Senior Associate Enforcement in Birmingham

Join Ofwat's Casework and Enforcement Team as a Senior Associate Enforcement

We have 4 roles available for this position.

*Office Location: London (E14 4HD) or Birmingham (B5 4UA) with hybrid working*

About Us

We are Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, a non-ministerial government department responsible for regulating the water sector in England and Wales.

The water sector is entering a new chapter. The government has set out a bold new direction, bringing together expertise from across the sector to deliver better outcomes for customers and the environment. We are collaborating with fellow regulators to respond to recommendations in The Independent Water Commission Report, the Welsh Government’s response to the Green Paper, Shaping the Future of Water Governance in Wales, and the Government’s White Paper, A new vision for water.

Ofwat is working with the government and other regulators to help create a new body for England, bringing together our strengths with those of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, the Environment Agency and Natural England. We are also continuing to work with the Welsh Government to support decisions on the future arrangements for Wales.

While these changes take shape, our mission remains the same: to hold water companies to account, drive performance, and ensure the sector delivers real value for customers, communities, and the environment. If you're passionate about making a difference, this is a unique moment to join us and help shape the future of water, and together we can continue to make a positive impact.

The Roles

These Senior Associate roles have an important and valuable contribution to enable us to delivery on our goals and regulatory commitments.

The roles will particularly focus on the delivery of the team's enforcement activities. This will include supporting the effective and efficient delivery of enforcement investigations and action, to hold water companies to account where they have failed on obligations Ofwat is responsible for enforcing. Successful candidates will lead the delivery of small-scale investigations delivered by our team, including where we have legal powers to determine a dispute between a customer and their water company.

The successful candidates will have strong analytical skills, being able to collate and assess large volumes of complex information and data to identify what is relevant to our investigation and why. They will be able to quickly get to grips with new and varied subject areas, including the relevant legal obligations, policy expectations, data sources and the strategic context in which they sit. They will be proactive in asking questions of other team members, subject matter experts and the companies we investigate, to build the case team's understanding of what has happened and why; how that fits with the legal obligations water companies have; and the steps companies must take to put things right.

The successful candidates will have strong organisational skills that enable them to plan, prioritise and deliver their work effectively to enable the swift progress of investigations. Being able to collaborate effectively will be essential, as you will work as part of multi-disciplinary teams, bringing together case leads, lawyers, technical and communications specialists and where appropriate external consultants.

It will be essential that candidates can clearly structure and present their analysis to demonstrate evidence-based conclusions and recommendations. This will include preparing materials appropriate for senior management, board members, and non-technical and public audiences.

The successful candidates will be expected to take strong ownership of the work they are responsible for, demonstrating Ofwat's SAILOR values and ways of working. Ofwat is a learning organisation, and there will be opportunities to further develop your knowledge and experience. We have a well-supported, agile working environment, and a trust-based culture intended to help empower you and enable and support you to succeed within Ofwat.

About You

Below are some of the key essential experience, skills & knowledge required for this post:

• Lead Criterion: Proven track record of applying legal and analytical frameworks to deliver successful outcomes on regulatory investigations or compliance projects, under sector-specified legislation and/or competition law.
• Experience of effectively planning, prioritising and managing the delivery of a varied and changing workload to meet different deadlines.
• Experience of gathering, analysing and interpreting a range of complex data and information (including via data manipulation in excel or other software) to make evidence-based conclusions and recommendations
• Proven ability to maintain accurate and up-to-date records / project files, with exceptional attention to detail.
• Ability to clearly communicate complex information in writing and verbally for a range of audience types.
• Experience of working with internal and external stakeholders to understand their interests and expectations and to secure their inputs to deliver pieces of work.
• Experience of contributing to improve ways of working.

Why You Should Join Us

• People Centric: Our people are at the heart of Ofwat and everything we do - we ensure all voices are heard and treat each other with respect; you'll be given the autonomy and the support to do your role in the best way.
• Innovative Work Environment: We embrace agile and new ways of working and have a culture build on trust, flexibility, and collaboration.
• Development Opportunities: Gain valuable experience and develop your skills in a supportive and dynamic setting.
• Work-Life Balance: Enjoy the flexibility of working from home combined with the benefits of in person collaboration in our Birmingham and London offices.
• Excellent employer pension contributions of up to 29%.
• 25 days' annual leave, increasing to 30 with each year of service, plus bank holidays and an extra 2.5 days of privilege leave.
• Access to exclusive discounts on a variety of goods and services, including retail outlets, theatre tickets, holidays, insurance, and a gym membership.
• Fees paid for membership of relevant professional bodies.
• Up to 3 volunteering days per year.
• Generous shared parental leave and pay supporting your family life.