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Job Title: Programme Assurance Lead

Location: Falmer (Hybrid Working)

Salary: Up to £52,000, depending on skills and experience.

Are you ready to take the lead in shaping the success of Southern Water’s Capital Programme? Southern Water’s Capital Delivery Programme Management Office (PMO) is looking for a Programme Assurance Lead to drive excellence across our project lifecycle.

Job Overview

As a Programme Assurance Lead, you will play a vital role in assuring delivery plans across the entire project lifecycle. You’ll ensure that our multi-million-pound Capital Programme delivers its outputs and outcomes on time, within budget, and to the highest standards of quality, meeting both internal goals and external regulatory commitments.

This is a fantastic opportunity to help drive continuous improvement and confidence in delivery by leading the assurance strategy and plans for our Water and Wastewater Programmes.

Responsibilities will include:

* Lead the development and implementation of the PMO assurance strategy

* Provide monthly assurance to key stakeholders before Governance Forums

* Review key project documentation, provide expert feedback, and escalate where necessary

* Track, analyse, and report assurance information to inform performance KPIs

* Offer leadership, training, and support across internal and external stakeholders

* Use risk-based methodologies to target high-impact areas

* Maintain assurance records and continuous improvement actions

* Deputise for the Governance & Assurance Manager when needed

About You

* Significant experience in governance and assurance (ideally in the water industry or similar)

* A strong understanding of project and programme management frameworks

* Proven experience delivering assurance across full the project lifecycle

* Ability to lead cross-functional teams and collaborate with supply chain partners

* Familiarity with project documentation, stage gate processes, and governance forums

* APM, MSP, or P30 professional qualifications are highly desirable

* Exceptional stakeholder engagement, communication, and organisational skills

* A proactive mindset, with high attention to detail and a drive for continuous improvement

Package

This role will be full time Monday to Friday 37 hours a week.

Southern Water operate a hybrid approach to working between our Falmer office and home.

We are offering a salary of up to £52,000 per annum depending on skills and experience as well as other benefits including:

• Company and performance-related bonus

• Generous pension up to 11% company contribution

• 25 days annual leave

• Life assurance equal to 4x salary

• Salary sacrifice electric car scheme (after 6 months service)

• Health Cash Plan

• Full funded eye tests

• Two paid volunteering days a year

• Occupational health service

• Discounts with over 800 popular retailers

• Digital GP service

• Study support may be available for job-related qualifications

• Competitive maternity leave and flexible return to work options

• Cycle to work scheme

Does this opportunity excite you but you’re not 100% sure if you meet all the requirements for the role? Or are you concerned that ‘normal’ office hours aren’t possible given your personal circumstances? Whilst we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we’ll try to find a practical solution. So why not engage with us and find out more about this role?

Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, because delivering water for life is our core purpose. To achieve this, we need 24/7 support in place to resolve incidents quickly and efficiently. All our employees understand the importance of out-of-hours incident support – because when problems appear, fixing them is our top priority. That’s why our people join together and support when and however needed to make sure our customers get the service they deserve. Joining the Southern Water family means you’ll become part of our incident support team. During your interview, your manager will speak to you about any incident support rotas that apply to your position.

Privacy Statement:

Please note: If you are an existing Southern Water employee, you will need to confirm within your application that your Manager is aware of your application.

All applicants must be eligible to live and work in the UK. You will need to provide evidence of eligibility (e.g. a passport or long birth certificate and proof of NI) and current proof of address (dated within the last 3 months), will be required as part of the recruitment process. If you do not meet these criteria, your application will not be considered