Strategy and Regulation Graduate Programme Coventry 2024

Taking care of ‘one of life’s essentials’ – it’s our purpose and we want you to be part of it. Supplying wholesome drinking water, treating wastewater and recycling this back to the environment responsibly is no mean feat. We serve around 8 million people across the Midlands and Wales and unlike other businesses, our delivery is non-negotiable. It’s a matter of life.

Many of our employees are also our customers, so we truly take pride in what we do! Employing people from across our communities and beyond, Severn Trent is an exciting and inclusive place to work – a place where you can be curious, can be ‘Wonderfully You’ and where you can truly make an impact to our environment, now and for future generations. 

Let's tell you more

Our Strategy and Regulation Graduate Programme offers the perfect blend of personal and professional development, exposing you to both the mechanics of how a regulated business works, but also its future strategic direction and how we can think innovatively to develop compelling strategies, play our part in our sustainability journey and help transform our business as we move towards a net zero future.

The programme comprises of 3 x 9-month placements across our Economic Regulation, Strategy, Sustainability and Transformation teams, which you will have the opportunity to shape. Each placement will give you a real insight into our business and provide you the opportunity to learn about our strategic, regulatory and sustainability agendas.

You will work on a range of projects, which will help address real life challenges and projects and help drive tangible change. You will learn how we:

• Create, manage, and deliver our 5-year business plans within our regulatory framework
• Set our long-term strategies across all of our respective business areas, as well as the process of bringing these to life and putting them into action
• Ensure that we’re doing the right thing by our people, our business and our communities as part of our social and environmental sustainability agenda including our drive to net zero

The programme aims to give you the necessary skills to become future leaders within our Strategy, Sustainability, Economic Regulation or Transformation teams.

Furthermore, the programme is designed to enhance your critical thinking, leadership, and strategic thinking, as well as giving you the opportunity to showcase your creativity and really add value in shaping our future direction. You’ll also gain experience across our whole group, including our regulated and non-regulated businesses.

How the program will work

• You will work across three placements on the scheme across our range of teams, which will help you develop and shape your career in the path you want it to go
• You will have the chance to discuss your development and career ambitions in your 1-1 meetings with line managers, mentors, and New Talent Team

What you will learn

You will expand your knowledge of project and people management, including learning how to effectively manage and influence stakeholders. You’ll also gain a strong business and commercial acumen, developing your ability to plan strategically with time, cost, and quality in mind, and how to deliver this message successfully to a range of stakeholders. 

You’ll gain a deeper understanding of why and how we make sure we deliver with our customers at the heart of what we do, and how we communicate this message across our communities. You will learn the following either directly from placements, or through supplementary training or project work:

• People
  • Engagement with many different stakeholders across our departments from technical experts through to senior leaders, such as programme sponsors and directors.
  • Indirect management of people through project management.
• Customer
  • Customer experience focused project role
  • Customer insight/market research skills
  • Customer engagement methods including ability to communicate complex concepts effectively to customers 
• Project
  • Project lifecycle exposure
  • Informal project management that demonstrates PM skills required
  • Understanding of stakeholder management within projects and understanding of project tools 
• Commercial
  • Understanding of the regulatory environment in water
  • Understanding of wider macroeconomic/political factors impacting the water industry
  • Awareness of Severn Trent’s approach to sustainability
  • Embedding sustainability throughout the business
  • Business planning and Strategic planning 
• Economics
  • Practical application of micro/macro and regulatory economics
  • Practical application of econometrics
  • Working Knowledge of programmes such as STATA/Excel
  • Effective writing skills
  • Data analysis skills 

Typical off-scheme role

This can vary depending on your personal career ambitions. However, roles such as Strategic Insight Analyst, Transformation Project Manager, Economic Regulation Manager, Business Strategy Manager and Economist are examples of some of the roles our past graduates have landed after the scheme.

Our New Talent Team will guide you and support you every step of the way. Furthermore, your line manager, mentor and graduate buddy will be there to help you in making sure you reach your full potential here at Severn Trent. 

Entry criteria

• Preferred individuals with an analytical mindset and a passion for Strategy, Sustainability, Transformation and Economic Regulation. 
• For candidates who wish to specialise in the Economic Regulation part of the team, a degree in Economics or related discipline is preferred.
• Typical contracts are 37 hours per week, however there may be flexibility around the structure of your working hours, team and line manager dependent.
• We are looking for one candidate with an Economic Regulation focus and two candidates with a general Strategy, Sustainability and Transformation focus.

What we're looking for

We want our employees to care and to have a genuine passion for what we do as a business. We need people who want to make a difference in providing a vital service to our customers, now and for the long-term. We’d love you to be someone with:

• A ‘can do’ attitude – willing to get stuck in, take accountability for decisions and actions and who takes pride in their work. 
• A love of variety in a role and ability to adapt to a dynamic, fast-paced working environment.
• Ability to quickly prioritise tasks and the initiative to dive head-first into problem solving.   
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills and enjoy working with multiple teams. 
• Ability to analyse and interpret information and effectively communicate this to different team members and audiences. 
• Curiosity to learn quickly in a reactive and dynamic working environment.

Diversity and inclusion

At Severn Trent we are passionate about our people. We want to make sure that we continue to foster a more diverse, inclusive, and cohesive culture that represents the communities and customers we serve. We’re making sure we keep up the progress with our wonderful working groups – LGBTQ+, Women in Operations & STEM, Disability and Ethnicity, who help us with our commitments. 

How we'll reward and care for you in return

It’s not just a job you’ll get here, you’ll get a career too. We have a range of benefits that reward and recognise great work and award-winning training to ensure you reach your potential. And we’ll also help you play your part in looking after the environment and the community in which we live. Here’s some of our favourites:  

• 28 days holiday + bank holidays (and the ability to buy/ sell up to 5 days per year) 
• Annual bonus scheme (of up to £2,225 which is subject to eligibility)
• Leading pension scheme – we will double your contribution (up to 15% when you contribute 7.5%) 
• Sharesave – the chance to buy Severn Trent Plc shares at a discounted rate 
• 10% monthly discount with Busy Bees Nurseries, and one-week free childcare
• Dedicated training and development with our Academy
• Electric vehicle scheme and retail offers
• Family friendly policies 
• Two paid volunteering days per year

As if that isn’t enough, you’ll receive an annual salary increase whilst you’re on programme and you’ll also get an increase when you move into your first job. 

Let's go

Apply now to build an amazing career and be part of a brilliant team. We can’t wait to hear from you.  

• Roles close on 29th February 2024.
• Check your diary – face to face assessments will run from 8th - 26th April 2024. 

To find out more about working with us, search #LifeatSevernTrent on social media.