partnerships across utilities, suppliers, regulators and academia, and motivating others to share knowledge openly.
- Knowledge Management Methods: Familiar with lessons learnt frameworks, after action reviews and communities of practice.
- Technical Literacy: Confident user of Microsoft 365, collaborative platforms like SharePoint, Teams and Miro etc.
- Organisational Agility: Strong planning skills, able to juggle multiple projects and adapt quickly to shifting priorities.
Requirements
- Legal right to work in the United Kingdom.
- Willingness and ability to travel throughout the UK, with overnight stays as required.
- A full UK driving license is an advantage.
- Bachelor's degree in a relevant field; a master's degree or professional qualification is beneficial.
About Spring
Spring is the open-innovation hub for the UK and Irish water sector. We work at the centre of a rapidly changing industry that is shaped by climate change, growing populations, ageing infrastructure and increasing public scrutiny, and we turn these pressures into progress.
Our vision is to become global leaders in open innovation. Our mission is to attract, connect and support the brightest thinkers, both within and beyond the sector, so that transformation can happen more quickly.
Our objective is to foster collaboration by offering a single, trusted source of intelligence on needs, trials, data and emerging solutions.
In practice, we:
- act as the front door to the UK and Irish water industry, giving companies and suppliers immediate insight into who is doing what, what is working and where the next breakthrough may arise;
- broker partnerships, share lessons learnt and remove duplication so that ideas move from concept to deployment at pace;
- give water companies the time and head-space to innovate by curating intelligence, building networks and highlighting opportunities;
- help the sector respond to its toughest challenges, ensuring resilient, sustainable water services for customers, communities and the environment.
By combining intelligence, clarifying priorities and making knowledge flow freely, we enable the industry to meet today's challenges and create solutions for tomorrow.
Knowledge Transfer Lead employer: HR Dept
Spring is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that prioritises innovation and collaboration within the water sector. With a commitment to employee growth, we provide extensive benefits including a generous holiday allowance, a robust pension scheme, and opportunities for meaningful volunteering. Our remote/hybrid working model ensures flexibility, allowing you to thrive while contributing to our mission of fostering a world-class knowledge sharing culture.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Knowledge Transfer Lead
✨Leverage Innovation Hubs
Tap into local innovation hubs and research centres. These places often host events and workshops where you can meet like-minded people and industry leaders. Plus, they might have job openings that aren't widely advertised, so keep your ears open!
✨Showcase Your Projects
Turn your past innovation projects into compelling stories. Create a portfolio showcasing your creativity and problem-solving skills. This can give hiring managers a real flavour of what you can bring to the table at companies like HR Dept.
✨Connect at Industry Conferences
Make it a point to attend industry conferences and seminars focused on R&D and innovation management. These events are fantastic for networking and often have job boards or career fairs where you can connect directly with firms looking for talent.
✨Use Your University’s Resources
If you're fresh out of university, don't forget to tap into your institution's career services. They often have exclusive partnerships with companies seeking new talent in R&D, especially for full-time roles. It's a good shortcut to landing a gig at places like HR Dept.
We think you need these skills to ace Knowledge Transfer Lead
Some tips for your application 🫡
Showcase Your Creative Thinking:In innovation and R&D management, it's all about thinking outside the box. Make sure your CV highlights any projects or experiences that showcase your creative problem-solving skills. Use specific examples to illustrate how you've developed and implemented innovative ideas in previous roles.
Tailor Your Experience to R&D:When you're crafting your CV, focus on your experience in research and development. Highlight any relevant projects you've worked on, including methodologies used and results achieved. This will show us at HR Dept that you understand the R&D process and can contribute meaningfully to our projects.
Let Your Passion Shine in the Cover Letter:For a full-time role like this, your cover letter should reflect your genuine passion for innovation and development. Share your excitement about the opportunity to work at HR Dept and touch on how your goals align with our mission. This helps us see your motivation for wanting to join our team!
Quantify Your Achievements:Numbers speak volumes in R&D! Whenever possible, quantify your achievements in your CV. Whether it’s a percentage improvement in project outcomes, the budget size you’ve managed, or the number of successful products you've launched, these figures will help paint a clearer picture of your impact and capabilities.
How to prepare for a job interview at HR Dept
✨Show Off Your Innovative Thinking
In an Innovation R&D Management role at HR Dept, they're going to want to see how you approach problem-solving. Be ready to discuss previous projects where you introduced a new idea or process. Highlight your ability to think outside the box and provide examples where your innovations drove significant results.
✨Familiarity with Tools and Technologies
Make sure you're clued up on the latest tools and technologies related to innovation management, such as project management software and data analysis platforms. Being able to discuss specific tools you’ve used or have experience with will show HR Dept that you’re ready to hit the ground running.
✨Demonstrate Collaboration Skills
Since this is a full-time gig, emphasising your teamwork skills will be essential. In innovation, collaboration often sparks the best ideas, so be ready to talk about how you've worked effectively within cross-functional teams in your past roles. Have concrete examples at the ready!
✨Prepare for Scenario-Based Questions
Expect some scenario-based questions in your interview that reflect real challenges you might face in the role. £At HR Dept, they might want to see how you handle tight deadlines or manage conflicting ideas within a team. Prepare some responses that demonstrate your critical thinking and decisiveness in high-pressure situations.
