About the job

Job summary

We are Ofwat (The Water Services Regulation Authority) - a non-ministerial government department. 

We regulate the water sector in England and Wales. Our role is to help the sector build trust and confidence with customers, the environment and wider society: keeping water flowing, bills affordable and helping ensure the health of our rivers and waterways.  We push hard to improve day-to-day water company performance for customers, including on leakage, sewer flooding and customer service. We drive the sector to take a longer-term view and to take steps now to protect and enhance the environment, using digital and data innovations and making sure our water supplies are secure for future generations.  

Our SAILOR values underpin everything we do. They help us to deliver and maintain an inclusive culture where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work. And they’ve made a difference.  In our latest people survey 92% of our people said they are treated with respect by the people they work with. We’re forward-thinking, creative, innovative, and ambitious. We constantly push the boundaries and embrace new ways of working. With us, your work matters, your voice is heard, and your impact is felt. Ours is a culture of trust, flexibility, autonomy, collaboration, and innovation. We all want positive change for water customers, the environment, and the future of water.

You can find out more about Ofwat, our Values and our Framework for Success in the attached Information for Candidates Pack. 

The Corporate Enablers Directorate

We are looking for a Director of People and Culture to join our People Hub Team.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, this role will sit within the Corporate Enablers Directorate as part of the management team working in collaboration with Director of Finance & Procurement and Director of IT & Workplace Services.

The directorate provides professional support services (Finance, Procurement, People, IT and Workplace Services) that enable Ofwat to be a highly performing organisation that is effective, efficient, and continually improving. Corporate Enablers' impact is felt every day, as they ensure Ofwat's people have the right capabilities, tools, and culture to deliver for customers, society, and the environment.

Job description

This is an exciting and challenging role in an organisation that has a clear, purposeful direction, an appetite for creativity in the People agenda and a desire to move at pace to achieve its goals.

You will be strategic, and capable of being hands on in equal measure. We are a small organisation of c300 people with a big role and national impact and this requires systems thinking and adaptive leadership. You will be inquisitive and confident to explore and adopt innovative approaches through our people strategy themes and our people focused HR model.

We are and we want to continue to be a highly people centred organisation. We have a small core People Hub team (comprising of permanent, fixed term and interim members) that requires an aspirational senior leader who has the ability to work at breadth and depth in what is an environment as interesting and complex as bigger organisations.

In this role, you will be Head of Profession and will work with our Chief Operating Officer to provide thought leadership in this space. You will also work alongside our wider leadership team to make sure that the people agenda is informing and being informed by our organisational goals, change agenda, IT strategy and resourcing approach on an ongoing basis.

Key Deliverables:

In this role you will be expected to:

• Perform the role of Head of Profession and subject matter expert across Ofwat with primary responsibility for delivery of Ofwat’s People strategy.
• Work closely with the Chief Operating Officer, Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and the Extended Leadership Team (ELT) to play a leading role in the development of Ofwat’s ways of working, increasing levels of employee engagement, and creating a high performing culture.
• Develop, nurture and maintain excellent stakeholder relationships, including developing external networks with other regulators and the wider civil service.
• Think and plan strategically, adopt regular horizon scanning and drive continuous improvement and innovation ensuring Ofwat remains a high performing and a great place to be.
• Maintain and evolve an inclusive culture within the organisation, acting as a strong ambassador and role model of Ofwat’s SAILOR values. You will play a key role in our organisational EDI agenda.
• Continue to develop Ofwat's people agenda to ensure that Ofwat has the right skills, capabilities and culture, and a future operating model which can meet its current and future priorities and challenges.
• Continuously improve the People services, ultimately ensuring that the day-to-day HR/OD activities and processes operate effectively and efficiently, using technology to enable an agile and digital HR offering.
• Demonstrate strong influencing skills and constructive and effective challenge in advising our People Committee, SLT and Board on strategic and operational people issues, projects, risks and opportunities for Ofwat.
• Continue to develop a positive and productive climate of employee and industrial relations that encourages openness and transparency, effective communication and collaborative working.

