Job description:
People Graduate
* Starting salary:
£32,000, rising to £37,000 by end of year 2
* Extras: £2,000 signing bonus, annual bonus, 25 days holiday + bank holidays + wellness day
* Pension: Up to 12% company contribution
* Life assurance: 4x pensionable salary
* Permanent substantive role offer upon completion of programme subject to performance
* Flexible Benefits Package
* Includes health cash plan, critical illness and dental insurance, life assurance flex (with partner cover), retail discounts, online GP access, cycle-to-work scheme, gym membership savings, and more.
Location: West Yorkshire with requirement for flexible travel across Yorkshire & Humber.
Work type: 37 hours per week between a working window of 8:00am-6:00pm Monday – Friday
Why Yorkshire Water?
Yorkshire Water delivers essential water and wastewater services to over 5.4 million people. But we're more than taps and toilets—we protect the environment, support communities, and help shape Yorkshire's future.
From tackling climate change to planning for droughts and floods, we're solving some of the biggest challenges facing our region and we need talented graduates to help us do it.
Your Graduate Programme
Our two-year programme offers you five placements across your allocated business area, complemented by a choice of placements to suit your personal development needs in core functions such as Finance, Health & Safety, People, and Procurement, enabling you to have a balanced understanding of the business. You'll gain hands-on experience, technical and leadership training, and support from mentors, managers, graduate alumni, and our Early in Careers team to support you from the day you make the decision to join us.
By the end of the scheme, you'll be ready to step into a permanent role and make a lasting impact.
Your Team
Here at Yorkshire Water our People graduate programme is designed to develop our future leaders of the People function by providing immersive experience across the core disciplines of the HR function. We are looking for highly motivated graduates to join our People team. This unique opportunity is designed for individuals who are passionate about building a career in Human Resources and eager to gain comprehensive exposure to various areas within a HR function through our Rotational Programme.
Over the course of 2 years, you will rotate through the core principles of the employee lifecycle giving you exposure to and experience in areas such as Talent Acquisition, Learning & Development, Compensation & Benefits, People Transformation Projects, Employee Relations, Business Partnering, Internal Communications & Engagement and People Services. Each rotation will provide you with hands-on experience, mentorship from seasoned functional professionals, and the chance to contribute to impactful projects. You will develop a deep understanding of HR best practices, employment law, organisational culture & inclusivity, and strategic workforce planning.
The programme includes structured training & development, networking opportunities, and regular feedback to support your professional growth. You'll work closely with the business areas, visiting our sites and gaining deep insight into how people strategies fuel performance and growth. Every conversation, every challenge, and every collaboration will help you build the skills and confidence to become a trusted advisor — someone who doesn't just support the business but helps shape its future.
This is an excellent opportunity for recent graduates or early-career professionals who are eager to learn, adapt, and make a difference in the world of the Employee Lifecyle.
Your Role:
As a Graduate – in our People Team, you will get exposure to :
* Business partnering and working with senior management
* Managing employee relations cases, exposure to Trade Unions and our People policies and their effective implementation
* Building a culture of performance through diversity and inclusion practices
* Identifying attraction, talent and recruitment practices and processes
* Supporting on training, onboarding, leadership learning & development solutions and frameworks
* Contribute to compensation and benefits administration and projects
* Maintain and support on People services activities and documentation
* Involvement in Internal communication and engagement activities
* Collaborate on our People Transformation projects and process improvements
What we're looking for
* A minimum 2:1 Bachelor's degree in a relevant subject (some roles may accept related disciplines).
* Enthusiasm, curiosity, and a drive to succeed.
* A willingness to learn and adapt in a fast-changing industry.
* Strong interest in pursuing a career in HR
* Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
* Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment
* UK Driving Licence and access to own vehicle
Closing date: 9th November 2025
Assessment Centres: between 17th November 2025 to 5th December 2025
Start date: 14th September 2026
We're proud to serve Yorkshire and are committed to building a diverse, inclusive workforce that reflects our communities. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds.
Successful candidates will undergo pre-employment checks, including a Basic Disclosure via a third-party provider. Some roles may also require Counter Terrorist or Security Check clearance.
Kelda Group reserve the right to close applications early, so we recommend applying as soon as possible