EDI Lead in Worthing

Location: Worthing or Brighton (Hybrid Working)

Salary: to be discussed at the screening stage

About The Role

At Southern Water, we are on a mission to create an organisation where everyone feels they belong, can thrive, and has equal access to opportunities. As we embark on a significant period of cultural and organisational transformation, we are looking for an experienced Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Lead to guide and accelerate our progress. This is a high-impact role for someone passionate about building inclusive workplaces, confident in influencing at senior levels, and energised by leading meaningful change across a complex organisation. You will own the design and delivery of our refreshed DEI strategy and embed inclusive practices across the end-to-end colleague experience.

What You Will Be Responsible For

• Redesign and deliver Southern Water's DEI strategy, setting a clear five-year roadmap to strengthen representation, equity and belonging across our workforce.
• Embed inclusive practices across recruitment, progression, performance, reward and succession, ensuring fairness and transparency in every people process.
• Establish strong DEI governance, supporting ExCo, Board and People governance forums with meaningful insight and updates.
• Enhance DEI data capability, developing robust dashboards, reporting tools and benchmark insights—including gender and ethnicity pay gap analysis.
• Transform our Talent Acquisition approach, ensuring our employer brand, attraction methods, job design and candidate experience are inclusive and accessible to all.
• Design and deliver inclusive leadership and colleague learning, promoting everyday inclusion and building capability across all levels.
• Refresh and re-energise our Colleague Resource Groups, enabling them to make a stronger, more visible impact on culture.
• Collaborate with Communications, ESG and People teams to amplify DEI progress, celebrate achievements and align wider organisational goals.
• Represent Southern Water externally, participating in DEI networks and benchmarking groups to bring insight and best practice into the organisation.
• Ensure an intersectional approach to inclusion—addressing gender, ethnicity, disability, LGBTQ+, age and other forms of diversity holistically.
• Proactively monitor emerging DEI trends, legislation and best practice, ensuring we remain a forward-looking and compliant organisation.

What You'll Bring To The Role

• Deep understanding of DEI frameworks, UK legislation and how to apply them in a practical, operational setting.
• Confidence working with workforce data, analytics and external benchmarks, able to translate insight into meaningful action.
• Clear understanding of how inclusion drives engagement, leadership effectiveness and organisational performance.
• Awareness of behavioural and cultural change methods that support long-term inclusion.
• Ability to turn strategic ambition into a clear, deliverable roadmap with measurable outcomes.
• Skilled at influencing senior leaders and engaging colleagues at all levels to build ownership and momentum.
• Strong analytical and storytelling skills, able to communicate insight in compelling and accessible ways.
• An excellent communicator, facilitator and collaborator, confident in designing and delivering impactful sessions.
• Highly organised and delivery-focused, able to manage multiple priorities and operate at pace.
• Inclusive, values-led and confident in constructively challenging behaviours, processes or decisions when needed.

Southern Water is at the forefront of transforming Britain's water industry, investing significantly to enhance resilience, sustainability, and service excellence. With £7.8bn planned investment, this is an unparalleled opportunity to join a business committed to delivering a generational shift in the way water services are managed.

You will be joining at a time of significant change, working alongside a highly skilled leadership team with a clear vision for the future. We offer an environment where senior professionals can make a meaningful impact, influence major strategic decisions, and drive long-term value creation.

At Southern Water, we believe diverse perspectives drive innovation. If you are passionate about making a positive impact and think you can bring value to our team, we would love to hear from you—even if you don’t tick every box. Your unique skills and experiences could be exactly what we need.

If this role isn’t quite what you’re looking for, but you are keen to be contacted about opportunities at Southern Water, you can register your details here: Introduce Yourself.

Our Commitment to Diversity

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or any other protected characteristic. If you need reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.