Closing Date
2025-07-28
Job Title: Rising Main HIT Lead
Location: We offer a hybrid approach to working with 2–3 days in the office and 2–3 days working from home each week. Base location can be any of our core regional offices: Chatham, Otterbourne, Worthing or Falmer. Occasionally travel to sites may be required.
Contract Type: Permanent
Hours: 37 hours per week, Monday – Friday
Salary: We are offering a competitive salary commensurate with experience, alongside a £400 monthly car allowance and up to 10% bonus.
Job Overview
Due to an internal promotion, we are pleased to be recruiting for a Rising Main HIT Lead—a pivotal leadership role responsible for delivering one of our most critical engineering programmes. This role will oversee the performance, renewal, and resilience of our wastewater rising mains ensuring safe, reliable, and environmentally compliant wastewater transport across our network.
Reporting to the Head of Wastewater Networks, you will lead a team of 6 High Impact Team Project Engineers through all stages of delivery—from investigation and design to commissioning and long-term maintenance. They are based across our whole region.
Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:
1. Leading the delivery of a multi-million-pound annual portfolio of capital projects focused on rising mains renewals and performance optimisation.
2. Managing multidisciplinary teams to ensure effective collaboration between engineering, operations, and external contractors.
3. Driving proactive intervention strategies to extend asset life, reduce pollution incidents, and minimise reactive interventions.
4. Supporting long-term planning, ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements and strategic service goals.
5. Ensuring robust governance, performance reporting, financial forecasting, and regulatory compliance.
6. Embedding a culture of safety, accountability, continuous improvement, and technical excellence.
7. Providing hands-on mentorship and leadership to develop a high-performing engineering team.
About You
We’re looking for a strategic and technically strong leader with proven experience in infrastructure programme delivery—ideally in the water or utilities sector.
You’ll have experience managing complex capital programmes, leading high-performing teams, and collaborating across technical and operational functions. Your understanding of wastewater systems, regulatory frameworks, and asset management principles will be essential in driving long-term performance and resilience.
Qualifications and experience that would set you apart:
8. Chartered Engineer status or equivalent.
9. Experience delivering infrastructure or utility-based projects.
10. Familiarity with NEC contracts and APM project methodologies.
11. Strong understanding of H&S, environmental, and compliance standards.
12. Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
13. Ability to lead through influence, challenge constructively, and inspire continuous improvement.
Package
This role is offered full-time with hybrid working flexibility. Base location can be any of our key regional offices: Chatham, Otterbourne, Worthing or Falmer.
We are offering a salary commensurate with experience plus:
14. Company and performance-related bonus
15. Single cover private medical insurance
16. Generous pension scheme (up to 11% employer contribution)
17. Life assurance – 4x annual salary
18. Health benefits through our Cash Plan
19. 25 days holiday per year
20. Two paid community volunteering days per year
21. Study support for job-relevant qualifications
22. Flexible return-to-work options post-maternity
23. Access to savings and discounts across many retailers
Why Southern Water?
At Southern Water, we’re investing £7.8bn from 2025–2030 to build a more resilient, environmentally sustainable water network. You’ll be joining at a time of major transformation, with the opportunity to shape the future of wastewater performance in our region.
We foster a culture of inclusion, innovation, and development. Whether you're looking to lead impactful change or take your career to the next level, Southern Water offers the platform and support to help you thrive.
This isn’t just a job—it’s a chance to drive lasting impact on public health, the environment, and the communities we serve.
Apply now and be part of a team leading change across the water industry.