Closing Date
2025-09-19
Job Title: Storm Overflow Engagement Officer
Location: This is a hybrid role operating our region (for these reasons, we can only accept applications from people who hold a full, clean driving license and use of a vehicle).
Contract Type: Permanent
Hours: 37 hours per week
Salary: circa £38,000
Storm overflows are very provocative and not acceptable to our customers and stakeholders. We want to lead the charge in resolving the current situation. That’s where our Clean Rivers & Seas Task Force comes in, implementing pioneering and industry-leading solutions to reduce spills and reliance on overflows whilst also enhancing the environment for our communities.
Over the past two years, we’ve delivered a £45million Task Force programme, trialling innovative solutions to reduce storm overflow releases.
Taking all of our learnings and findings during our Task Force programme, we’re now delivering our storm overflow reduction plan, which will see £1.5billion spent over next 10 years on sustainable solutions to help reduce storm overflow releases into our precious rivers and seas.
While we’re working hard to deliver the improvements our customers expect and deserve, we can’t do this alone. We are now expanding the team so we can continue to work in partnership with stakeholders, while also engaging with our communities in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Job Overview
This role supports the team to build awareness of the Clean Rivers and Sea Task Force’s key activities, as well as assist educating the public surrounding the debate and challenges associated with storm overflows.
Partnership and community engagement is critical to the Task Force’s mission to reduce storm overflows, and this role will facilitate engagement activities and opportunities to allow the team to communicate, listen and partner with customers and stakeholders.
This is an exciting opportunity where no two weeks will be the same. You will take customers on site tours, update colleagues when they join Southern Water, facilitate community drop-in events and help plan our strategic engagement programme across our region.
1. Set up and attend meetings, site tours, events with customers and stakeholders, and support the running of customer-drop ins and similar activities carried out by the Task Force.
2. Respond to community requests for engagement, talks, further information about Southern Water’s activities to reduce storm overflows.
3. Help develop our exciting engagement programme, so we can educate and inform the communities we serve
4. provide administrative support to track engagement activities and upcoming meetings, tours, events. Ensuring that engagement keeps improving and keeps aligned with key messaging.
About You
5. Confident speaking in front of a large, varied audience
6. Passionate about making a difference in your local community
7. Experience of producing content for different needs/audiences
8. Experience of managing competing agendas, schedules and priorities
9. Excellent organisational skills
10. Strong written and verbal communication skills
11. Empathy and caring nature towards customers, stakeholders and colleagues
This is a unique opportunity to join a high performing and highly engaged team who are delivering a large innovative programme in partnership using sustainable and nature-based approaches to reduce the use of storm overflows and improve the environment. We know that over-use of storm overflows is a problem, so we are excited to invite you to be part of the solution!
Package
This role will be full time Monday to Friday with a hybrid approach to working across our region, a central office and home. We are offering a salary of circa £38,000 as well as other benefits including:
12. Generous pension up to 11% company contribution
13. 25 days annual leave
14. Life assurance equal to 4x salary
15. Salary sacrifice electric car scheme (after 6 months service)
16. Health Cash Plan
17. Full funded eye tests
18. Two paid volunteering days a year
19. Occupational health service
20. Discounts with over 800 popular retailers
21. Digital GP service
22. Study support may be available for job-related qualifications
23. Competitive maternity leave and flexible return to work options
24. Cycle to work scheme
Join our Clean Rivers & Seas Task Force and see how far your career could progress with a company committed to career progression, training and development opportunities, our customers and the environment.
Does this opportunity excite you but you’re not 100% sure if you meet all the requirements for the role? Or are you concerned that ‘normal’ office hours aren’t possible given your personal circumstances? Whilst we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we’ll try to find a practical solution. So why not engage with us and find out more about this role?
Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, because delivering water for life is our core purpose. To achieve this, we need 24/7 support in place to resolve incidents quickly and efficiently. All our employees understand the importance of out-of-hours incident support – because when problems appear, fixing them is our top priority. That’s why our people join together and support when and however needed to make sure our customers get the service they deserve. Joining the Southern Water family means you’ll become part of our incident support team. During your interview, your manager will speak to you about any incident support rotas that apply to your position.
Privacy Statement:
Please note: If you are an existing Southern Water employee, you will need to confirm within your application that your Manager is aware of your application.
All applicants must be eligible to live and work in the UK. You will need to provide evidence of eligibility (e.g. a passport or long birth certificate and proof of NI) and current proof of address (dated within the last 3 months), will be required as part of the recruitment process. If you do not meet these criteria, your application will not be considered.
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