Join Ofwat’s Cost Assessment Team as a Principal Wastewater Specialist
We have 1 permanent role available, but it is also open to loans and secondments of up to 2 years.
*Office Location: London (E14 4HD) or Birmingham (B5 4UA) with hybrid working*
About Us
We’re Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority – a non-ministerial government department responsible for regulating the water sector in England and Wales.
As the economic regulator of water and wastewater companies in England and Wales, our role is to enable, incentivise and hold companies to account for providing the very best for customers, communities and the environment. We also oversee the markets in the water sector to ensure they’re working for customers. Following the Independent Water Commission’s Final Report and subsequent White Paper – ‘New Vision for Water’, the UK government has set out a bold new direction – one that brings together expertise from across the sector to deliver better outcomes for customers and the environment.
The Role
We are seeking a Wastewater Specialist (planner, engineer, scientist, or asset manager) to join our Cost Assessment Team at Principal level. This is a unique and exciting opportunity for someone with a background in wastewater engineering, planning, or operational/asset management, looking to work on the development and delivery of current and future price reviews. You will not only gain experience working within the regulatory environment but also have the chance to work and engage with multiple key stakeholders within the water sector.
This Principal role is full of influence and exciting challenges. You will have a real opportunity to shape the next price review and develop policies that will have a genuine impact on customers and the environment.
Key deliverables
In this role you will be expected to:
- Lead on delivery tracking and reconciliation for all aspects of wastewater treatment.
- Lead on policy design and delivery of procedures and processes to ensure thorough and effective cost assessment.
- Provide thought leadership by demonstrating expertise and acting as a subject-matter expert in cost assessment (focusing on wastewater treatment) and related areas.
- Apply technical expertise to provide support and advice to areas of economic regulation across the organisation.
- Collaborate with and effectively influence internal and external stakeholders, including the Environment Agency (EA), Natural Resources Wales (NRW), Water Companies, and any other relevant bodies.
- Critically evaluate and challenge analysis or products of professional peers.
- Produce high-quality documents, review the work of others, and contribute to external publications.
- Work closely with colleagues across Ofwat to align with other areas of work.
- Manage and plan resource of both internal staff, and consultant resource.
About You
Below are some of the key essential experience, skills & knowledge required for this post:
- Lead criterion: Relevant technical experience within engineering, science, capital programmes, asset management and/or business planning, working at a senior level.
- Experience of developing policy and/or designing and delivering procedures and processes.
- Numerate with analytical skills, including experience of analysing and accurately interpreting a range of data and insights to inform evidence-based decisions and solutions for complex problems.
- Proven ability to solve complex analytical problems, and the ability to present the results to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Why You Should Join Us:
- People Centric: Our people are at the heart of Ofwat and everything we do – we ensure all voices are heard and treat each other with respect; you’ll be given the autonomy and the support to do your role in the best way.
- Innovative Work Environment: We embrace agile and new ways of working and have a culture build on trust, flexibility, and collaboration.
- Development Opportunities: Gain valuable experience and develop your skills in a supportive and dynamic setting.
- Work-Life Balance: Enjoy the flexibility of working from home combined with the benefits of in person collaboration in our Birmingham offices.
- Good employer pension contributions
- 25 days’ annual leave, increasing to 30 with each year of service, plus bank holidays and an extra 2.5 days of privilege leave.
- Access to exclusive discounts on a variety of goods and services, including retail outlets, theatre tickets, holidays, insurance, and a gym membership.
- Fees paid for membership of relevant professional bodies.
- Up to 3 volunteering days per year.
- Recognition vouchers scheme rewarding your hard work.
- Generous shared parental leave and pay supporting your family life.
Follow the link to Apply and for full details about the role. Please ensure you have submitted your application in full before the below deadline.
Closing date: 23.55 on 13 April 2026
