Strategic Planner - Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans

Hello! Thanks for stopping by. Let us tell you about all the great reasons to join us here at Yorkshire Water:

• We offer a competitive salary, depending on experience £39,605 - £49,506 (pending 4.5% increase from April 2025)
• Annual incentive related bonus (£1000 maximum bonus opportunity for the performance year)
• Attractive pension scheme (Currently up to 10% company contribution, which will increase to 12% from April 2025)
• Development opportunities in line with the Strategic Planner progression plan
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays - plus an extra wellness day!
• Life assurance cover of 4 times pensionable salary
• A great benefits package - choose from health cash plan scheme, critical illness insurance, dental insurance, life assurance flex and partner cover.
• Retail savings scheme
• Online GP service, cycle to work scheme, gym membership discounts and many more!

Location: Bradford / Hybrid Working (notionally 2-3 days in the office per week. This could be more when collaborative efforts, training or statutory deadlines are required)

Work type: This is a permanent opportunity, working full time, 37 hours per week, within our working window of 8:00am-6:00pm, Monday- Friday

We have two exciting opportunities for Strategic Planners to join the Drainage and Wastewater Plan (DWMP) team within our Strategy & Regulation function at Yorkshire Water and be a part of helping Yorkshire Water to provide the best service to our customers. Could this be you?

What we do:

Everyone has an idea of what a water company does. Here in Yorkshire, we make sure that over 5.4 million people living in the region and the millions of people who visit our region each year, can rely on our services, and have clean and safe drinking water on tap and that their wastewater is taken away. But for us, it's so much more than this.

We look after communities, protect the environment, and plan to look after Yorkshire's water, today, tomorrow 24/7, 365 days a year. We provide essential water and wastewater services to every corner of the Yorkshire region, and play a key role in the region's health, wellbeing, and prosperity.

New environmental legislation, unprecedented levels of investment and changing expectations from customers means that this is an exciting time to discover opportunities within the water industry.

Working within the DWMP Team, the Strategic Planner will work on our DWMP, our 25-year, long-term investment strategy for our wastewater infrastructure. They will support in assessing and developing an evidence base for future investment requirements linked to climate change, population growth and urban creep. They will also consider the asset health, the resilience of our assets alongside overall potential environmental impacts. You will work alongside our Hydraulic Modelling and Environmental Modelling teams within the Drainage and Wastewater function on an exciting opportunity to shape future customer and environmental investment.

Where you fit in:

As DWMP Strategic Planner you will be a key member of the DWMP team and be responsible for key areas of the DWMP. You will understand current and potential future risks related to the drainage network and wastewater infrastructure, both at an asset and system level.

• Within the team, you will support in assessing current and future performance of our wastewater infrastructure, including:
• Flooding (internal and external)
• Storm overflow performance
• Treatment works compliance
• Pollution events
• Impacts to good ecological and chemical status of our watercourses
• Impacts to bathing water quality
• You will take a holistic view to these risks incorporating future climate change, population growth and urban creep scenarios, as well as considering asset health and operational performance.
• You will be able to develop, analyse and run various assessments of our asset performance, including using our hydraulic and environmental models to ensure a robust understanding of the wastewater network and treatment processes. You will also work closely with our consultants on these processes.
• You will use the outputs of these assessments to identify both tactical and strategic interventions and catchment plans to address any deficiencies. You must be able to quantify and articulate risk around multiple complex parameters using information developed and collated during the DWMP process.
• You will work closely with both regulators and other stakeholders to understand risk across the wider drainage community and identify partnership opportunities and to be able to develop nature-based/blue-green solutions to issues identified.

You will:

• Lead and develop detailed DWMP methodologies and work on the technical delivery of these with partners.
• Generate, analyse and relay data from hydraulic network models, treatment models, asset deterioration and performance models alongside being able to identify and manage the risks of model/data confidence.
• Undertake an annual review of the DWMP risks, identify where there has been a material change to this and promote further analysis where required.
• Support, understand and integrate plans produced by external stakeholders/regulators including Flood Risk Management Plans into our DWMP production. This will include working closely with other departments including the Strategic Partnerships team to proactively identify areas of multi-agency risk.
• Undertake scenario modelling and identify/promote solutions (including at a catchment level) for future planning (PR29 & Long-Term Delivery Strategies)
• Lead within the audit and assurance process to ensure the DWMP is produced to a high standard and help achieve board assurance.
• Act as representative on national groups e.g. Task and Finish Groups to influence national methodologies for future planning.
• Be a subject matter expert on the DWMP and ensure the outputs of the DWMP are accessible and easy to understand for stakeholders and customers both internally and externally.
• What skills & qualifications you will need:
• Be educated to at least degree level in a related discipline and working towards or be a member of either CIWEM, ICE or another professional body.
• Experience in wastewater modelling and/or treatment processes
• An ability to manage, interrogate and visualise large complex datasets using appropriate software.
• Previous experience in undertaking complex risk analysis, verification and optioneering to design and quantify future strategic investment needs.
• Able to assess and audit data to ensure that the outputs are fit for the purpose
• Strong communication skills, written and verbal and excellent influencing/networking skills
• Able to plan, lead and manage projects with minimal supervision.
• Able to respond to technical scrutiny from wider stakeholders and where required technically challenge and influence others.

You will also benefit from having:

• A knowledge of the current regulatory and legislative environment around the water industry and wider drainage community
• A knowledge of hydrology and/or river modelling
• 2D flood routing analysis

Do we sound like your cup of tea?

If you have a desire to work within the drainage and wastewater planning arena, support delivery our DWMP and want to help us deliver exceptional service for our customers whilst protecting the environment, then apply today to find out what a career with Yorkshire Water can offer for you.

Closing Date:   16th March

Recruitment Process: Interviews W/C 31st March

If successful for the role, you will be required to undergo pre-employment checks that will include a Basic Disclosure Check, carried out through a Third-Party Company, prior to commencing employment. Depending on the role, you may also be required to go through the security vetting process for either a Counter Terrorist Check or Security Check clearance.

All our roles are subject to a medical questionnaire, and further medicals when required.

We are committed to removing barriers and ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to everyone. We offer a range of adjustments to make your application experience as comfortable and straightforward as possible.

If you have an accessibility need, disability, or condition that requires changes to the recruitment process, please include this information in your application. We will then discuss any reasonable adjustments required.

Kelda Group reserve the right to close this position before the published closing date, should the need occur. We therefore advise that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible.