See job eligibility requirements: Graduate Development Programme 2023 (Data)

Reference number

269426

Salary

£29,000 – £29,000

Job grade

Executive Officer

Associate

Contract type

Fixed Term

Length of employment

2 years

Type of role

Analytical
Architecture and Data
Other

Working pattern

Full-time

Number of jobs available

Location

Birmingham (B5 4UA) or London (E14 4HD) based with hybrid working

About the job

Job summary

Join us as an Ofwat graduate and step into a world where you are empowered and encouraged to help us solve problems in the water industry from the very start. Our graduate programme offers a truly versatile role, great insights into how a regulator works and excellent training, enabling you to create a solid foundation for your data career.

The work we do is complex and has direct implications for customers and the environment. You’ll be given the opportunity to demonstrate your potential from the outset and your passion for all things data will see you relish the opportunity!

As part of the programme, you will have the opportunity to work on PR24, our price review for 2024. PR24 will set price controls for water and sewerage companies for 2025 to 2030 to drive up performance, incentivise companies to improve customer service and to deliver benefits to the environment and wider society.

We offer rotational and static opportunities, which both provide the same learning, development and support.

Our programme provides you range of learning and development and support, including Ofwat Essentials, a learning programme delivered by dedicated in house experts. The graduate development programme is developed and supported by Senior Leads, and you will have opportunity to lead and support interesting internal and external projects.

As well as on the job learning you have access to specific technical training to meet your specific learning needs which can be tailored to help you fulfil your potential. You will be provided with all the tools and support to help you flourish in your profession and will be supported by central events such as conferences, and site visits to water companies’ operational sites, so that you can develop your understanding of the water industry. You will be working with other graduates and colleagues and working with early career professionals across the regulatory industry to support your development and enhance the skills you have developed during your studies.

Job description

Ofwat (the Water Services Regulation Authority) is the economic regulator of the water and wastewater sectors in England and Wales. Safe, reliable and sustainable water and wastewater services are essential for our day-to-day lives, our wellbeing, and our natural world.

Our vision is to improve life through water. We plan to deliver this through

ensuring that the sector delivers everyday excellence in providing water and wastewater services to customers, responding to their changing demand
ensuring that companies take long-term stewardship of the environment, their assets, and their customer relations
ensuring that the industry adds value, whether through value for money for customers or adding to the quality of life or the state of the environment

Our strategy, Time to act, together, focuses on bringing our vision to life.

Our dynamic and packed 2-year programme will enable you to use the numeracy, analytical and data skills developed in your degree to help us solve problems in the water industry. Our graduate programme offers a truly versatile role, a huge amount of insight into how a regulator works with excellent training enabling you to create a solid foundation for your data career.

There will be the opportunity to support work in a range of areas and be part of multi-disciplinary teams. You will develop a broad technical skillset, for example, quantitative analysis, financial modelling, quality assurance skills, data management and econometrics. You will also develop wider skills such as stakeholder engagement, policy development and presentation skills. You will develop confidence to challenge the data and link your findings to policy making in the real world. We want to continue to be innovative with our data tools, visualisations and analysis and standards and you will support Ofwat in this work.

We are forward-thinking, creative, innovative and ambitious. We constantly push the boundaries and embrace new ways of working. We actively encourage autonomy, collaboration and innovation and there’s a real adult culture fostered by trust, flexibility and respect. As a learning organisation we actively embrace new ways of working and provide the freedom to our people to work smarter achieving a work life balance.

The work we do is complex and has direct implications for the customers and the environment. You’ll be given the opportunity to demonstrate your potential from the outset and your passion for all things data will see you relish the opportunity!

Person specification

Qualifications

You will have (or be on target to achieve this year) at least a 2:2 degree in a numerical, analytical, environmental or business-related discipline, such as (but not limited to) economics, accounting and finance, environmental engineering, maths, physics or chemistry. We’re particularly keen to hear from you if you have a relevant post-graduate degree. As this is a graduate programme, you must have graduated already, or be due to graduate in 2023, and have no more than three years’ work experience following your graduation.

Skills, experience and knowledge

An understanding of the relevance and potential impact in data and analysis for decision making;
Experience of using analytical or other approaches to gain insights and draw conclusions from data;
Use of software – such as spreadsheets, statistical packages or programming languages – to address data issues.

Attributes and behaviours

Throughout the selection process, we will be looking for evidence of our SAILOR values. We will also assess you on the following attributes and behaviours that are essential for success on the programme. These are defined more fully in our Framework for Success.

Committed Learner – “I’m flexible, curious and adaptable, committed to my own growth and development.”

Makes Relationships Count – “I contribute to a supportive team environment, showing empathy and building effective relationships to achieve progress.”

Creates clarity – “I’m adept at communicating clearly, simplifying complexity, considering the needs of my audience, and tailoring my written and verbal communications to meet their needs.”

Adaptable thinker – “I identify problems and seek out information to find solutions. I do this in a way that considers the needs of others, and I’m flexible to adapt my approach as parameters or goals change.”

Delivers outcomes – “I achieve my objectives in a timely manner, keeping people updated, and taking accountability and responsibility for outputs and outcomes. I link my work to the bigger picture and ask for clarification when it’s needed, striving always to improve my delivery to customers (whether internal or external).”

Benefits

As a Graduate Associate on our programme, you’ll be employed on a 2-year fixed term contract with a starting salary of £29,000. You’ll be entitled to take 25 days holiday plus 10 ½ bank holiday and privilege leave days each year. In addition, you will receive an excellent benefits package which includes exclusive discounts on a range of good and services (retail, theatre, gym membership etc), professional development opportunities, health and wellbeing initiatives and an excellent civil service pension.

We have offices in Birmingham and London (you’ll be able to express a preference for which you’d prefer) and employees have the opportunity for hybrid working so you will have the chance to work both at home and in the office. Ofwat is an inclusive employer and agile working is an important part of our culture with all the IT/infrastructure (including a Surface Pro and iPhone) to enable you to work efficiently where and when needed. We know that agile working empowers you to manage your own time, fostering a healthy work-life balance and boosting health and wellbeing while maintaining productivity.

Here at Ofwat we believe that spending regular time together in person is important to support collaboration and development, build and sustain relationships with others and support the delivery of Ofwat’s business outcomes. It also can provide additional opportunities for development, gaining colleague support, face-to-face interaction, connection and networking. We’ve made space provision for an average of two days in the office spread across the week for all colleagues, though many of our graduates choose to spend more time collaborating in the office together. Each of our teams have developed a Team Charter which agrees how they will work in a hybrid environment. You will agree the balance of home/office-based working that works best for you and your team with your People Leader.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Sound good? We’re looking to appoint this year with an assessment centre to take place w/c 27 March/3 April and a start date in September 2023. The closing date for applications is 23.55 on Sunday 12 March 2023 so don’t miss out!

The selection process includes;

A candidate application form, assessing the qualification, skills, experience and knowledge requirements as outlined above. The application form also assesses some of our attributes and behaviours outlined in the table below.
Video interview assessing SAILOR values and the attributes and behaviours set out in the table below.
Successful candidates will then be invited to a virtual assessment centre, weeks commencing 27 March 20223 and 03 April 2023. The virtual assessment centre will assess all of the requirements for the role.

The assessment centre includes;

A written exercise
A group exercise
An interview, which includes a short candidate presentation (topic to be shared in advance)

To see further detail on which of the criteria will be assessed at which stage, please refer to the attached candidate information pack.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

UK nationals
nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
nationals of the Republic of Ireland
nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Apply and further information

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

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