Head of Water Quality and Environment

Head of Water Quality and Environment
Coventry
£Competitive salary, 30% bonus, £6,900 car allowance

For Severn Trent, the relationship between the environment and our ability to operate has always been very direct. Our natural environment catches, holds, carries, and helps purify our water. In turn, the climate drives many of our critical functions- from the filling of our reservoirs to how our customers use water.

Protecting water quality and the wider environment sits at the heart of what we do. Ensuring the safety, reliability and quality of our drinking water for customers is fundamental. This involves extensive testing, monitoring and risk management across our operations – from source to tap – to make sure our water consistently meets the highest standards while also safeguarding the ecosystems we rely on.

Our work goes beyond compliance; it’s about maintaining trust with our customers, regulators and communities. Water quality challenges are increasingly complex, from climate pressures to environmental expectations, and we play a critical role in leading how these are addressed across our region.

Our environmental approach is built around four fundamental pillars:

Ensuring a sustainable water cycle
Enhancing our natural environment
Making the most of our resources
Mitigating climate change

To strengthen this further, we are looking to appoint a Head of Water Quality & Environment. This is a highly visible leadership role, reporting directly into the Executive and with regular engagement and face time with both the Group Executive and Board.

The role will be central to shaping our strategy, driving performance and ensuring we continue to lead on water quality and environmental stewardship at Severn Trent

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

The Head of Environment & Water Quality is a pivotal, high-impact leadership role responsible for shaping and delivering Severn Trent’s environmental strategy and compliance, alongside leading the drinking water quality agenda across the business.

Combining deep technical expertise with broad leadership, the role oversees c.450 colleagues and holds significant visibility with both the Severn Trent Executive Committee (STEC) and the PLC Board. It is accountable for delivering critical company-wide performance outcomes across Water Quality ODIs, EPA measures, biodiversity, river and bathing water quality, and RNAGs, alongside ownership of c.£80m OPEX and £26m CAPEX.

Environmental Accountabilities:
From an environmental perspective, the role leads the development and delivery of a robust compliance strategy, ensuring environmental requirements are fully embedded within day-to-day operations. This includes maintaining compliance with all permits and legislation, delivering high-quality regulatory submissions, and adapting to evolving regulatory expectations.

Working closely with the SMT and Executive, the role shapes environmental frameworks and acts as the senior representative for the environmental agenda, building trusted relationships with regulators such as the EA, Natural Resources Wales and Natural England. It also provides oversight of compliance across water and wastewater operations, using data-led insight to drive continuous improvement, while leading specialist teams across biodiversity, catchment management and river insights to deliver long-term environmental improvements.

Water Quality Accountabilities:
As the lead for water quality, the role holds ultimate accountability for protecting public health and ensuring water remains safe and of the highest quality for customers. Leading a team of c.240 across water regulation, public health, laboratories and permits, the role focuses on driving performance, strengthening processes and harnessing specialist capability across the function.

It also plays a key role in stakeholder engagement with organisations such as the Drinking Water Inspectorate and Public Health England, and is actively involved in incident management, including participation in an out-of-hours rota to support critical decision-making when required

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

We are looking for a highly experienced and credible leader with deep expertise across the water sector, particularly in water quality, environmental regulation and compliance. You will bring a strong track record of influencing at executive and Board level, alongside building trusted relationships with regulators such as the Environment Agency, Drinking Water Inspectorate and Natural England.

With experience leading large, complex teams, you will be comfortable operating at both a strategic and detailed level, using data and sound judgement to make decisions in high-pressure environments. You will have a proven ability to shape and respond to evolving regulation, drive cultural change around risk and compliance, and deliver complex, group-wide objectives, all while communicating clearly and engaging stakeholders across all levels of the organisation

We welcome people from all walks of life and celebrate individuality as we know diverse minds, experiences and backgrounds help us to learn and better serve our communities.

We seek people who get involved, want to be part of something bigger, and make a difference because they care.

QUALIFICATIONS

Degree in scientific or environmental discipline
Practical experience in the interpretation of water industry regulation and implementation of compliance improvement plans
Desirable for Membership of a professional body (CIWEM, CIWM, ILM)

HOW WE WORK

You'll join a caring culture that collaborates to achieve, grow, and develop. Our employee engagement scores are among the highest globally in energy and utilities. That’s why, we value in-person moments to keep our culture alive but also understand the flexibility working from home can bring. So, you'll usually find us in the office, but working from home is supported, when you need it.

HOW WE’LL REWARD AND CARE FOR YOU

It’s not just a job you’ll get here; you’ll get a career too.

We have a range of benefits that reward and recognise great work and award-winning training to ensure you reach your potential. And we’ll also help you play your part in looking after the environment and the community in which we live.  

Here’s some of our favourites:

31 days holiday + bank holidays (and the ability to buy/sell up to 5 additional days per year)
Annual bonus scheme (of up to 30% of your base salary, dependent on company performance)
Leading pension scheme – we will double your contribution (up to 15% when you contribute 7.5%)
Car Allowance of £6,900 per annum
Private Medical Insurance
Sharesave – the chance to buy Severn Trent Plc shares at a discounted rate
Electric vehicle scheme and retail offers
Family friendly policies
Two volunteering days per year

LET’S GO

We can’t wait to hear from you!

Have an updated CV ready and spare five minutes to apply. We'll let you know the outcome after the closing date, so keep an eye on your phone and emails.