Head of Public Affairs

We have a new and exciting opportunity for a Head of Public Affairs to join our Communications Team! Ofwat's communications 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. It is a very collaborative team which takes an integrated approach to communications in a fast-changing sector. We are Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, a non-ministerial government department responsible for regulating the water sector in England and Wales. We are at the source of everyday life. We 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. Our work is high-profile and fast-moving, within a dynamic and agile environment. The work that you’ll be involved in every day will help us to deliver our strategy, to make us the regulator we want to be and help the sector to deliver for customers and society. 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., You’ll work closely with the Director of Engagement and Senior Leadership Team to ensure Ofwat builds and maintains strong and trusted relationships with influential political stakeholders in line with our ambitious Communications Strategy. You will be responsible for implementing a proactive political engagement programme focused on one of the government's top five priorities and the proposed Water (Special Measures) Bill due to be implemented in Parliament later this year. You will lead a newly created [small, but talented] team managing targeted programme around critical milestones and announcements, providing high-quality briefings materials and training ahead of events, meetings and Select Committee appearances. Key Deliverables In this role you will be expected to: + Lead comprehensive and tailored political engagement programme with political leaders in Westminster, including the Opposition parties, Metro Mayors, Local Government, Trade Unions and influential Think Tanks. + Oversee Ofwat's engagement with political stakeholders, including members of both Houses and the opposition parties, ensuring we're presenting well-informed and consistent information across the organisation + Advise the Chair, Chief Executive and Senior Leadership Team on their political engagement and build a programme of engagement and visits, working with colleagues in communications and government affairs. + Prepare the Chief Executive and members of the Senior Leadership Team for Select Committee appearances, managing ongoing relationships with the Clerks and providing high-quality briefings and training for any hearings. + Oversee monitoring of political and policy landscape, providing strategic political intelligence and insight to help inform internal decision making + Build trusted relationships with counterparts in Defra, water companies and other relevant organisations, We operate a blind sifting model to eliminate bias. All candidate identifying information will be removed from applications. At sift stage we assess your application against criteria 1 to 4 listed in the essential skills, experience, and knowledge section above. Use your personal statement to address the Lead Criterion only and tell us about your experience of delivering successful political engagement on a high profile and controversial issue. We recommend using the STAR method in structuring your personal statement. In your application (CV section), please state clearly how your skills, experience, and knowledge meet the remaining essential criteria.

• In the event of receiving a large number of applications, a pre-sift will take place on just the lead criterion.
Ensure that anything submitted as part of your application is factually accurate, and you are not presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by AI, as your own. Interview Stage - Transparent Interviews and Presentation At interview stage we will test against attributes, as well as skills, experience, and knowledge listed 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. As part of the interview process, we will require a short presentation. Further details will be provided to candidates upon invitation to interview. Please note that the interviews will be conducted in person in our London Office (5th Floor, Westferry House, 11 Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London E14 4HD). It may be necessary for a second stage interview, which will be communicated to the successful candidates, if required. 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 the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

1. Lead Criterion: Experience of delivering successful political engagement on a high profile and controversial issue. 2. Experience of working in high pressure environments, including handling crisis situations. 3. Experience of building and maintaining effective relationships and partnerships with a range of (political) stakeholders. 4. Experience of creating opportunities with Parliamentarians and other to explain how an organisation is responding to public and political concerns. 5. Strong political awareness and judgement, with ability to inform and influence internal decision making. 6. Strong communication skills including the ability to tailor your communication style, approach and messaging according to different audiences. Attributes 7. You deliver outcomes. 8. You promote collaboration. 9. You create clarity. 10. You make relationships count. Attributes as per Ofwat's Framework for Success for Principal Band. You can read more about Attributes here.

Why You Should Join Us: 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. But for us, change is more than what happens on the outside – we’ve always pushed boundaries internally, too. From becoming the first Civil Service organisation to achieve ‘Smarter Working’ status, to gaining our prestigious ‘Smarter Working Maturity’ award, we’ve consistently demonstrated our commitment to embracing innovative ways of working. Our people do their best work when given freedom over where, when, and how they work. Which is why we trust our teams to balance meaningful collaboration in the office with the flexibility of working from home. You will also benefit from: + Excellent employer pension contributions of 28.97%. You can find further details about pension schemes under Terms and Conditions in the Candidate Pack. + 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 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. + Generous shared parental leave and pay. + Enhanced sick pay. + Regular development opportunities. + Health and wellbeing initiatives. + Season ticket loan for home-to-office travel. + Cycle-to-work scheme.