Senior Water Resources Planner / Hydrologist

Do you have a thirst for progressing your career within the environment and water industry?

If so, we have an amazing opportunity for a Senior Water Resources Planner / Hydrologist to join our Water Resources Strategy team!

What you'll do

Joining a dynamic team of professionals, your role will be central to the short and long-term planning of our Water Resources, as we seek to develop our next plans towards 2029.

Working in collaboration with the broader team, consultants, and the West Country Water Resources Group, the role will require you to own and lead areas of our supply forecasting and options development for Water Resources Management Planning and Drought Planning.

Depending on experience, and how that fits with the wider team, this may include:

• forecasting future supplies – including hydrological modelling, supply system modelling, and climate change impact assessment
• new supply options development, screening and appraisal
• investment decision-making modelling, including best-value, adaptive planning
• broader integrated catchment planning – e.g. integration of supply requirements with other drivers (e.g. water quality and flooding)
• overall development of the company's Water Resources Management Plan and Drought Plan to align with regulatory expectations
• environmental assessment of new sources and sustainability of existing abstractions (e.g. environmental destination).

What you'll need

This is a role where you will be required to have a sound understanding of IT systems and software, preferably with a background in Water Resources planning, or in one of the technical areas covered in the planning process – in a particular in hydrology, supply engineering and investment decision-making.

Within the team you will be working alongside other technically skilled people, and you will also be required to liaise more widely across the business, and externally with regulators, consultants and neighbouring companies. Communication to a range of audiences is therefore important for the role, both to gather information and disseminate outputs of your work.

Essential requirements:

• a degree in a relevant environmental or engineering subject
• expertise in one or more of the planning areas listed above that the role is required to lead on
• experience of running Water Resources system models such as Miser, Aquator or PYWR, or with other hydraulic modelling tools such as EPANET or Infoworks
• experience in programming for undertaking hydrological modelling and statistical analysis will be an advantage, in particular with R or Python
• the ability to develop, follow and maintain procedures to ensure the accurate maintenance of technical workflows
• having good attention to detail and organisational skills
• excellent communication skills
• being methodical with strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work using your own initiative.

Desirable requirements:

• experience and understanding of the Water Resource Management Plan process
• experience of working in a regulatory environment – e.g. regulatory reporting and compliance.

We don't expect you to cover all bases here! We're looking for someone who wants to build on their existing skill set in the next 5 years to help us develop our next round of plans.

What you'll receive

• Total pension contributions up to 20%.
• Career progression and professional development opportunities.
• 25 days' holiday rising to 28 with length of service.
• The opportunity to buy up to ten days' holiday and sell up to five every year.
• A healthcare package that allows you to claim back healthcare costs.
• Life assurance of up to eight times your salary.
• A new electric car in exchange for part of your gross salary.
• Cashback and discounts from more than 3,000 retailers.
• One paid volunteering day each year.
• Enhanced family leave and pay arrangements.
• An interactive health and wellbeing platform.
• Support from mental health first aiders.
• A £1,000 referral fee if you recommend someone to work for us.

Who we are

We are one of the top-performing water and sewerage companies in England and Wales, serving 2.9 million people across the South West.

The work we do goes beyond providing an essential public service. We also aim to have a positive impact on the communities we serve and the natural environment.

Our people tell us Wessex Water is a great place to work, which is why so many of them stay with us! You will have the opportunity to develop and progress your career, while also receiving health and wellbeing support.

We also continue to promote diversity and inclusion – with that in mind, all applicants are welcome. We are delighted to have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and are a Disability Confident Employer.

This is an exciting opportunity to join us and if you would like to be part of our journey, we would love to hear from you. Please do not hesitate to let us know about any additional support you may need.

Sound interesting? Apply to start your application.