Water Safety Plan Scientist 2024

Are you a self-motivated and organised scientist? Do you want to grow your career in the water industry? If so, this opportunity could be for you! We want to be the water company people want to be supplied by and want to work for.

The role

You’ll take up this exciting role within the Water Quality team, where the main purpose of your role will be to compile and maintain our Drinking Water Safety Plan (DWSP) and take responsibility for ensuring relevant actions are carried out.

You will be enthusiastic, flexible and show an innovative approach to managing work. A good knowledge of water supply, storage and treatment is essential for this role, alongside a solid understanding of key water quality issues. Your scientific background will enable you to hit the ground running as you interpret and analyse large datasets.

As you are highly organised and able to manage workloads independently, you will be expected to compile and contribute to regulatory water safety plan returns, as well legal instrument progress reports and water quality event reports. You will also liaise with other departments, such as Operations, Assets, Environmental and Engineering, so excellent interpersonal skills are key.

We offer a vibrant, friendly, and busy team environment. You’ll receive plenty of coaching and support to develop your analytical techniques and understanding so that you can continue to progress your scientific career at South East Water. As you develop in the role, you may be given additional responsibilities to reflect your progress and suit business needs.

You will be based at either one of our labs in Farnborough (Hampshire) or Pembury (Kent), depending on your location.

What will you gain from work at South East Water?

You’ll grow a career with a meaningful purpose. Be you, belong and be valued.

• Come to work to be safe, valued, and trusted.
• We’ll encourage you to create and pursue new opportunities for personal growth.
• A place to be the real you, build deeper connections and enjoy a sense of belonging.
• Be invested in helping us to create a sustainable water supply for now, and in the future.

What will you mainly be responsible for delivering?

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Report Writing – writing annual progress reports, water quality events reports, and contributing to water safety plan returns.
• Managing the Drinking Water Safety Plan – compiling the DWSP and updating it when required, also ensuring related tasks are actioned.
• Collaboration – helping to monitor the operational sampling programme, liaising with other departments to ensure the effective delivery of the DWSP and representing the company at external meetings.
• Data Analysis – interpreting and analysing water quality data and producing required reports.
• Improvements – helping the team to make improvements to the DWSP database and any relevant documents and processes.

What do you bring to the role?

• A degree or equivalent qualification in a scientific field.
• Good knowledge of potential water quality hazards, water chemistry and biology are essential.
• Excellent analytical and interpretation skills relating to data analysis and investigations.
• Strong IT skills and proven report writing skills.
• An understanding of water regulations and water hygiene would be advantageous.
• Excellent interpersonal, organisational and communication skills.
• Clean driving licence

What can you expect from us?

• Salary of £29,339 to £48,195 depending on experience.
• Excellent Stakeholder pension scheme, up to 10% employer contribution
• 25 days holiday entitlement, rising to 30 days with length of service.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Health cash plan
• Life assurance
• Wellbeing related benefits

Everyone needs water, South East Water welcomes everyone

We know the communities we serve are diverse. We recognise creativity comes from diversity not similarity. That’s why we are enthusiastic about creating inclusion across age, race, gender, ethnicity, religion and identity. You will experience our dedication to equal opportunities and fair treatment for all: through your recruitment, employment, and career progression with South East Water.

What you can expect from recruitment

• Please upload a CV via our Careers site.
• Interviews will be held at our laboratory in either Farnborough or Pembury.
• We are unable to provide sponsorship for this role.
• You will be asked to complete satisfactory DBS, identity, and employment referencing checks as part of receiving your employment offer from South East Water.
• If you require assistance / adjustments to engage with our recruitment process and to ensure you're able to compete on equal terms, please contact the recruitment team via recruitment.jobs@southeastwater.co.uk

If this sounds like the opportunity you’ve been looking for, apply today!