Together we are Trusted to Serve Scotland.
As the guardian of Scotland’s water supply, managing our water resources for the people of Scotland is vital.
Our work keeps Scotland’s water flowing, from the sources to the taps all year round. The Water Resources Hydrology Team is a pan Scotland team, responsible for providing a hydrological and drought planning service to ensure drought resilience whilst protecting the environment and supporting a flourishing Scotland.
We are recruiting for a Service Planner to join our team to provide the essential data management, analysis and reporting activities that underpin the functioning of the team.
You will be joining a welcoming, supportive and dedicated team of specialists –a team manager, 4 hydrologists, 2 hydrogeologists and 2 drought plannerswho all share a commitment to managing Scotland’s most precious resource.
What you’ll do
As a Service Planner in the Water Resources Hydrology team, you will have a key role in providing data management, analysis and reporting to support all areas of the team.
You will be responsible forproducing and maintaining SW’s weekly Water Resource status report, including associated hydrological data monitoring and reporting. This will also include the analysis and assessment of reservoir level telemetry data.
You will manage our catchmentapplications process which provides risk assessment of thewater resources impact of proposedthird partyland use changes within SW’s water supply catchments (eg forestry, hydro-generation, windfarms, pylons).
You will be responsible for the ongoing management and maintenance of key Water Resource datasets, monitoring and reporting tools, including GISand groundwaterdata.
You will contribute to thehydrological modelling and forecasting activities within the team, such as usingHysim-Aquatormodels to monitor and assess drought risk and support drought planning response.You will alsorunreservoir storage forecast models required for ongoing reservoir safety projects.
When required, you will assistdrought planners during drought incidents to facilitate the timely deployment of drought plan options.
There will also be a responsibility to support the greater Water Resource & Strategy team in delivering benefits through the use of CoPilot.
What you will bring
Educated to degree level in a relevant scientific, environmentalor engineering subject, but experience in a relevant water related field would also be valuable.
We are looking for a candidate who has strong data management and analytical skills, and the ability to display initiative and innovation toimprove current processes.
Youshould be capable of working independently on complex data analysis and reporting tasks, but also must be a strong team player, who can work well with others to achieve common goals. Excellent organisational skills with the ability to plan and prioritise yourwork are essential. You will need excellent IT, analytical and writing skills, as well the ability to communicate and work collaboratively with colleagues and external stakeholders.
Essential skills requiredfor the role includea high proficiency in Excel and a good knowledge of other MS Office tools, including the ability to learn to use bespoke SW applications for data interrogation/analysis. Experience usingGIS applications is required, and preferably also experience of Power BI and R or Python coding languages. Experience and awareness of hydrological modelling packages (e.g. Hysim–Aquator, GR6J, QUBE) is desirable, but not essential as training will be provided.
Looking out for you
While the work we do is important, we know it’s not the only thing that matters. That’s why we make sure you have everything you need to find a good work-life balance.
This role has some weekend working and standby requirements. But you’ll get plenty of time to recharge with 38 days of holiday every year (including public holidays). And you can even buy five more if you need a little extra time. You can also take time off to volunteer in your community.
When it comes to major life events we have family-friendly policies around adoption, maternity, and parental leave. And for the everyday? We embrace flexible working.
For your future, there’s our pension (the ‘know-what-you’ll-get-when-you-retire’ kind), and life assurance.
As for some nice extras? You can expect an annual company bonus. Not to mention access to SW Splash – handy rewards that can save you money on holidays, bills, and shopping.
The not-so-small print
This role will be a Grade 6. If you’re new to Scottish Water, you’ll join us on a starting salary of £33,560. Performance-driven pay progression will then allow you to move through the range to a maximum of £44,140.
Job offers at Scottish Water are conditional, and will be confirmed on completion of our pre-employment screening, e.g. referencing, criminal record checks, license checks, etc. These checks are conducted on our behalf by a third party. Don’t worry - we’ll ask your permission before starting these checks.
If you’re interested in this role – or know someone else who might be - we’ll be accepting applications until the 14th July 2025.
A few final things worth knowing…
Research shows that some people avoid applying for jobs unless they can meet every single criteria. If you’re interested in this job, but don’t tick all the boxes, apply anyway! We hardly ever hire people who can do every part of a job from Day One. Everyone has a learning curve. So don’t rule yourself out!
Let us know if there are any changes we can make to our recruitment process to help you perform at your best. Lots of our people have disabilities or neurodiverse conditions (including some of our recruiters!). We're also aware that some people might be experiencing temporary challenges because of life events, like menopause. We’re very used to making adjustments, so please don’t be afraid to ask.
As part of our commitment to developing a flourishing Scotland, it’s important that all our employees are Scottish taxpayers. If you join us, your home address will need to be in Scotland. If you don’t already live here, you'll need to commit to moving here within your first three months.
Finally (finally!), candidates who haven’t submitted an application in the last 12 months will have their records removed from our recruitment database. You won’t need to do anything. Your data will be automatically deleted.