Senior Leader, Drinking Water Quality

Salary: circa £90,000 per annum dependent on skills and experience
Hours: 37 hours per week
Contract: Permanent
Location: Across the Anglian Water Region, covering areas such as Ipswich, Norwich, Northampton, Milton Keynes, Bedford, Huntingdon, Peterborough, Grantham, Lincoln

Ready to use your leadership skills to help shape the future of drinking water quality? We are looking for an inspiring leader to work across the Anglian Water family and develop our team of 40 drinking water professionals, champion scientific excellence and make a meaningful impact on public health and environmental compliance for our customers.

The  Senior Leader – Drinking Water Quality  role is a high-profile leadership role where you will be Anglian Water's senior leader in drinking water.  You will operate across business, developing our strategic drinking water plans through to event responses.  At Anglian Water, we have significant investment in England’s water infrastructure and a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver lasting benefits for our region through our two new reservoirs.  This is alongside our Strategic Pipeline Alliance, which will connect our region like never before.  Your role will be central to ensuring we provide wholesome water to our customers throughout these changes, and you will operate across business, with our Operational and Capital Investment teams.  Externally, you will be representing Anglian Water with our external stakeholders and regulators to navigate the complex regulatory and environmental landscape and ensuring the best outcomes for our customers.

You will lead and support your team to protect the safety and quality of our drinking water to our customers 24/7.  This is a pivotal leadership role within our Quality, Environment and Assurance business unit, reporting directly to the Head of Science.  Collaboration across business and external engagement, will be essential to ensure learning and actions benefit both our customers and the business. Your effective leadership and close working relationship with our Operational and Capital colleagues will ensure we embed positive proactive interventions across our infrastructure.

You will lead the team in maintaining scientific rigor, assurance, and innovation to provide wholesome water efficiently. The development, engagement, safety, and well-being of your team will be crucial in making Science a fantastic place to work and progress. This role will require significant travel leading a field team based across the Anglian Water region.

In this role, you will:

- Lead with both people leadership and technical credibility, shaping the work of a team that plays a critical role in safeguarding drinking water quality

- Showcase your leadership and technical skills and knowledge equally, understanding that this team plays a pivotal role protecting drinking water quality across our Operations and Capital investment

- Shape a future where water quality continues to meet the changing expectations of customers, communities, and regulators

- Develop our future capabilities through your leadership, coaching to inspire high-performance across your team of experts

- Drive the safety of the team forwards, putting safety at the heart of what we do

- Build trusted relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including the DWI and public health agencies

- Lead through water quality incidents to provide an effective response and investigation across business

- Champion training, development, and competency across scientific and operational teams

We invest in our people - as a valued employee, you’ll be entitled to:

- Personal private health care

- Generous double match pension – contribute 7% and Anglian Water will contribute 14%, giving a total contribution of 21%

- 24-hour Virtual GP service for you and your household

- 26 days annual leave – rising with length of service and the ability to buy more

- Life assurance (up to 8 x salary)

- Personal accident cover (up to 5 x salary)

- Excellent family friendly policies, such as 26 weeks full pay for maternity / adoption leave, as well as 4 weeks paid paternity / partner leave. Opportunity for shared parental pay

- Bonus scheme

- Flexible benefits and working culture to support your wellbeing and lifestyle.

We’re looking for someone with :

- Inspirational and significant leadership and team development experience

- Experience leading a team that operates across business

- Strong stakeholder management skills and experience managing public health incidents

- Strategic thinking and stakeholder engagement

- Thorough understanding of drinking water quality regulations

- Excellent communication and decision-making capability

- Customer-focused mindset and adaptability

- A background in operational or drinking water science

- Degree in a scientific discipline

Inclusion at Anglian Water
At Anglian Water, we are committed to creating an inclusive and supportive environment where everyone feels they belong. We proudly hold the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award, are a Disability Confident employer, and champion initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion.

Why join us?
You’ll be joining a team where leadership, collaboration, and service excellence are at the heart of everything we do. We’re passionate about developing our people and helping them thrive. If you're looking for a role where your leadership can make a real impact—on our teams and every new joiner—this could be your next move.

Closing date: 29th November 2026

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