Chair: Independent Customer Challenge Group for the Wessex Water region
Remuneration: £26k per annum
Time Commitment: 12-15 days per year
Moon Executive Search is delighted to be the retained search partner for the Customer Challenge Group for the Wessex Water region, bringing their Independent Chair role to the market.
The customer challenge group (CCG) is an independent body that plays a vital and key role in ensuring the interests and needs of Wessex Water’s customers are represented in its business plan and delivery. It comprises members from various local and national organisations representing the interests of household and business customers including CCW, Age UK, Citizens Advice and the Environment Agency.
The CCG will play a key role in the monitoring and reporting of Wessex Water’s delivery of its business plan for 2025-30. It also has a pivotal role to play in helping to develop the next 5-year Business Plan to cover 2030-2035, to make sure it meets the needs of Wessex Water’s customers.
The CCG has a key role to:
i. monitor and report on Wessex Water’s delivery of all aspects of the final regulatory settlement from the perspective of its customers, including scrutinising and assessing its delivery against its outcomes and measures of success
ii. provide advice and challenge the company on policy areas such as customer engagement, customer service, affordability, vulnerability, and tariffs. This extends to preparation for the next price review, particularly to ensure customers’ views feed into the plan.
We are now seeking expressions of interest for the appointment of Chair of the CCG for the next five years.
The Independent Water Commission recently set out a series of recommendations for change across the sector which Government are currently considering. There are also changes to the consumer engagement landscape with Ofwat introducing a new rule into water companies’ licences to ensure consumers are involved in decision making, and with CCW setting up new consumer panels to hold water companies to account. Given this, the CCG will need to be flexible in its approach and ready to adapt to any changes in its scope and ways of working.
We are interested to talk to experienced Chairs and Non-Executives who bring a wide range of opinions together at meetings. Prospective candidates must be able to command respect, gather views, draw conclusions and keep on track with the agenda. They must demonstrate the ability to challenge the business plan and decision-making appropriately and to utilise a relevant and wide-ranging network of contacts in Wessex Water’s geographic region.
The role of Chair is both a strategic and hands-on role so, for example, the CCG has significant interaction with Ofwat and CCW, with the Chair attending meetings of Challenge Group Chairs across the sector. We are, therefore, seeking candidates who bring gravitas and proven leadership experience, with a track record of representing customers’ views. Experience of representing a wide range of stakeholders’ views with well-developed presentation skills and a knowledge of how to manage communication with the Wessex Water Board and relevant regulators and Government departments will also be critical to success.
Prospective candidates should bring experience gained from a combination of governance, stakeholder engagement, and consumer advocacy environments, preferably where consumer engagement is particularly emphasised. Key traits we will be seeking include independence, skilled communication and consumer empathy.
For further details, please contact Simon Quinn or Vanessa Moon quoting Ref: JO2670.
The closing date for applications will be Midnight, Friday 5th December 2025.
NB: All direct applications received by Wessex Water CCG will be forwarded to Moon Executive Search.