About the job

Summary

Ofwat (the Water Services Regulation Authority) is the economic regulator of the water and wastewater sector in England and Wales. Our role is to help it build trust and confidence with customers, the environment and wider society. Ofwat has an ambitious new strategy and as a regulator we are setting ourselves up to achieve and equal the ambition of this new strategy. It matters to us that things on the ground really change so that our impact on customers, the environment and the future of water is tangible and meaningful.

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 be about helping us to deliver our strategy, helping us to be the regulator we want to be and helping the sector to deliver outcomes that matter to customers and society. Our strategy sets out the role Ofwat will play. We will adapt, be confident, act with purpose and integrity and continuously improve so that we make the greatest contribution possible to improving life through water.

Job description

This is a key role in the cost assessment team for PR24. The role will have responsibility for leading the development of data requirements and feeder models for all of our cost assessment work through PR24. They will work with specialist economists and engineers leading on setting efficient costs for water and wastewater companies, co-ordinating their data and models to ensure that our evidence and decisions are accurately reflected in the determinations that Ofwat makes.

The role will require a variety of knowledge and expertise, including:

• Experience of designing, building and populating data models. This will require significant experience with data analysis using Excel, but could include Power Query, Power BI or Python too. The successful candidate will be expected to be the lead adviser for the team on technical data and quality assurance issues.

• A detailed understanding of how to manage data across its lifecycle. The successful candidate will be responsible for setting requirements for the cost assessment data that water companies will need to provide annually and in their business plans; managing this data in our corporate database; and ensuring that analysis and publications use this data correctly.

• Experience of building effective relationships and networks. The successful candidate will need to work with specialist leads across the cost assessment team, as well as with central programme management, to ensure that we use a consistent and high-quality approach across all our cost assessment data and models. They will need to explain their approach, and why this is important, to non-specialists.

Responsibilities

• Working with technical and policy leads to create the suite of cost assessment models for PR24 and designing how this will be used and governed in practice during the price review.

• Providing specialist advice on cost assessment data and models, including rapid development of models and analysis where necessary.

• Setting local standards and quality assurance practices for data and modelling in the cost assessment team and ensuring these align with Ofwat's corporate approach and requirements. Developing and operating the approach to making sure these standards and practices are followed across the team.

• Leading the development of business plan requirements (including data requirements) for cost assessment, working with other colleagues across the PR24 programme. Engaging with water companies on these requirements.

• Helping to develop our data capability as an organisation (as set out in our strategy) by helping to identify new approaches, ways of working and tools and technology associated with data.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

We also offer a range of additional benefits. These include:

• access to our package of benefits via our ‘Edenred’ scheme. This is a voluntary benefits scheme where staff have access to exclusive discounts on a range of goods and services such as retail outlets, theatre tickets, holidays, insurance and gym membership;

• cycle-to-work scheme;

• season ticket loan for travel between home and office;

• flexible working arrangements;

• fees paid for membership of relevant professional bodies;

• regular professional development;

• health and wellbeing initiatives; and

• free eye tests and contribution towards lenses/spectacles for VDU users, if appropriate

Things you need to know

Security

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Applications should be made on the civil service website prior to the closing deadline.

If you are unable to make an electronic application, you may submit your application on paper. Please contact us to find out how.

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

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
• certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

Further information on nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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.

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.

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