Stakeholder Engagement and Events Associate
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 Stakeholder Engagement and Events Associate to join our Communications and Engagement Team within the Office of the Chief Executive Directorate.
The water sector is entering a new chapter. The government has set out a bold new direction, bringing together expertise from across the sector to deliver better outcomes for customers and the environment. We are collaborating with fellow regulators to respond to recommendations in The Independent Water Commission Report, the Welsh Government’s response to the Green Paper, Shaping the Future of Water Governance in Wales, and the Government’s White Paper, A new vision for water.
Ofwat is working with the government and other regulators to help create a new body for England, bringing together our strengths with those of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, the Environment Agency and Natural England. We are also continuing to work with the Welsh Government to support decisions on the future arrangements 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
Ofwat's communications and engagement team plays a crucial part in the delivery of Ofwat's strategy, working across the business to encourage effective engagement and communication amongst our own people and with external audiences.
We are a highly collaborative team that takes an integrated approach to communications in a fast-changing sector.
The team has approximately 30 members and is responsible for:
• Strategic Communications and Planning
• Media Relations
• Stakeholder Engagement and Communications
• Public Affairs
• Digital, Branding and Design
• Campaigns
• Internal Engagement
• RAPID Communications and Engagement.
We're looking for a Stakeholder Engagement and Events Associate to join our team at a crucial time for the water sector.
In this role you'll work closely with colleagues across Ofwat, including senior leaders, to support the delivery of external engagement, communications and events with our stakeholders, including consumer organisations, environmental groups, water companies, investors, and more.
This will include coordinating the Stakeholder Engagement and Communications team's systems and processes to ensure we're managing our work effectively – including managing our inboxes, speaker requests, activity trackers and databases. You'll also take a hands-on role in delivering engagement and events, attending and supporting engagement events, exhibitions and conferences.
You will work in cross-functional project teams on priority communications projects and over time will be given the opportunity to develop in the role and take on stretch responsibilities to design and manage defined engagement and events activities, with support from senior colleagues.
Key deliverables:
In this role you will be expected to:
- Support the delivery of stakeholder engagement and communications plans and activity across a wide range of projects, including high-profile consultations and announcements.
- Coordinate and manage key systems and processes for the stakeholder engagement and communications team, including management of inboxes, maintaining stakeholder databases, and ensuring activity trackers are up-to-date and accurate.
- Coordinate the speaker requests process for Ofwat, ensuring we effectively manage incoming requests for Ofwat staff to speak at external events and conferences; and work with the Events Lead to support the management of our proactive, strategic programme of speaking engagements.
- Support the preparation and delivery of engagements and events, supporting senior colleagues and stakeholders with their involvement. This may include attendance at exhibitions and conferences and may require occasional travel.
- Support proactive stakeholder monitoring and insight sharing to support policy development, decision making, and communications and engagement approaches.
- Produce high-quality written communications, including correspondence, stakeholder communications, and internal briefings.
- Work proactively within the wider Communications and Engagement team, supporting additional projects and activities as required.
Person specification
To be successful in this role you will need the below essential attributes, experience, skills and knowledge:
Experience, skills and knowledge
- Lead criterion: Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple, competing priorities and processes simultaneously while maintaining attention to detail.
- Experience providing coordination or administrative support within a communications, stakeholder engagement or events context, including managing systems such as inboxes, databased or trackers to a high standard of accuracy.
- Strong written communication skills, with experience drafting clear and accurate written materials, including correspondence, briefings, or communications for a range of audiences.
- Experience supporting the planning or delivery of events or engagement, including liaising with speakers, attendees or senior colleagues.
- Understanding of, and an interest in, the purpose of stakeholder engagement and how it supports policy development, decision making and communications activity.
- Good interpersonal skills, with the confidence to build relationships with stakeholders and support senior colleagues in engagement settings.
- Ability to work proactively and flexibly as part of a team, including picking up varied tasks and projects at short notice.
Attributes
8. Builds trust.
9. Promotes collaboration.
10. Adaptable thinker.
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 central to everything we do. Our 2025 People Survey highlights several key strengths. Nine in ten colleagues say that they are treated with respect and that Ofwat values individual differences. The same proportion say that their work is meaningful and that they are being trusted to carry out their roles effectively. 79% of our people rated their manager highly, and 85% described their team environment as positive.
You will also benefit from:
- Good employer pension contributions.
- 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 Sunday 18 October 2026
- Sifting: Week commencing19 October 2026
- Interview date(s): Week commencing 2 November 2026
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 essential criteria 1, 2, 3 and 4 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: Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple, competing priorities and processes simultaneously while maintaining attention to detail.
- Experience providing coordination or administrative support within a communications, stakeholder engagement or events context, including managing systems such as inboxes, databased or trackers to a high standard of accuracy.
- Strong written communication skills, with experience drafting clear and accurate written materials, including correspondence, briefings, or communications for a range of audiences.
- Experience supporting the planning or delivery of events or engagement, including liaising with speakers, attendees or senior colleagues.
*Please note that in the event of receiving a large number of applications, a pre-sift may take place on just the lead criterion.
** 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.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Interview Stage - Transparent Interviews and Presentation
At interview stage we will test against essential skills, experience, knowledge and attributes set out above.
Our transparent interview process involves candidates receiving a selection 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 note that the interviews will be conducted via video conferencing software (Microsoft Teams).
As part of the interview process, we will require a short written exercise. Further details will be provided to candidates upon invitation to interview.
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.
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 basic (or equivalent) 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
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