Operations Team Leader - Waste Water

Together we are Trusted to Serve Scotland.

Fancy joining the Wastewater Operations North Team, leading a team focused on providing vital wastewater operations in the North region.

What you’ll do

You will lead a team to draw upon their operational knowledge and experience to deliver compliant wastewater treatment works, ensuring the team is delivering best practice in Health and Safety, Compliance, and Wastewater performance. You will guide your team through Transformation and Change initiatives, making sure they understand and are supported throughout the process. You will work closely with other areas of the wastewater operations function and develop improvements with key stakeholders across the business in Health & Safety, EPA, ICC, E&M, finance, DV2, and our supply chain contractors.

This role requires you to develop a positive health, safety, and wellbeing culture by embedding the use of health and safety tools such as Take5, Everyday Safety Behaviours, the Fatigue App, our Life Saving Rules, and Risk Assessment procedures. You will support the delivery of Zero Failing Works by reviewing performance, analysing trends and data, identifying emerging risks, and taking timely action to resolve issues. It is also your responsibility to ensure that our wastewater treatment works have zero Category 1 or 2 Environmental Performance Incidents (EPIs).

You will take responsibility for ensuring efficiency and improvement actions are delivered, including compliance with ISO standards, Fire Risk Assessments, chemical optimisation, and audit actions. Additionally, you will support capital project development and delivery, act as PRC, and deliver repair and maintenance requirements. You will ensure that services are delivered on budget and support the achievement of a 1% operational expenditure saving.

What you’ll bring

You will lead by example, communicating messages through a variety of techniques, engaging readily in collaborative working, and influencing a wide variety of stakeholders. You will be seen as a trusted and respected role model for the team, ensuring key stakeholders are kept aware of progress updates and any emerging risks are escalated appropriately. You will be responsible for delivering compliance, finance, health and safety, and performance targets, setting clear expectations to ensure their achievement.

You will be driven to achieve outcomes on time and within budget while maintaining the desired quality, demonstrating enthusiasm and motivation to succeed in a challenging environment. You will be proactive in implementing action plans before failures occur and will ensure that these plans are sustainable.

You will bring a proven track record of delivering results in a challenging, fast-paced business area. You will demonstrate high energy, motivation, and the capacity to handle multiple issues and opportunities simultaneously. You will have awareness and experience in driving high standards in health, safety, and wellbeing. Strong communication and presentation skills are essential, as you will need to connect people to our ambitions effectively.

You will be skilled in data analytics and able to interrogate corporate systems, including the Operational Management App, PowerBI, Telemetry, and Excel, to identify risks and opportunities. Your leadership skills will be strong, accompanied by a passion for continuous improvement and operational excellence. You will have evidence of delivering and embedding change that results in visible improvements. Above all, you will be a team player who can motivate and enable their team to perform well in a changing environment.

Looking out for you  

While the work we do is important, we know it’s not the only thing that matters. That’s why we make sure you have everything you need to find a good work-life balance.  

You’ll get plenty of time to recharge with 38 days of holiday every year (including public holidays). And you can even buy five more if you need a little extra time. You can also take paid time off to volunteer in your community. 

 When it comes to major life events we have family-friendly policies around adoption, maternity, and parental leave. And for the everyday? We embrace flexible working.   

For your future, there’s our pension (the ‘know-what-you’ll-get-when-you-retire’ kind), as well as life assurance.   

As for some nice extras? You can expect an annual company bonus. Not to mention access to SW Splash – handy rewards that can save you money on holidays, bills, and shopping. 

The not-so-small print   

This role will be a Grade 7. If you’re new to Scottish Water, you’ll join us on a starting salary of £44,030. Performance-driven pay progression would then allow you to move through the range to a maximum of £55,000.

If you’re interested in this role – or know someone else who might be – we’ll be accepting applications until midnight on the 22nd August 2025.

Job offers at Scottish Water are conditional, and will be confirmed on completion of our pre-employment screening, e.g. referencing, criminal record checks, license checks, etc. Screening is conducted on our behalf by a third party, and must be completed