Permitting & Regulatory Specialist

As the UK’s largest water company, we are taking action for a new world of water - fixing the problems of today and building resilience for tomorrow.

Our environmental performance is monitored and evaluated by our regulators using a range of measures, such as our compliance with our environmental permits, and the number and severity of pollutions incidents that we cause, which in turn informs our Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA). The regulator uses our data from Operator Self-Monitoring (OSM), Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive monitoring (UWWTD), and Air emissions monitoring to evaluate our environmental performance and compliance with our permits.

This role of Permitting & Regulatory Specialist is to ensure we are compliant with the reporting requirements of our Environmental permits and to submit the necessary regulatory reports to the regulator so our environmental performance can be assessed. This role is to provide stakeholders within the business; Senior managers & the Exec this data and a summary of our compliance position in re numeric and FE flow limits and the requirements of our Air & Waste permits.

This is a new role that shall be multidisciplined across the different permitting regimes of Water Discharge and Installations. It will work alongside existing roles that fulfil the regulatory reporting requirements as above and shall also include ensuring that existing business processes and reporting methodologies are in place and that they are documented and governed. It may also support on the notifications to the business of new permit changes.

Key responsibilities include:

• Act as the technical subject matter expert on monitoring and reporting requirements of Environmental Permits
• Support with the regulatory monitoring & reporting requirements of Installation Environmental Permits
• Support with the regulatory monitoring & reporting requirements of Water Discharge Environmental Permits
• Provision of monitoring data and performance status to internal stakeholders
• Provision of information to the Regulator and stakeholders

Base Location: Hybrid working from our Reading office
Working Pattern: Full-time, Monday–Friday (36 hours per week)
This position is paying a salary of between £46,565 and £53,000 per annum based on experience.

What you’ll bring to the role:

• Experience in managing environmental data and preparing regulatory reports
• Excellent planning, organisation, and verbal/written communication skills
• Evidence of working flexibly across organisations, building and / or improving ways of working and embedding them into organisations
• A passion to improve our environmental performance.
• Strong analytical background, including Excel & Power Bi
• Excellent IT literacy to enable learning of internal data systems, for example Equis

Extra qualities that would be a great fit for our team:

• Advocate for the environment with demonstrable track record of compliance and environmental excellence
• An operational background in water, wastewater, or similar regulated industries
• Practical understanding of environmental permitting and the associated Environment Agency guidance
• Experience working with environmental regulations
• Degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Management or Data Management or a related field.

What’s in it for you?
Joining Thames Water means becoming part of a supportive, innovative team where your strategic vision makes a tangible difference. You'll play a vital role in creating sustainable water management strategies. Alongside career growth and professional recognition, you’ll receive:

• Competitive salary from £46,565 and £53,000 per annum depending on experience.
• 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (plus, bank holidays)
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks

Who are we?
We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water
Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.