Head of Public Affairs

Head of Public Affairs

Location: 3 days per week in Worthing – 2 days from home 

Contract Type: Permanent

Hours: 37 hours per week, Monday to Friday

Salary: Up to £100,000 per annum, depending on skills and experience plus £500per month car allowance.

Southern Water is at the heart of the transformation of Britain’s water industry. Our purpose is to provide water for life to enhance health and wellbeing, protect and improve the environment and sustain the economy. Under a CEO appointed in 2022 and a new leadership team, the company is delivering a high-profile turnaround plan over 2 years, investing heavily to improve infrastructure and services for customers. It has also submitted an ambitious plan to double investment to £7.8bn over the next regulatory period, 2025-30. 

As the company’s most senior public affairs professional you’ll create and deliver the over-arching strategy to influence key policy-makers and political stakeholders, communicating the company’s progress and helping to build and defend its reputation as a transparent customer-focused business wholly committed to its turnaround and associated internal cultural change.

You will lead a small team and report to the Director of Corporate Affairs, who is on the Exec Committee. You will be a senior member of the Corporate Affairs leadership team and will work closely with the rest of the function, especially the regional stakeholder engagement team which focuses on Hants/IoW, Sussex and Kent. Your role will require plenty of collaboration with Strategy and Regulatory Affairs, and with our Customer function. You will have a high degree of visibility and frequent interaction with the CEO and members of the Exec Committee, guiding their proactive and reactive engagement with MPs, ministers, opposition parties, policy-makers, government officials, trade bodies, think tanks and political influencers. 

The successful candidate will play a critical role in enhancing Southern Water’s reputation with stakeholders, navigating a dynamic political landscape and positioning the company well in a sector which is at the centre of political, public, media and activist scrutiny. 

You will have experience and knowledge of working with government bodies and similar, managing senior relationships – ideally with DEFRA, Ofwat, the Environment Agency, CCW or DWI and well-developed networks.

Southern Water is an operational business; like other senior managers, you will occasionally be asked to support the company's response to operational incidents or crises . A driving licence and own car is required for occasional travel across the southern Water region .

If you have the experience of leading a public affairs team at a national and regional level in a regulated sector and have  knowledge of the Water industry or other regulated business sectors please send your CV over for consideration today