Programme Reporting Manager - Major Projects

Job summary

We are Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, a non-ministerial government department responsible for regulating the water sector in England and Wales.

We have an opportunity for a Programme Reporting Manager to join our Major Projects Team.

The water sector is entering a new chapter. Following the Independent Water Commission’s Final Report and subsequent White Paper - 'New Vision for Water', the UK government has set out a bold new direction - one that brings together expertise from across the sector to deliver better outcomes for customers and the environment.

Ofwat is working in collaboration with the government and other regulators to help establish a new body for England, combining our strengths with those of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, the Environment Agency, and Natural England. We’re also continuing to engage with the Welsh Government to support future decisions for Wales.

While these changes take shape, our mission remains the same: to hold water companies to account, drive performance, and ensure the sector delivers real value for customers, communities, and the environment. If you’re passionate about making a difference, this is a unique moment to join us and help shape the future of water, and together we can continue to make a positive impact.

You can find out more about why you should join Ofwat, our strategy, values and our framework for success in the attached Information for Candidates Pack.

Job description

The Major Projects team is part of Ofwat's Major Projects and Markets directorate. We are a multidisciplinary team that has a wide remit, working with the industry on some of the largest and most complex major water infrastructure projects the sector has seen in over thirty years, ranging between several hundred million pounds to several billion pounds. Our aim is to ensure companies are developing and delivering them in a timely and efficient manner, while protecting customers and the environment.

The Role:

We are seeking a Programme Reporting Manager to support our growing Major Projects Team at Senior Associate level this is a new role within the Major Water Infrastructure Programme Delivery Office (MWIPDO) team that supports both the Major Project team and RAPID team in the regulatory oversight of the overall Major Water Infrastructure programme. You will play a key role in not only delivering Ofwat's strategy, but also in the development of our approach to the delivery of the Programme. As part of the Delivery Office, you will co-ordinate the effective planning and production of high-quality reporting products for the programme, which reflect the programme status and priorities.

This is a unique opportunity for someone with experience of working within complex programme and project delivery, and to play a role in the delivery of some of the most important capital projects in the water sector which are vital for the environment, resilience and growth. The portfolio of projects within the Major Water Infrastructure Programme is also essential to meet the needs of current and future customers—and your work will directly impact how companies deliver for them. You will work with a dedicated team of programme/project managers to drive the reporting cadence and will have direct involvement reporting to all stakeholders (both internal and external) including across government. You will maintain good data governance in line with organisational and government standards, which will require liaison with the Data and IT teams. This is an evolving space so would suit someone who is a flexible thinker, able to balance the immediate priorities and help shape the future vision for programme reporting.

You will need to be proactive and respond flexibly in support the wider work of the programme. You will be involved with the embedding of the Delivery Office as we grow, which includes supporting programme governance, risk management and planning.

To be successful as well as working closely with the Major Projects and RAPID teams you will develop strong working relationships with parter Regulators (Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate) and Defra. You will be expected to uphold high standards of delivery and collaborate with water and wastewater companies to support them to deliver the best value for customers. You will have a high degree of autonomy and responsibility, and with our support you will continue to hone your judgement and be expected to exercise it responsibly in line with our strategy and ways of working.

Ofwat is a learning organisation, and you will have ample opportunities to further develop your knowledge and experience, as well as consolidate your skillset. We have a well-supported, agile working environment, and a trust-based culture intended to help empower you and enable and support you to succeed within Ofwat. In turn, you will be expected to provide support to colleagues across the organisation, proactively sharing skills and knowledge, and equally will be supported by coaching and mentoring.

Key deliverables:

In this role you will be expected to:

• Lead the development and delivery of programme reporting to support the management of the projects within the Major Water Infrastructure Programme.
• Be the champion for good data governance, set up and oversee good practice to ensure data integrity and maintenance “one version of the truth” across regulators.
• Analyse project and programme data to produce insights into risks and issues and identify programme trends.
• Analyse data to support planning and pipeline analysis working withspecialists within the partner regulators and companies.
• Support the Delivery Office to ensure robust processes are in place to support and drive the programme forward including wider PMO activities.
• Work collaboratively with partner regulators, Defra and water and wastewater companies to continue to bring consistency across reporting and apply continuous improvement.
• Provide wider support to the Major Projects team in delivering its programme of work.

Our culture is collegiate and will require you to collaborate with others and work seamlessly across Ofwat and beyond (e.g. with colleagues in RAPID) to ensure an end-to-end policy framework is in place to deliver high quality and successful outcomes for the projects and programmes in question.

Person specification

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

Experience, skills and knowledge

1. Lead Criterion: Knowledge and experience of working in a PMO role within complex programme and project delivery environments, possibly within large infrastructure projects and/or large capital programmes, water sector supply chain organisation, consultancy, regulators, Government, or in another similarly relevant position.
2. Lead Criterion: Knowledge and experience of creating programme reports for multiple audiences, both within the companies and for public viewing.
3. Knowledge and/ or experience of managing data governance within a programme and experience of using Microsoft Power Platform (Aps, BI automate and SharePoint lists).
4. Highly numerate with strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including experience of identifying, analysing, and accurately interpreting a range of data and insights to inform pipeline planning and resource management.
5. Experience of building and maintaining constructive working relationships with a diverse set of internal and external stakeholders to understand their needs, expectations, and priorities, and to influence and collaborate effectively to deliver desired outcomes.
6. Good presentation and communication (oral and written) skills, including the ability to communicate complex analysis and issues to non-technical audiences.
7. Hold appropriate qualifications, such as Prince 2, MSP, P30 and/ or be a member of a professional body (e.g. APM).

