Principal Water Resources Planning Lead

We are Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, a non-ministerial government department responsible for regulating the water sector in England and Wales.

We have an opportunity for a Principal Water Resources Planning Lead to join our Water Supply Team within the RAPID & Environmental Planning Directorate.

The water sector is entering a new chapter. The government has set out a bold new direction, bringing together expertise from across the sector to deliver better outcomes for customers and the environment. We are collaborating with fellow regulators to respond to recommendations in The Independent Water Commission Report, the Welsh Government’s response to the Green Paper, Shaping the Future of Water Governance in Wales, and the Government’s White Paper, A new vision for water.

Ofwat is working with the government and other regulators to help create a new body for England, bringing together our strengths with those of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, the Environment Agency and Natural England. We are also continuing to work with the Welsh Government to support decisions on the future arrangements for Wales.

While these changes take shape, our mission remains the same: to hold water companies to account, drive performance, and ensure the sector delivers real value for customers, communities, and the environment. If you’re passionate about making a difference, this is a unique moment to join us and help shape the future of water, and together we can continue to make a positive impact.

You can find out more about why you should join Ofwat, our strategy, values and our framework for success in the attached Information for Candidates Pack.

We're looking for a Water Resources Planning Lead to join our Water Supply team within the RAPID and Environmental Planning directorate at Principal level. The sector is facing unprecedented challenges, and we want someone who relishes the opportunity to apply their skills and experience to improve our water environment. Whilst there are specific policy areas you will lead on, you will also play an important role in driving the collaborative work programme across Governments and with other regulators to improve future water resources management.

The Water Resources Planning Lead role has an important and valuable contribution to enable us to deliver on our goals and regulatory commitments. You will lead our engagement with wider governments, regulators and a varied range of stakeholders on national water resources policy and investment policy, including delivery of current 2024 water resource management plans (WRMP24) and our preparations for WRMP29 and the 2029 price review (PR29). This includes bringing together partner regulators (Drinking Water Inspectorate, Environment Agency, Natural England and Natural Resources Wales) to agree on policy development and technical assessment outcomes. You will utilise forums such as the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to present, communicate and consult with the industry on Ofwat's water resources policy decisions and technical issues. You will also have the opportunity to steer the development of new planning frameworks developed under Defra's White Paper on a new vision for water.

You will lead a technical team to undertake water resources work and their engagement with the water companies. You will be responsible for designing and planning the team's approaches to meeting our statutory responsibilities, and aligning our work across related and dependant regulatory frameworks and processes. This includes our involvement in the government's Water Delivery Taskforce; Ofwat's PR24 and PR29 teams including delivery plans and price control deliverables (PCDs); and interfacing with principal leads for the strategic resource options (SROs) in the RAPID programme. Your work on this area will hold companies to account on their delivery on behalf of customers and the environment.

Key deliverables:

In this role you will be expected to:

• Lead on our statutory duties in water resources planning, including delivery oversight of current WRMPs and planning for future WRMPs, giving technical steer and making decisions on complex supply-demand balance and supply security issues.
• Lead our strategy with our partner regulators and government on the evolving strategic planning frameworks, including WRMPs, business plan links, and new planning frameworks developed through Defra's White Paper on a new vision for water.
• Support wider water resources efficiency policy and regulator guidance development working with government, other regulators, water companies and wider stakeholders.
• Collaborate closely with other principals in the Water Supply team on cross-working issues and policies associated with WRMPs, demand management, and the positioning of the SROs within WRMPs.
• Manage a small water resources team, supporting workload prioritisation, as well as their growth and professional development.
• Contribute to the RAPID and Environmental Planning directorate strategy and the Price Review directorate more broadly as required.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

How to apply

Apply through the Civil Service Jobs website where you’ll be asked to create an account and complete an application form (CV and personal statement). If you’re unable to make an electronic application, please contact recruitment@ofwat.gov.uk and we will support you in completing your application.

Please see the candidate guidance on our website for more detail and tips on how to best make your application and prepare for interview.

Please ensure you have submitted your application in full ahead of the deadline listed below. Unfortunately, we won't be able to consider late applications.

Selection timetable

• Closing date: 23.55 on 08 November 2026
• Sifting: Week commencing 09 November 2026
• Interview date(s): Week commencing 23 November 2026

Assessment process

Sift Stage - Blind Sifting

We operate a blind sifting model to eliminate bias. All candidate identifying information will be removed from applications.

At sift stage we will assess your application (CV and personal statement) against essential criteria 1, 2, 3 and 4 listed below. Please ensure you provide enough evidence in your application form to demonstrate how you meet the criteria.

Use your personal statement to address the below criteria and tell us how your experience, skills and knowledge meet them:

• Lead criterion: Relevant experience in water resources planning (including adhering to or designing planning frameworks, supply scheme development, water efficiency or environmental strategy). This can be regulatory, technical or policy experience gained within the water sector.
• Academic or professional experience of wider environmental issues and good knowledge/understanding of those related to the water industry.
• Significant experience of policy development and implementation, and/or designing and delivering programmes of work within a relevant field.
• Significant experience of building and maintaining constructive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, influencing decisions and delivering outcomes across organisational boundaries.

In the event of receiving a large number of applications, a pre-sift may take place on just the lead criterion.

If a high volume of candidates meet the minimum pass mark at sift stage, we will only progress the highest scoring candidates to interview. Candidates not invited to interview, who have achieved the minimum pass mark, will be placed 'on hold' until the final stage of the assessment process is completed. Should the role/s remain unfilled, candidates placed 'on hold' may be invited to interview in merit order.

Interview Stage - Transparent Interviews and Presentation

At interview stage we will test against essential skills, experience, knowledge and attributes set out in the professional requirements section above.

Our transparent interview process involves candidates receiving a selection of attribute-based questions in advance. This has been proven to help neurodiverse candidates and others to perform better at interview and is part of our inclusive culture.

You can read more about attributes and our Framework for success here.

Please note that the interviews will be conducted via video conferencing software (Microsoft Teams).

As part of the interview process, we will require a short presentation. Further details will be provided to candidates upon invitation to interview.

Please ensure anything you present in your interview answers is factually accurate, and you are not presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by AI, as your own. You may expect follow up questions.

It may be necessary for a second stage interview, which will be communicated to the successful candidates, if required.

If the assessment process identifies more appointable candidates than roles available, a reserve list will be created for 12 months from which further appointments in merit order can be made.

'Near-miss' candidates (candidates who have performed well at interview stage but haven’t scored high enough for the advertised Principal band) may be considered (in merit order) for a Senior Associate grade post – a band lower than Principal. Further details will be provided to candidates as needed.

If you have any queries about any aspect of this role, selection process, or you require any reasonable adjustments, please email recruitment@ofwat.gov.uk.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.