Senior Associate, Environment and Climate change

Ofwat’s environment work and team (Performance and Outcomes)

The natural world is facing profound challenges in the form of climate emergency, wildlife loss, and environmental degradation. The water sector is deeply invested in and reliant on our natural world and is working to protect and improve our environment both now and in the future. Through our strategy, we are making the environment integral to all that we do and we have set out how we will regulate in a way that means that water companies are able build on the work they are already doing to make the environment an integral part of their business, inseparable from the services they provide.

The role of Senior Associate sits within the newly created environment team as part of the Environment, Public Value and Governance work stream of the Performance and Outcomes cluster. Performance and Outcomes is one of seven new clusters. Its purpose is to develop and implement regulatory policy, monitor company performance and drive improvement to support our strategic goals for the sector and deliver the best outcomes for customers and the environment.

The environment team is focussed on delivering the environmental policy objectives of our strategy, and engaging and collaborating with key environmental stakeholders.
We are committed to working in partnership with Government, regulators, industry and our environmental stakeholders on key environmental policy projects including:
• strengthening the water sector’s approach to climate change and its net zero 2030 ambition
• exploring how we can use natural capital accounting methods
• considering how to bring about change in how people use water
• encouraging and facilitating nature based solutions.

Role expectations
You will be expected to play an important role in delivering the environmental policy objectives of Ofwat’s strategy. In particular, you will play a key role in our climate change mitigation and adaptation work, working closely with the water sector on its Net Zero 2030 commitment. You will be comfortable representing Ofwat and communicating Ofwat policy to environmental stakeholders including government officials, water companies and others. You will provide advice and make recommendations, ensuring Ofwat understands and can incorporate climate change policy into its work, proactively sharing skills and knowledge.
You will be a policy professional with relevant experience in climate change mitigation and adaptation, or you will have a strong industry or environmental consultancy background relevant to the role. You will have a good understanding of environmental issues and experience of climate change policy, and ideally you will have a strong network in the climate sector. But regardless of your professional expertise, a range of skills will be needed – from policy development and systems thinking, to project management and stakeholder relations. Excellent communication skills, and an ability to work effectively across organisational boundaries and challenge the status quo are essential. You should be comfortable working in an agile environment.
As a Senior Associate you will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team and will be expected to take responsibility for your work areas. You will have opportunities to develop and consolidate your skill set. You are a self-starter and do not require detailed supervision from senior colleagues. You will continue to hone your judgement and be expected to exercise it responsibly in line with our strategy and ways of working.

Responsibilities

Key deliverables

• Engaging with water industry climate change mitigation and net zero work, developing and communicating Ofwat’s position.
• Developing Ofwat’s approach to climate change adaptation.
• Providing expert advice on climate change across the organisation as is required.
• Supporting the environment team’s work and policy projects more broadly as is required.
• Forging excellent links across the water sector in relation to climate change policy, including with water companies, environmental groups, government, and other regulators.
• Influencing and managing strategic policy relationships with water companies, environmental groups, government, and other regulators on environmental issues relevant to Ofwat’s work.
• Working collaboratively and flexibly with colleagues across different work streams and clusters to ensure joined up and consistent representation on environmental and climate change issues and priorities across all areas of Ofwat’s work
• Looking beyond the water and wastewater sector, and where necessary other utility sectors, for creative and novel ways to meet the environmental challenges the sector faces.

Professional requirements:

Essential Qualifications and Experience -
• Academic or professional experience in climate change mitigation and adaptation.
• Academic or professional experience of working on wider environmental issues.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to cut through complexity.
• Strong communicator, able to effectively communicate complex issues to different audiences.
• Proven experience in a policy analysis and policy delivery environment.
• Experience in policy development, design or implementation.
• An ability to work proactively with stakeholders, balancing competing interests, to deliver policy objectives.

Desirable Qualifications and Experience -
• Professional experience in regulation and/or water sector.
• Professional experience of addressing environmental challenges through the use of nature-based solutions or natural capital accounting.
• Experience of working with government and non-government environmental stakeholders.
• Understanding and experience of government policy formulation and the role of regulation in that.

Essential Knowledge -
• Up-to-date knowledge of national and international climate change policy and best practice in climate change mitigation and adaptation.
• Problem solving and analytical thinking in the context of policy development

Desirable Knowledge -
• Up-to-date knowledge of climate change science.
• Knowledge of the water sector and water resource management.
• An understanding of the role strategic water resource management plays in mitigating and adapting to climate change.
• Understanding the relevance and the impact of economic regulation from a regulated industry and regulatory body perspective, and being able to apply this.

Annual leave
On appointment the post holder will be entitled to 25 days annual leave plus 10½ days’ public and privilege holidays a year. Annual leave entitlement will be increased by one day for each year of continuous employment with Ofwat, up to a maximum leave allowance of 30 days.

Ofwat benefits
We also offer a range of additional benefits. These include:
• access to our package of benefits via our ‘Edenred’ scheme. This is a voluntary benefits scheme where staff have access to exclusive discounts on a range of goods and services such as retail outlets, theatre tickets, holidays, insurance and gym membership;
• cycle-to-work scheme;
• season ticket loan for travel between home and office;
• flexible working arrangements;
• fees paid for membership of relevant professional bodies;
• regular professional development;
• health and wellbeing initiatives; and
• free eye tests and contribution towards lenses/spectacles for VDU users, if appropriate
• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options - exceptional agile working policy, no core hours
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A fantastic Civil Service pension