Closing Date
2026-03-22
Job Title: Head of Process & Automation
Location: Durrington, hybrid working
Contract Type: Permanent
Hours: 37 per week
Salary: to be discussed at screening stage
About the role
Southern Water is undergoing a major organisational transformation simplifying how the business operates, strengthening enterprise process ownership, and scaling automation to unlock value.
As the Head of Process & Automation, you will set the strategic direction for how processes are designed, governed, and continuously improved, while also leading the adoption of intelligent automation technologies across the organisation.
You will lead two business‑critical strategic capabilities:
1. Process Centre of Excellence (Process CoE) process governance, performance, optimisation, and continuous improvement.
2. Automation Centre of Excellence (Automation CoE) RPA, BPA, low‑code, AI‑enabled workflows, and automation delivery at scale.
This is a pivotal role in the Digital & Transformation directorate, reporting to the Director of Data, AI & Automation, with responsibility for enterprise process strategy, automation delivery, capability building, and measurable benefits realisation.
What you will be responsible for:
3. Defining and leading the enterprise strategy for process excellence and intelligent automation.
4. Establishing governance, standards, methodologies and KPIs through the Process CoE.
5. Leading end‑to‑end process discovery, mapping, simplification, optimisation, and performance tracking.
6. Setting the automation vision and roadmap across RPA, BPA, workflow, low‑code and AI‑enabled technologies.
7. Overseeing the identification, prioritisation, design, development, deployment, and monitoring of automations.
8. Ensuring robust operating models for delivery, production support, incident management and lifecycle governance.
9. Driving enterprise‑wide collaboration and influencing senior stakeholders on process and automation priorities.
Additional requirements specific to the role
10. Minimum 2 days onsite per week (Durrington).
11. Visit operational sites 4 times per year.
12. Lead workforce change linked to automation (redeployment, upskilling, structural impacts).
13. Govern compliance, audit, security, and risk considerations for automated processes.
What you’ll bring to the role
Essential
14. Minimum 10 years’ experience in process improvement, automation, or digital transformation.
15. Minimum 5 years in senior leadership roles.
16. Strong track record delivering large‑scale process optimisation and automation initiatives.
17. Deep expertise in process governance, process design, BPMN/UML, optimisation, and performance management.
18. Experience leading multi‑disciplinary teams and partner ecosystems.
19. Excellent communication, leadership presence, and stakeholder‑influence skills.
Desirable
20. Master’s degree (Business, Digital, Engineering or similar).
21. Lean Six Sigma (Green/Black Belt), BPM, Prosci, Agile, or RPA certifications.
22. Experience with automation platforms (Power Automate, BluePrism, UiPath) and AI‑enabled workflow technologies.
23. Utility sector experience.
24. Experience with organisational change and capability development.
25. Familiarity with emerging technologies (AI, machine learning, IoT).
At Southern Water, we believe diverse perspectives drive innovation. If you’re passionate about making a positive impact and think you can bring value to our team, we’d love to hear from you—even if you don’t tick every box. Your unique skills and experiences could be exactly what we need.
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.
Additional information:
In line with Southern Water’s security requirements, successful candidates will be required to provide evidence of their identity, eligibility to work in the UK, criminal record
check (DBS) and verification of their employment and/or education history for the past three years.
Appointment to this role is subject to the successful completion of all pre-employment checks, including security vetting.
Please note that if a candidate does not meet the required security standards or fails to pass the vetting process, Southern Water reserves the right to withdraw the offer of employment. Some positions may also require higher levels of security vetting, which may involve providing additional documentation.
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