Person specification

To be successful in this role you will need the below essential attributes, experience, skills and knowledge.

Essential Experience, Skills and Knowledge 

• Significant experience of leading a people function in an organisation which is going through periods of change, and developing and implementing people strategies, policies and procedures that meet the organisation’s objectives and increase employee engagement and satisfaction.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, influencing and communication skills and confidence to represent Ofwat internally and externally.
• Extensive experience of working with and advising senior leadership teams to develop and enhance an organisation's culture.
• Excellent organisation and leadership skills including the management, leadership and development of people.
• Ability to translate strategic issues into deliverables whilst working at pace, taking initiative and action to make changes that have a positive difference on the organisation.
• Experience of strategic management of complex employee and industrial relations issues as well as building effective relationships with trade unions/employee representatives
• An inclusive leadership style which inspires, motivates, and promotes collaboration to develop high performing teams, and proactive champion of SAILOR values, creativity, continuous improvement, EDI and new ways of working and a strong people centric organisation culture.

Attributes

Attributes as per Ofwat’s Framework for Success for Director Role. You can read more about attributes here.

• You are a champion and leader of change.
• You create clarity.
• You are an adaptable thinker.
• You deliver outcomes.
• You build the team.

Benefits

Why you should Join Ofwat:

We actively encourage autonomy, collaboration and innovation and we have a unique culture fostered by trust, flexibility and respect. We strive to ensure our people feel connected and valued, where their voice matters. You will be provided with the space and support to shape your future while taking greater control of your own growth and development. 

You will also benefit from:

• A generous Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of  30.3% for this role ( you can expect from £25,505 to £27,876)
• 27.5 days leave (25 days annual leave + 2.5 days privilege leave) increasing to max 32.5 days with each year of service), plus bank holidays 
• access to exclusive discounts on a range of goods and services such as retail outlets, theatre tickets, holidays, insurance and gym membership;
• flexible working arrangements;
• fees paid for membership of relevant professional bodies;
• up to 3 volunteering days per year
• generous shared parental leave and pay
• recognition voucher scheme;
• cycle-to-work scheme;
• season ticket loan for travel between home and office;
• regular professional development;
• health and well-being initiatives

Things you need to know

Selection process details

How to apply

Saxton Bampfylde Ltd is acting as an employment agency advisor to Ofwat on this appointment.

Candidates should apply for this role through our website at www.saxbam.com/appointments  using code QJUT.

Click on the ‘apply’ button and follow the instructions to upload a CV and cover letter and complete the online diversity monitoring form.

Your personal statement should be approximately 2 pages long and should clearly outline how you meet the essential experience, skills, knowledge listed above. 

The closing date for applications is 12.00 noon on Friday 26th January 2024. Please ensure you have submitted your application in full ahead of the deadline, as we will not be able to consider late applications.

Selection process

We will try and offer as much flexibility as we can, but it may not be possible to offer alternative dates for assessments or interviews. You are therefore asked to note the below timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process, in order to meet the dates given.  Please note that the following dates may be subject to change.

• Application deadline (12.00 noon):              Friday 26 January 2024
• Longlist stage:                                             w/c 29 January 2024 
• Interviews with Saxton Bampfylde:              w/c 5 & 12 February 2024
• Shortlist stage:                                             w/c 19 February 2024 
• Psychological assessments:                        w/c 26 February 2024 
• Informal conversations with Ofwat team:     Wednesday 6 March 2024 
• Ofwat Panel interviews:                                w/c 11 March 2024 
• Fire side chat with CEO:                               w/c 18 March 2024

Please read the attached Candidate Pack for further details on the Selection and Assessment Process.

If you have any queries about any aspect of this role, selection process, or you require any reasonable adjustments please contact Rhianna Gerry - rhianna.gerry@saxbam.com. 

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.