Regulatory Enforcement Advisor

This is an exciting opportunity for an individual to contribute to Thames Water’s mitigation of enforcement risk arising from non-compliances against an environmental permit conditions and/or pollution incidents.

You will be part of a team coordinating and facilitating the business’s enforcement response. This includes corresponding with the Environment Agency (EA) across a variety of communication mediums. This high-profile role will involve working with our legal team at Eversheds Sutherland (ES), senior leadership and the EA. As a result, you will gain exposure across the business at all levels and contribute towards the company's wider environmental compliance function.

What you’ll be doing as a Regulatory Enforcement Advisor

• You will support Thames Water in navigating Environment Agency (EA) criminal investigations by taking on a coordination and facilitation role, ensuring regulatory deadlines are consistently met. This includes reviewing the factual basis of formal information requests and alleged offences. Where required, you will liaise with Environmental Services (ES) and the EA to clarify any discrepancies.
• Working closely with a wide range of internal stakeholders, you will gather and assess relevant information, providing assurance that mitigation measures and actions are robust. You will help ensure that these measures effectively reduce the risk of recurrence, satisfy EA expectations, and appropriately manage enforcement and reputational risk while meeting regulatory obligations and commitments.
• You will apply the Environment Agency’s Enforcement and Sanctions Policy in your day-to-day work, ensuring responses and actions align with regulatory expectations.
• You will routinely chair and facilitate meetings with information providers, ensuring you are well-prepared and organised. You will clearly communicate meeting objectives in advance and ensure that actions are agreed, owned, and effectively tracked through to completion.
• You will have excellent written communication skills, with the ability to produce high-quality, clear, and professional documentation.

Base location: Hybrid- Clearwater Court, Vastern Rd, Reading RG1 8DB.

Requirements for the role: Occasional Travel to sites

Working hours: 36 hours, Monday-Friday.

What you should bring to the role

• Demonstrable experience of excellent interpersonal and organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple regulatory deadlines and coordinate stakeholder input. You will effectively prioritise your workload while contributing to the achievement of team service level agreements.

• Confident in communicating with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders on a day-to-day basis, using a variety of communication channels. Able to provide constructive professional challenge to support robust assurance and informed decision-making.

• Ability to produce clear, concise reports, interpret both quantitative and qualitative data, and communicate insights in a way that is accessible and easily understood by non-specialist audiences.
• Awareness of the Environment Agency’s Common Incident Classification Scheme (CICS), Compliance Classification Scheme (CCS), WIRI, and Enforcement and Sanctions Policy, with the ability to apply these frameworks in a practical regulatory context.
• A good working knowledge of Microsoft Office and SharePoint.
• An Environmental Science, Legal, or Investigative degree (or equivalent qualification) would be advantageous.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary of up to £50,000 per annum, depending on experience.
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (plus bank holidays)
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets.
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks (Please note different T&Cs apply if on secondment)
 
Who are we?
We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water
Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else, just let us know. We’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.