Asset Planner - Wastewater in Washington

About the role

We have a fantastic opportunity to join our Wastewater Tactical Planning team at an exciting time as we progress into our ambitious AMP8 investment programme. As part of this role, you will take ownership of wastewater asset needs across a designated geographical area, helping to ensure that investment decisions deliver the greatest value for our customers, communities, and the business.

Working closely with a broad range of stakeholders, you will identify, assess, and prioritise asset issues, progressing them through our Copperleaf Portfolio investment planning process and helping to shape future investment priorities. You will build strong relationships across the business, developing a thorough understanding of operational challenges, asset performance, and the key drivers influencing the wastewater service. Your ability to communicate effectively, influence stakeholders, and balance competing priorities will be essential to your success.

Using data, insight, and a risk-based approach, you will analyse asset performance and assess both risks and benefits to support value-based optimisation and investment decision making. You will develop high-quality business cases that clearly define asset needs, identify root causes, evaluate service and performance risks, and explore a range of potential solutions using the TOTEX hierarchy. Through robust cost‑benefit assessments, you will recommend solutions that maximise value and support our long‑term investment objectives.

You will act as a key stakeholder throughout the early stages of capital investment interventions and sub‑programmes, leading the development of proposals from initial identification through to handover to our Capital Delivery team. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys solving complex challenges, working collaboratively with others, and making a real impact on the future resilience and performance of our wastewater network.

About you

We're looking for someone who enjoys working collaboratively and building strong relationships with a wide range of stakeholders. You'll have excellent communication and influencing skills, with the confidence to engage with colleagues across the business, external partners, and subject matter experts to achieve the best outcomes. You’ll be naturally curious and analytical, with the ability to interpret complex information, identify key insights, and translate data into clear recommendations.

Strong report‑writing skills are essential, along with experience using Microsoft Excel and Word to analyse information and present findings in a clear and professional manner. As a highly organised individual, you’ll be comfortable managing multiple priorities and adapting to changing business needs. You’ll take a proactive approach to your work, using your initiative to challenge existing thinking, identify opportunities for improvement, and ensure that investment decisions and plans deliver maximum value.

Experience or qualifications in asset management would be advantageous, as would knowledge of wastewater networks, treatment processes, or an engineering discipline. However, we’re equally keen to hear from recent graduates and individuals with transferable skills who are passionate about problem‑solving, decision‑making, and making a positive impact.

If you’re looking for an opportunity to develop your career in asset planning and help shape the future of our wastewater services, we’d love to hear from you.

Here at Northumbrian 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.

About us

Here at 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'd encourage you to apply.

NWG at a glance: 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 who we are, what we do and how we do it.

Our benefits

We're a Great Place to Work because of the amazing people who work for us, and to say thank you we offer a range of benefits to colleagues. Our 'Tap Into' benefits include:

• Generous holiday entitlement starting at 26 days, plus bank holidays and additional time off on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. There's also the option to buy or sell holidays.
• Company pension scheme, where we'll double match your contributions up to an employer contribution of 10%.
• Free access to local attractions.
• A fantastic discount scheme, with savings on days out, shopping, travel and more.
• Award winning 'Living Well' wellbeing support, including access to a digital GP service for you and your family members.
• Support with sustainable travel - through salary sacrifice cars and a cycle to work scheme.
• Financial wellbeing support - access our community savings scheme, financial education and low cost loans through Salary Finance.
• We also provide 4 x Life Assurance and an Income Protection Scheme.
• Support with your development - we offer a range of development opportunities, can support you through an interest free qualification loan and we'll even pay for any relevant professional body subscription.

This role has also been defined as a safety or security critical role and as a condition of a formal offer of employment you'll be required to undergo a drug and alcohol test. Prospective employees and agency workers in defined safety and security critical roles will be required to undertake a drug and alcohol test after the job offer has been made. This will be prior to or within four weeks of their start date. Prospective employees and agency workers who fail a pre-employment urine drug screen will have their sample analysed by the Company appointed laboratory as a matter of course. Failing a pre-employment drugs or alcohol test may lead to the job offer being revoked.

Our values

• Results Driven: We take responsibility for achieving excellent business results.
• Ethical: We are open and honest and meet our commitments with a responsible approach to the environment and our communities.
• Customer Focused: We aim to exceed the expectations of our internal and external customers.
• Innovative: We continuously strive for innovative and better ways to deliver our business.
• One Team: We work together consistently, promoting co-operation, to achieve our corporate objectives.

Colleague benefits include:

• Eyecare
• Discounted Medicals
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Cycle2work
• Buying & selling annual leave
• Long service awards
• Salary sacrifice car scheme
• Computer Loans
• Award winning wellbeing site
• NWG savings scheme
• Company pension scheme
• Pre-retirement workshops
• Life assurance
• Christmas savings club
• Discounts & cashback offers
• Qualification loan

NWG (Northumbrian Water Group) provides water and sewerage services to 2.7 million people in the North East of England as Northumbrian Water, and water services to 1.5 million people in the South East of England as Essex & Suffolk Water. We are proud to serve our customers and we're committed to delivering great service, putting our customers at the heart of everything we do.