Attributes

• Champion and leader of change
• Promotes collaboration
• Adaptable Thinker
• Delivers Outcomes

Attributes as per Ofwat's Framework for Success for the relevant salary grade. You can read more about Attributes here.

Benefits

Why You Should Join Us:

Our people are at the heart of Ofwat, and our People Strategy defines the goals that keep this focus at the centre of everything that we do. In our annual People Survey 2024, we outperformed the Civil Service (CS) People Survey benchmarks in all 10 areas.

Almost four in five of our people would recommend Ofwat as a great place to work. Nine in ten say that they are treated with respect and that Ofwat respects individual differences. Nine in ten also say that the work they do is interesting and that they decide how they do their work. That’s great but it’s important to us to build an environment that is not only fair, inclusive and empowering but also collaborative. Here, nine in ten of our people say that their team works together to find ways to improve what we do, and that their manager is open to their ideas.

• Excellent employer pension contributions of nearly 29%.You can find further details about pension schemes under Terms and Conditions in the Candidate Pack.
• 25 days’ annual leave (increasing to 30 with each year of service) plus bank holidays and an extra 2.5 days of privilege leave
• Access to exclusive discounts on a variety of goods and services, including retail outlets, theatre tickets, holidays, insurance, and a gym membership
• Flexible working arrangements that suit your lifestyle
• Fees paid for membership of relevant professional bodies
• Up to 3 volunteering days per year
• Recognition vouchers scheme
• Generous shared parental leave and pay
• Enhanced sick pay
• Regular development opportunities
• Health and wellbeing initiatives
• Cycle-to-work scheme
• Season ticket loan for home-to-office travel
• Free eye tests and contribution to lenses/spectacles for VDU users

Moving to Ofwat from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Find out more at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

How to apply

Apply through the Civil Service Jobs website where you’ll be asked to create an account and complete an application form (CV and personal statement). If you’re unable to make an electronic application, please contact recruitment@ofwat.gov.uk and we will support you in completing your application.

Please see the candidate guidance on our website for more detail and tips on how to best make your application and prepare for interview.

Please ensure you have submitted your application in full ahead of the deadline listed below. Unfortunately, we won't be able to consider late applications.

Selection timetable

• Closing date: 23.55 on 25 March 2025
• Sifting: Week commencing30 March 2025
• Interview date(s): Week commencing 13 April 2025

Assessment process

Sift Stage - Blind Sifting

We operate a blind sifting model to eliminate bias. All candidate identifying information will be removed from applications.

At sift stage we will assess your application (CV and personal statement) against essentialcriteria 1, 2, 3 & 7 listed above. Please ensure you provide enough evidence in your application form to demonstrate how you meet the criteria.

Use your personal statement to address the below criteria and tell us how your experience, skills and knowledge meet them:

• Lead Criterion: Knowledge and experience of working in a PMO role within complex programme and project delivery environments, possibly within large infrastructure projects and/or large capital programmes, water sector supply chain organisation, consultancy, regulators, Government, or in another similarly relevant position.
• Lead Criterion: Knowledge and experience of creating programme reports for multiple audiences, both within the companies and for public viewing.
• Knowledge and/ or experience of managing data governance within a programme and experience of using Microsoft Power Platform (Aps, BI automate and SharePoint lists).
• Hold appropriate qualifications, such as Prince 2, MSP, P30 and/ or be a member of a professional body (e.g. APM).

*In the event of receiving a large number of applications, a pre-sift may take place on just the lead criteria.

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see Civil Service candidate guidance on use of AI for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use. . This guidance refers to ' Civil Service Success Profiles' framework, Ofwat do not use this in our assessments, for our assessment framework, please refer to our Framework for Success.

** Please note that if a high volume of candidates meet the minimum pass mark at sift stage, we will only progress the highest scoring candidates to interview. Candidates not invited to interview, who have achieved the minimum pass mark, will be placed 'on hold' until the final stage of the assessment process is completed. Should the role/s remain unfilled, candidates placed 'on hold' may be invited to interview in merit order.

Interview Stage - Transparent Interviews

At interview stage we will test against essential skills, experience, knowledge and attributes set out above.

Our transparent interview process involves candidates receiving a list of attribute-based questions in advance. This has been proven to help neurodiverse candidates and others to perform better at interview and is part of our inclusive culture.

You can read more about attributes and our Framework for success here.

Please ensure anything you present in your interview answers is factually accurate, and you are not presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by AI, as your own. You may expect follow up questions.

Please note that the interviews will be conducted via video conferencing software (Microsoft Teams).

It may be necessary for a second stage interview, which will be communicated to the successful candidates, if required.

If the assessment process identifies more appointable candidates than roles available, a reserve list will be created for 12 months from which further appointments in merit order can be made.

If you have any queries about any aspect of this role, selection process, or you require any reasonable adjustments please email recruitment@ofwat.gov.uk

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : recruitment@ofwat.gov.uk
• Email : recruitment@ofwat.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@ofwat.gov.uk

Further information

Complaints procedure - The process of recruitment and assessment embraces the principles of fair and open competition and best practice. The first is to maintain the principle of selection for appointment to the Civil Service on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Recruitment Principles. The second is to promote an understanding of the https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-code/the-civil… which sets out the constitutional framework in which all civil servants work and the values they are expected to uphold, and to hear and determine appeals made under it. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact recruitment@ofwat.gov.uk in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from us, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at info@csc.gov.uk

Attachments

BC1116 Interim Director of Finance & Procurement Candidate Pack Feb 2026 Opens in new window (pdf, 325kB)