Local recruitment: Head of Water (South) - UK and Ireland

• Location: Manchester, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom
• Capabilities: Civil and Structural
• Office Setup: Hybrid
• Job ID: #27147

At Jacobs, we’re challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world’s most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good.

Your impact

Closing date for this role is June 27th 2025

There has never been a more exciting time to be involved in the water industry. With unprecedented investment, this sector is rapidly growing to address the pressing challenges of climate change, water quality and quantity and improved environmental outcomes. 

This new leadership role has been created to drive our water business and face into the challenges in partnership with our clients. You will have strong relationships across the water industry, and a very sound knowledge of the regulatory drivers shaping the Sector. You will have demonstrable experience of leading large teams in the Water sector, either in an operational role or major programme role, and successfully growing a business. The Head of Water (South)  – UK and Ireland covers our existing regulated Water clients in this region, including Thames Water, Anglian Water and Severn Trent Water. You will work in partnership with the Head of Water (North) – UK and Ireland and our established existing Water leadership team to deliver on our growth ambitions.  

You will lead with a strategic mindset and display genuine commitment and alignment to our Jacobs values:  

• We do things right 
• We challenge the accepted 
• We aim higher 
• We live inclusion

Our current Water Business generates £100m/yr revenue, through 750+ staff continually delivering value to the key Water companies in UK and Ireland. The Head of Water (South)  – UK and Ireland is a predominantly market facing role which is focussed on delivery to clients, and growing the business in line with our corporate strategy. You will be someone who is comfortable engaging with our Client’s Executive Board members and excited by the ability to shape the future of a business and work collaboratively both in Europe and internationally.  

Reporting to the Head of Sector of Water and Environment (W&E), you will join a wider W&E leadership team with an aligned commitment to challenge the accepted. This is an exceptional opportunity and we are looking forward to hearing from you.

We value collaboration and believe that in-person interactions are crucial for both our culture and client delivery. We empower employees with our hybrid working policy, allowing them to split their work week between Jacobs offices/projects and remote locations enabling them to deliver their best work.

Here’s what you’ll need

• Understanding of the UK and Ireland water market 
• Experience in a senior leadership role delivering against business performance metrics
• Demonstrable commercial acumen related to procurement routes and contracting models
• Desire to present at national/international conferences to represent Jacobs
• Ability to collaborate across all sectors within our European business.

What We Offer: 

• Up to 10% company contribution into their pension
• Reimbursement towards relevant professional development and memberships
• Opportunity to buy/sell annual leave. 
• Free employee medical cover and digital GP service
• Enhanced parental leave pay
• Fertility healthcare and family-forming benefit provided by Carrot. 
• An inclusive and diverse work environment, embracing the variety of disciplines, cultures, backgrounds and lifestyles of our employees through our Jacobs Employee Networks 
• Hybrid working
• Part-time roles
• Flexible working hours

Our Culture

Our values stand on a foundation of safety, integrity, inclusion and diversity. We put people at the heart of our business and we truly believe that by supporting one another through our culture of caring, we all succeed. We value positive mental health and a sense of belonging for all employees. Find out more about life at Jacobs.

We aim to embed inclusion and diversity in everything we do. We know that if we are inclusive, we’re more connected, and if we are diverse, we’re more creative. We accept people for who they are, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, mental health, race, faith or belief, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, and whether you’re pregnant or on family leave. This is reflected in our wide range of Global Employee Networks centred on inclusion and diversity – ACE, Careers, Enlace, Harambee, OneWorld, Prism, Women and Vetnet. Find out more about our employee networks here.

Jacobs partners with VERCIDA to help us attract and retain diverse talent. For greater online accessibility please visit www.vercida.com to view and access our roles. As a Disability Confident employer, we will interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for a vacancy. We welcome applications from candidates who are seeking flexible working and from those who may not meet all the listed requirements for a role.

If you require further support or reasonable adjustments with regards to the recruitment process (for example, you require the application form in a different format), please contact the team.

Your application experience is important to us and we’re keen to adapt to make every interaction even better. We welcome feedback on our recruitment process and if you need more from us before deciding to join Jacobs then please let us know.

#LI-Hybrid #LI-SR2

Locations