Climate Change and Sustainability Manager

We’re looking for a strategic, forward-thinking Climate Change and Sustainability Manager to lead our work on climate change adaptation and mitigation, sustainability and natural capital. This is a key role that will shape how we respond to the challenges of climate change, and promote long-term resilience and innovation.

You will act as Thames Water’s subject matter expert – the trusted adviser and ‘go-to’ person for climate change, natural capital and sustainability

What you’ll be doing as a Climate Change and Sustainability Manager

• Lead our Climate Change Strategy - Define and manage the execution of Thames Water’s climate change strategy, approach and risk management, and make sure that this is embedded.
• Build strong internal and external partnerships - Work with internal and external stakeholders to develop, integrate and deliver our commitments.
• Scan the horizon - Monitor emerging policy and best practice to take a long-term view of the external landscape and apply this to our key focus areas.
• Own and update core policies - Including the Sustainability Policy, to make sure they remain relevant and well understood across the business.
• Support key disclosures and reporting - Including the development of material for sustainability reporting, climate-related disclosures, and our enterprise materiality and double-materiality assessments.
• Champion our sustainability themes - Maintain our nine sustainability themes and develop case studies that bring our work to life for internal and external audiences.

Base location: Reading - Hybrid

Working hours: 36 Hours

What you should bring to the role

To thrive in this role, the essential criteria you’ll need is:

• Strong experience delivering in the areas of climate change, sustainability, and natural capital with thorough understanding of techniques, approaches and good practice.
• A collaborative approach and the ability to build trusted relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent strategic and analytical skills, with the ability see multiple options, join the dots and turn complex information in to clear, compelling insight.
• Confidence working across a matrix organisation and delivering through others.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to influence at all levels.
• A drive and enthusiasm for continuous improvement.
• A relevant technical or professional qualification such as Degree or equivalent experience.
• Strong IT skills, particularly Excel and PowerPoint capability with an ability/ willingness to explore and apply AI.
• Highly numerate with an attention to detail.

Additional skills and experiences would be great to have/bring:

• Strong questioning and probing skills to identify opportunities or discover risks relating to sustainability.
• Understanding of the evolving Sustainability, Climate Change, and Natural Capital landscape.
• Development and delivery of engaging communication approaches both formal and informal.
• Relevant related higher professional qualification or working towards one.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary up to £90,000 per annum, depending on experience
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays)
• Car Allowance
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON
• Private Medical Health Care
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks (Please note different T&Cs apply if on secondment)

Who are we?

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.