About the role
Are you passionate about tackling big, real-world challenges such as sustainability, customer behaviour change, and responsible use of essential resources?
We have an exciting opportunity to join our Water team as the Water Demand Strategy Manager leading a high-performing team focused on reducing water demand across our whole operating area. This includes helping households and businesses use water more efficiently, shaping long-term demand reduction strategies, and reducing losses from our own infrastructure through leakage.
You’ll lead work ranging from multi-year strategy development and investment planning, through to behaviour-change campaigns and customer-focused initiatives, delivered in partnership with operational teams. With ambitious targets across water efficiency, business demand, and leakage, this role offers the chance to make a visible, lasting impact. Our leakage performance is industry-leading, and we’d love you to help us stay ahead of our targets. You will work closely with our smart metering team as they roll out meter installations across our network providing us and customers with new insight to help identify leaks and opportunities to reduce water consumption.
You’ll be a key member of the Water Service Planning leadership team, influencing decision-making across the wider Water directorate in Essex, Suffolk and the North-East of England. Our work spans everything from water sources through to customers’ taps, offering exposure to a wide variety of strategic, operational and customer-facing challenges.
This role would suit someone who enjoys working across complex systems, collaborating with diverse stakeholders and turning strategic goals into practical, measurable outcomes. We are really excited about the development of innovative approaches and solutions for water efficiency and for leakage; by thinking about our challenges from different perspectives, you will have the opportunity to lead new and industry-leading technological approaches.
About you
You will be an experienced and inclusive leader, with a proven track record of translating strategic objectives into clear delivery plans and motivating teams to achieve them. You may come from the water industry, or from another sector such as energy, infrastructure, transport, sustainability, utilities or customer-focused industries. We’re looking for someone who:
1. Can lead, inspire and develop teams, creating clarity of purpose and a supportive, high‑performance culture
2. Is confident influencing senior stakeholders and working across organisational boundaries
3. Enjoys analysing complex information from multiple sources and producing clear, high‑quality reporting for executive audiences
4. Is curious, adaptable, and keen to learn – technical knowledge of water systems is beneficial but not essential, and we actively support development
An operational background is helpful but not required. The role includes opportunities for participation in a senior out-of-hours standby rota, providing strategic leadership and decision-making support during incidents.
If you’re motivated by purpose, leadership and long-term impact – and want to help shape how a vital service responds to future challenges – we’d love to hear from you.
About us
Here are NWG we strive to make Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) a Great Place to Work, for all. We embrace and value Diversity, Inclusion and Equity and encourage you to bring your full self to work. As an equal opportunity employer we’re committed to having a diverse community represented across our business.
We’re aware that not everyone will have every skill listed in the job description, however if you have some of the skills listed, we'd encourage you to apply
NWG at a glance:
Our purpose at NWG is caring for the essential needs of our communities and environment, now and for generations to come.
We do this by providing reliable and affordable water and wastewater services for our customers.
We make a positive difference by operating efficiently and investing prudently, to maintain a sustainable and resilient business.
Our vision is to be the national leader in the provision of sustainable water and wastewater services. To support us in achieving our vision, we have five core values which are the guiding principles, defining who we are, what we do and how we do it.