Senior Responsible Owner (Delivery Lead) - WINEP in Washington

We are seeking a strategic and influential leader to take on the role of Senior Responsible Owner for the WINEP programme. This is a key position with full accountability for ensuring the programme delivers its outcomes in line with Environment Agency deadlines and meets or exceeds Ofwat WINEP commitments.

You will lead the development and delivery of the programme strategy, ensuring successful outcomes within the agreed capital investment budget and governance framework. Working across multiple business areas including Engineering, Water, Wastewater, Environment and Asset teams, you will drive collaboration, alignment and performance.

As a senior leader, you will engage and influence stakeholders at all levels, building strong internal and external relationships to support delivery. You will oversee programme governance, monitor progress and risks, and ensure robust reporting is in place. Where challenges arise, you will lead recovery planning to keep the programme on track.

You will also be responsible for ensuring the wider business is engaged, supporting effective handover into operations and delivering long-term benefits. Managing key external relationships, including with regulators, will be central to the role.

You will oversee the full programme lifecycle, ensuring successful delivery, benefits realisation and clear plans for any future carryover. This is a high-impact role with direct influence on business performance and strategic outcomes, ideal for a proven leader with experience delivering complex programmes at scale.

We're looking for a confident, credible leader who can make decisive calls and influence at senior levels to drive the successful delivery of WINEP commitments and outcomes. You'll bring strong strategic thinking, with a clear understanding of wider business objectives and regulatory requirements, and the ability to translate this into clear, deliverable plans.

You’ll be skilled at building trusted relationships across both internal teams and external stakeholders, balancing priorities while maintaining focus on results. Comfortable challenging and reviewing delivery plans, you’ll ensure outcomes are realistic, achievable and within agreed budgets, while confidently managing any required change through governance.

Commercially astute and customer-focused, you’ll combine strong influencing and negotiation skills with experience of large, multi-functional teams. You’ll also have a solid grasp of programme management frameworks, including benefits realisation, risk and value management.

Above all, you’ll be able to communicate with clarity and impact at every level, from executive to operational teams, acting as a trusted voice who represents the business with confidence and integrity.

You’ll be degree educated in a leadership, management, engineering or business-related discipline (or equivalent) and hold relevant professional experience.

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

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 include:

• Generous holiday entitlement, plus bank holidays and additional time off on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.
• 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.
• 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.

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.

Our values are:

• 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.