Drought Manager

Drought Manager

Hello! Thanks for stopping by. Let us tell you about all the great reasons to join us here at Yorkshire Water:

• We offer a competitive salary, 4a, depending on experience, £50,008 - £62,510
• Annual incentive related bonus - £1000 maximum Bonus Opportunity for the Performance Year
• Attractive pension scheme up to 12% company contribution
• 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays, plus two extra wellness days!
• A great benefits package, with options including a health cash plan, critical illness insurance, dental insurance, life assurance flex and partner cover
• Retail savings scheme
• Online GP service, cycle-to-work scheme, gym membership discounts and many more!

Location: Leeds Valley Park, LS10, hybrid working.

Work type: Permanent. 37 hours per week, Monday – Friday.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Drought Manager to join our Water Resources Strategy Team within Asset Management at Yorkshire Water and play a key role in helping us protect the resilience of Yorkshire’s water supplies against the increasing risk of drought and climate change. Could this be you?

What we do

Everyone has an idea of what a water company does. Here in Yorkshire, we make sure that over 5.4 million people living in the region and the millions of people who visit our region each year can rely on our services, and have clean and safe drinking water on tap and that their wastewater is taken away. But for us, it’s so much more than this.

We look after communities, protect the environment and plan to look after Yorkshire’s water, today, tomorrow, 24/7, 365 days a year. We provide essential water and wastewater services to every corner of the Yorkshire region and play a key role in the region’s health, wellbeing and prosperity.

Climate change and the increasing risk of drought mean the long-term resilience of our water resources has never been more important. Our Water Resources team develops the plans and strategies that help ensure we can continue to provide resilient and sustainable water supplies, both now and into the future.

As our Drought Manager, you will lead the development of Yorkshire Water’s Drought Plan and our approach to drought response, helping to ensure we meet our statutory obligations and are prepared to respond effectively when drought conditions occur.

You will also lead Yorkshire Water’s engagement with regional water resources planning in relation to drought through Water Resources North, as well as supporting national drought planning activity through the Water Resources National Framework where required.

Where you fit in

As our Drought Manager, you will:

Lead the development, publication and ongoing review of Yorkshire Water’s Drought Plan, working across the business and with regulators and external stakeholders to ensure our approach remains robust, effective and aligned with wider water resources planning.

During periods of drought, you will play an important role in implementing the Drought Plan through our incident management and escalation processes. You will monitor performance against the Plan, lead relevant areas of implementation and provide expert advice to the business on drought planning and response.

Following drought events, you will lead lessons identified activity, working collaboratively across Yorkshire Water to turn learning into practical improvements to our drought management processes and strengthen our future resilience.

Core Responsibilities

Drought Planning: Lead the production of Yorkshire Water’s Drought Plan and its technical annual review, ensuring our approach remains effective and meets our statutory and regulatory requirements.

Drought Response: Lead relevant areas of Drought Plan implementation through Yorkshire Water’s escalation processes, advising the organisation on drought planning processes and supporting an effective response during drought events.

Performance Monitoring: Monitor performance against the Drought Plan during drought events and ensure emerging issues, risks and requirements are understood and acted upon.

Regulator & Stakeholder Engagement: Lead regular engagement with regulators and key stakeholders on the development and implementation of the Drought Plan, including liaison during periods of drought.

Regional & National Planning: Lead Yorkshire Water’s drought-related engagement with Water Resources North and support our contribution to drought planning at a national level through the Water Resources National Framework where required.

Strategic Alignment: Work across the company to ensure drought planning is aligned with relevant strategies, policies, interventions and investment priorities, helping to continuously improve Yorkshire Water’s drought resilience.

Drought Options: Work closely with the Water Resources Options and Resilience and Asset Planning teams to develop off-the-shelf drought options that can be implemented through the escalation process when required.

Continuous Improvement: Lead lessons identified reporting following drought events and work collaboratively with colleagues to turn those lessons into meaningful improvements to drought management processes.

External Representation: Represent Yorkshire Water on key external bodies, ensuring our position and interests are clearly articulated and helping us influence emerging industry thinking, policy and technical guidance.

Consultancy Management: Lead, direct and manage specialist external consultants where required to support delivery of programmes of work.

What skills & qualifications you will need

• Educated to degree level in a relevant subject area.
• Knowledge and experience of drought planning processes and drought implementation, including their connections with wider water resource planning.
• Strong analytical skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Power BI and Word.
• The ability to think both technically and strategically, with an appreciation of the connections between investment, regulation and science.
• The ability to build effective relationships and influence external organisations, including other water companies, regulators and funders.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to prepare high-quality regulatory documents for publication and audit.
• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to manage your own workload while coordinating activity across teams, projects and stakeholders.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate technical information and outcomes clearly and influence decision-making.
• An understanding of wider water industry and business risks and opportunities and how the role contributes to Yorkshire Water’s wider objectives.
• The ability to demonstrate Yorkshire Water’s company values and behaviours.

We also require you to have

• The confidence to provide expert advice and direction during periods of drought and heightened operational activity.
• The ability to work collaboratively across organisational boundaries, bringing together technical specialists, operational teams and external stakeholders.
• The ability to interpret emerging regulatory, policy and technical requirements and understand their implications for Yorkshire Water.
• Strong influencing skills and the confidence to represent Yorkshire Water externally.
• A proactive approach to developing your own capabilities and maintaining knowledge of emerging industry best practice and regulatory requirements.
• The ability to support a strong governance and compliance environment while providing visible leadership across the organisation.

You will also benefit from having

• Experience of supporting and embedding change and influencing the right culture and behaviours.
• Experience of developing compelling investment business cases and successfully gaining support for investment.
• An established network within the water industry and the ability to continue developing and extending that network.

Although we operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, it’s important to us that we support flexible working patterns and job share options, when we can, to help you make the best of both your work and home life. We know that juggling childcare responsibilities or getting that ideal work/life balance isn’t always easy!

Do we sound like your cup of tea?

If you’ve got experience in drought planning, water resources or water industry resilience and want to play a leading role in helping Yorkshire Water prepare for and respond to the increasing risk of drought, then be sure to apply today to find out what a career with Yorkshire Water can offer you.

Accessibility

We are committed to removing barriers and ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to everyone. We offer a range of adjustments to make your application experience as comfortable and straightforward as possible.

If you have an accessibility need, disability, or condition that requires changes to the recruitment process, please include this information in your application. We will then discuss any reasonable adjustments required.

Just a heads-up! We might start interviewing and close the position early based on the response. To make sure you’re considered, please send in your application as soon as you can.

If successful for the role, you will be required to undergo pre-employment checks that may include a Basic Disclosure Check, carried out through a Third-Party Company, prior to commencing employment. Depending on the role, you may also be required to go through the security vetting process for either a Counter Terrorist Check or Security Check clearance.

All our roles are subject to a medical questionnaire, and further medicals when required.

No agencies please.