Strategic Project Manager

We are looking for a Strategic Project Manager to join Thames Water on a permanent basis. The strategic project manager will independently scope, plan, and deliver projects aligned to the strategic priorities of the Water Director and the Leadership Team. The role requires end-to-end ownership of delivery, proactive engagement with a broad range of stakeholders, and clear communication of progress, risks, and outcomes to senior audiences. Projects may also include short-term deployments into operational teams to address business-critical needs.

What you will be doing as a Strategic Project Manager:

• Lead by example in promoting a strong Health & Safety culture, ensuring it is embedded in all project decisions and delivery.
• Take full end-to-end ownership of projects, including scope definition, planning, governance, timelines, resources, and deliverables.
• Independently manage project governance, producing high-quality stage-gate documentation with minimal oversight.
• Proactively identify, assess, and mitigate risks, escalating issues and blockers appropriately.
• Provide concise, high-value updates to senior stakeholders to support effective decision-making.
• Engage and collaborate with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to shape and deliver project outcomes.
• Work closely with analytics teams to source, validate, and analyse data from internal systems, and develop dashboards and KPI reporting to track performance.
• Deliver confident, clear presentations and written outputs in actionable formats for senior audiences.
• Collaborate across Water Operations and wider Thames Water teams to support joined-up delivery.
• Support effective change management by guiding operational teams through change and monitoring impacts to avoid change fatigue.
• Develop and maintain project tools, templates, and best practices for use across the wider project management community.

Essential criteria:

• Strong stakeholder engagement skills with the ability to build effective relationships quickly.
• Confidence in coaching and mentoring teams and individuals through change.
• Strong leadership and motivational capability.
• Clear and confident communication skills, particularly with senior audiences.
• A proactive, self-starting approach with the ability to drive performance independently.
• A full UK, clean driving licence.

What’s in it for you?

• Offering a salary up to £65,000 per annum, depending on skills and experience.
• Annual Leave: 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (Plus bank holidays)
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets.
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Generous Paternity Leave, including 4 weeks paid and an optional 2 weeks unpaid.
• Enhanced Maternity Leave, 26 weeks full pay and 13 weeks half pay!
• Wider benefits scheme including our benefits hub, which is packed full of offers and information to save you money and support your wellbeing.

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits. If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support.