About the role:
We want you to take a lead role in evolving the way we communicate with our people.
We need someone with energy and enthusiasm to help us develop and deliver outstanding communications and effective campaigns for our business.
You will be providing communications advice to senior managers and project teams; planning and delivering measurable communication campaigns; managing events for our leaders and making sure the customer is at the heart of everything that we do.
We work in a fascinating business that delivers water and wastewater service to a quarter of the UK; provides world class drinking water to 9m people; sustains our rivers and produces enough renewable energy every year to power a town the size of Swindon.
Our people are based as far afield as Swindon, Banbury and Crawley and right across London, so reaching remote audiences is a core skill.
This is a fast-paced role in Britain’s biggest water company where you will generate bags of ideas while managing multiple projects in order to inform and engage our workforce.
A love for new technology and online content will be a definite advantage as we are constantly championing the use of digital communication channels within the business.
Good writing skills are a must as we produce many materials and tool kits to support our managers in communicating with their teams to make sure our messages are received effectively.
You will also research, gather and write high-quality and impactful content for regular communications channels and campaigns.
You will participate in the operational events desk rota, following best practice guidelines as an event responder for internal crisis communications.
We’re a small but perfectly formed team and work closely together to develop, maintain and evolve our communications network. So being flexible in sharing duties to develop and deliver joined-up communications campaigns is a given.
We also deliver engaging employee and corporate events including workshops and conferences; large-scale and smaller function-based events which are both online and face-to-face.
Ultimately, we want your communications to reach our people in the right way, so they feel ownership of the business and become a driving force behind any changes being made.
To be successful you will have the following skills and experience:
We’re currently going through exciting and innovating change throughout the business and are only looking for the very best to be part of this journey.
We’re seeking someone who has the appetite to get stuck in and develop with our change, who is not afraid to work with senior stakeholders particularly during challenging times.
You should be resilient and be prepared to go the extra mile to get the job done.
To be successful with your application, you will need to have extensive internal communications experience, with a focus on business partnering and engagement.
Your background will also be around strategies and campaigns, as well as the measurements of their success.
You will have excellent verbal, written and presentation skills and be able to write compelling, accurate and concise material for a range of internal audiences. You will have a good track-record of developing and delivering communications plans.
You will also have strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to deal with individuals at all levels of the company and to engage, influence and win the support of senior managers and our contractor and alliance partners.
It is vital you not only understand – but have a real passion for – the power of internal communications to drive change and engagement and assist a company in achieving its objectives.
Knowledge of Microsoft Office programmes including Teams and Sharepoint and email content systems like Poppulo is preferred and experience in producing video and online content would be an advantage
The role is based in Reading but due to the nature of the role and size of our region there will be travelling involved, so a full driver’s licence and access to a car is required.
What’s in it for you:
You’ll be given responsibility to take a leading communications role in significant areas of the business, managing relationships with our business leaders to understand and deliver their priorities.
This is a great opportunity to work independently and shape the job in the way you want while being as creative as possible.
You will also create brilliant measurable two-way campaigns that will help to drive performance and engagement across the business and play a major part in the success of Thames Water.
Our competitive salary package includes an excellent contributory pension, 26 days holiday per year increasing to 30 with length of service and a wider benefits scheme. This includes an annual pay review, season ticket loans, voucher scheme giving you money off in major retail outlets, loyalty awards for continuous service plus much more, including our refer-a-friend bonus, where you can receive up to £1,000 for helping someone get a permanent position within the company.
We’re also proud to be here for our local community, offering all of our teams two days paid volunteer leave a year, as well as proudly supporting a lot of local events and charities.
Click here to view our full list of Rewards and Benefits
About us:
Thames Water is the UK’s largest water and wastewater company. We make a daily difference to millions of customers by supplying 2.7 billion litres of world-class water to around 10 million homes.
As our world changes, the need to take care of our most precious resource is greater than ever, both locally and globally. That’s why, at Thames Water, every one of our actions, big and small, matters every day. Water is essential to daily life, and that means our business is always open. We’re passionate about providing world-class tap water, now and for the future.
We’re also turning waste into power, self-generating 20% of the energy we use and, in turn, doing our bit for the planet. We’re reducing plastic waste by celebrating our tap water and rolling out an ambitious water fountain project. We’re using our voice to lobby for change and partnering with WaterAid to provide clean water to the world’s poorest communities.
Together, we’re building a better future for our customers, our region and our planet.
Thames Water is a unique, rewarding and diverse place to work. If you join our team, you’ll enjoy fast-tracked career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and unparalleled benefits. We’re also proud to be an equal opportunity employer, Stonewall Diversity Champion and Disability Confident Leader, welcoming individuals from all walks of life and leading the way with an award-winning mental health and wellbeing strategy.