At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead our leakage strategy and drive innovation in water loss reduction.
- Company: Join South West Water, part of Pennon Group, committed to a greener future.
- Benefits: Enjoy 30 days leave, private healthcare, bonus plan, and a competitive pension.
- Other info: Dynamic role with opportunities for travel and cross-functional collaboration.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on water sustainability while shaping your career.
- Qualifications: Significant experience in leakage management and strong analytical skills required.
The predicted salary is between 61408 - 80000 £ per year.
Powered by Water, Driven by Purpose. South West Water keeps the South West flowing with safe, reliable drinking water and wastewater services across some of the UK's most stunning landscapes. We're proud to be part of Pennon Group, a leader in the UK water sector, working towards a greener future. Our goals include lowering our carbon footprint, planting 300,000 trees, restoring peatlands, and supporting farmers and landowners to improve water quality and wildlife.
We're looking for an experienced and strategic leader to join us as Head of Leakage, a critical role responsible for shaping and delivering our end-to-end approach to water loss reduction. The role will be based in either Surrey, Exeter or Bristol, with an expectation of regular travel across our operational areas.
About the role:
- You will own the organisation's leakage strategy and performance, ensuring we meet ambitious regulatory commitments while driving efficiency, innovation and value for customers and the environment.
- Acting as the single point of accountability for leakage performance, you'll bring together strategy, operations, data and regulatory insight to deliver sustainable outcomes across our network.
What you'll be doing:
- Defining and leading our long-term leakage strategy, aligning with water resource planning and regulatory cycles.
- Owning performance against regulatory commitments and ODIs, ensuring delivery is robust, measurable and continuously improving.
- Leading the development of leakage components within Price Reviews (PR) and Water Resource Management Plans (WRMP).
- Acting as the senior representative for leakage, engaging with regulators and industry bodies.
- Setting clear expectations for operational teams and ensuring delivery against stretching targets.
- Overseeing water balance, leakage reporting, data quality and assurance frameworks.
- Driving innovation in leakage management, including smart networks, analytics and new technologies.
- Establishing effective governance, operating models and cross-functional collaboration.
- Leading and developing a high-performing team of specialists.
What we're looking for:
- Essential experience:
- Significant experience in leakage, water loss or network performance within a regulated utility.
- Strong understanding of regulatory frameworks, including PR and WRMP processes.
- Proven ability to lead strategy development and performance management at scale.
- Experience contributing to or leading regulatory submissions and business cases.
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to use data to drive decisions.
- Ability to influence and challenge across a matrix organisation.
- Excellent stakeholder management, including senior leadership and regulators.
- Desirable:
- Experience with smart water networks, digital transformation or advanced analytics.
- Knowledge of water balance methodology and assurance frameworks.
- Commercial awareness, including investment optimisation and cost-benefit analysis.
- Experience delivering cross-functional transformation programmes.
What's in it for you:
We know our people drive our success - so we're committed to offering an excellent range of benefits, including: 30 days annual leave + bank holidays, Bonus Plan, Private Healthcare, Company car or cash for car allowance, Competitive contributory pension, Share-save scheme, Health benefits.
Head of Leakage in Devon employer: South West Water
At South West Water, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that fosters innovation and collaboration. With a commitment to employee growth, we provide ample opportunities for career development while contributing to meaningful environmental initiatives in the stunning landscapes of Surrey, Exeter, or Bristol. Join us as Head of Leakage and be part of a team dedicated to making a positive impact on our communities and the environment.
