Closing Date
2026-03-02
Job Title: Tankering Technician
Location: Falmer (Sussex)
Contract Type: Permanent
Hours: 38
Salary: Up to £45,106 (including shift allowance)
About the role:
Southern Water’s Tankering capability is tasked with using resources efficiently (primarily tankers) to restore and maintain water supply to customers during an interruption to their mains supply.
The main aim of this team is to keep customers in piped supply and minimise the financial, reputational, and regulatory impact of supply interruptions. The driver’s primary purpose is to drive and operate the tankers in order to restore/maintain supply, either during events/incidents or supporting planned works.
To enable a rapid and effective response, the team must remain in a state of readiness: the drivers must maintain their vehicles/equipment and keep them in good working order, and partake in operational planning and readiness testing
What you will be responsible for:
1. Adhere to all regulations (including health and safety) in line with legislative and company-specific requirements
2. • Ensure personal training and licensing is up to date and meets all legislative and company-specific requirements, and identify opportunities for learning and development
3. • Maintain a clean and compliant vehicle, completing routine inspections, reporting defects, executing/arranging repairs as appropriate and documenting actions in line with legislative and company-specific requirements
4. • Ensuring vehicles and ancillary equipment are kept in in a state of operational readiness so that tankers can be deployed immediately in case of an emergency; this includes fuelling, cleaning, disinfection and filling/emptying tankers as needed
5. • Partake in and support, fill and injection point assessments, tanker contingency planning, and exercises to test response capability
6. • Drive and operate HGV tankers to restore/maintain piped supply during emergency response or planned works. This includes driving the tankers in a safe and fuel-efficient way, basic traffic management, roadside sampling and record-keeping, filling the tanker and discharging (into a closed network, reservoirs, or other vessels), reporting escalations, and standing down.
7. Maintain vehicles and ancillary equipment to ensure they are in a state of operational readiness
8. Partake in response preparedness activities (contingency planning, fill/injection point assessments and readiness testing)
9. Drive and operate tankers to restore/maintain piped supply to customers in a safe and compliant manner
10. Maintain records and ensure compliance with all legislative and company specific regulations (driving hours, sampling, health and safety, vehicle maintenance etc)
11. Complete training and professional development activities to meet regulatory requirements and drive high performance
12. Complete admin activities and maintain facilities at depot
What you’ll bring to the role:
13. • Full, valid driving licence (category CE), clean driving licence with no points/convictions desirable, maximum 6 penalty points and no DG, DR, DD or IN convictions
14. • Full Driver CPC qualification • Minimum 1+ years’ experience driving and operating tankers (preferable) or HGVs
15. • Willing to work rotational shift pattern Desirable
16. • Experience of working in the water/wastewater industry
17. • Calm network trained and EUSR Water Hygiene Card (Blue Card) holder
18. • Additional driver training qualifications e.g. advanced driver training/Institute of Advanced Motoring
19. • Strong understanding of vehicle inspection, defect reporting, and maintenance requirements
20. • Customer service experience
21. • Excellent understanding of Transport Law, Working Time Directive, Driver Hour rules
22. • Competent in Microsoft Office suite and use of Google Cloud applications
23. • Strong oral and written communication skills, exchanging information and communicating in a clear and concise way
24. • Ability to manage internal and external stakeholders
25. • Ability to be assertive when dealing with difficult situations and/or people
26. • Ability to prioritise tasks and manage high pressure situations
27. • Ability to deliver to deadlines/targets and manage own work, with strong organisational and time management skills
Southern Water is at the forefront of transforming Britain’s water industry, investing significantly to enhance resilience, sustainability, and service excellence. With £7.8bn planned investment for 2025-30, this is an unparalleled opportunity to join a business committed to delivering a generational shift in the way water services are managed.
You will be joining at a time of significant change, working alongside a highly skilled leadership team with a clear vision for the future. We offer an environment where senior professionals can make a meaningful impact, influence major strategic decisions, and drive long-term value creation
"Our mission is to protect and enhance life through water—and we need passionate people to help us achieve it. If you’re inspired by our purpose and believe you can contribute, apply today. You don’t need to meet every criterion; what matters most is your drive to make a difference."
If this role isn’t quite what you’re looking for but are keen to be contacted about opportunities at Southern Water, you can register your details here: Introduce Yourself (myworkdaysite.com- Introduce Yourself)
Our Commitment to Diversity
We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or any other protected characteristic. If you need reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.