• Job Description

  Req#: R7841

  Together we are Trusted to Serve Scotland.

  Community Engagement Specialist - Scottish Water Horizons

  3 year fixed or secondment for internal applicants

  Interested in helping Scotland Flourish?

  Join a team that is delivering solutions to areas with water scarcity. A Scottish Government led project is funding Scottish Water to deliver extensions and upgrades to the public water network to enable shortlisted private water supplies to connect.

  The post holder will be the primary point of contact for several projects across Scotland and will support the project team in engaging with these communities throughout the process. They will build confidence and trust in the communities through the provision of proactive and clear communications. Due to the nature of this role, the successful candidate is expected to do a lot of travelling to these communities.

  The team also delivers infrastructure in support of the Scottish Hydrogen Market, and new housing developments across our country, and you will also be involved in supporting these projects.

  Customer service excellence is one of our strategic ambitions and we are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated Communications Officer, to support us in achieving this.

  We have a long track record of hybrid working that predates the pandemic, so you can expect some time working from home and in the office. The role will also include travelling to communities around Scotland from Aberdeenshire to Dumfries and Galloway, to help them understand what we are doing and why.

  What You’ll Be Doing

  Reporting to the Customer Relationship Manager, you will be responsible for:

  • Driving the development and delivery of communications and engagement plans/strategies, which will promote the projects activity and keep all key audiences fully informed, aware and engaged.

  • Dealing with enquiries from communities and responding effectively to day-to-day requests to provide clear and accurate information which represents projects scope and terms.

  • Work in collaboration with external stakeholders, including the Scottish Government, to deliver the objectives of the project.

  • Recording, monitoring and evaluating all communications and engagement activity to support customer experience measurement and ensure continuous improvement and innovation.

  • Support households through the connections process, including written guidance and audience-appropriate content which is clear and consistent.

  What You’ll Need

  Personal skills:

  • Excellent written, verbal and listening communication skills

  • A high level of accuracy in written work

  • Ability to develop good working relationship with stakeholders and partners

  • Ability to work well with colleagues across a range of departments within SW and external organisations

  • Ability to negotiate and influence internally and externally

  • Excellent organisational skills, including the ability to manage and plan workload and work to demanding deadlines

  Professional skills:

  • Experience of principles of effective communications and the application of these principles in a work environment to achieve desired outcome

  • Experience of working with communities

  • Ability to develop, plan and implement effective intelligence led and high impact communications plans

  • The ability to gather intelligence from a range of sources, and to use this intelligence effectively to develop and inform communications plans

  Looking out for you

  While the work we do is important, we know it’s not the only thing that matters. That’s why we make sure you have everything you need to find a good work-life balance.

  But you’ll get plenty of time to recharge with 38 days of holiday every year (including public holidays). And you can even buy five more if you need a little extra time. You can also take paid time off to volunteer in your community.

  When it comes to major life events we have family-friendly policies around adoption, maternity, and parental leave. And for the everyday? We embrace flexible working.

  For your future, there’s our pension (the ‘know-what-you’ll-get-when-you-retire’ kind), as well as life assurance.

  As for some nice extras? You can expect an annual company bonus. Not to mention access to SW Splash – handy rewards that can save you money on holidays, bills, and shopping.

  The not-so-small print

  The salary range for this role is £35,384 - £47,924 depending on experience.

  If you’re interested in this role – or know someone else who might be - we’ll be accepting applications until midnight on the 21st February 2024

  Job offers at Scottish Water are conditional, and will be confirmed on completion of our pre-employment screening, e.g. referencing, criminal record checks, license checks, etc. These checks are conducted on our behalf by a third party. Don’t worry - we’ll ask your permission before starting these checks.

  A few final things worth knowing…

  Research shows that some people avoid applying for jobs unless they can meet every single criteria. If you’re interested in this job, but don’t tick all the boxes, apply anyway! We hardly ever hire people who can do every part of a job from Day One. Everyone has a learning curve. So don’t rule yourself out!

  Let us know if there are any changes we can make to our recruitment process to help you perform at your best. Lots of our people have disabilities or neurodiverse conditions (including some of our recruiters!). We're also aware that some people might be experiencing temporary challenges because of life events, like menopause. We’re very used to making adjustments, so please don’t be afraid to ask.

  As part of our commitment to developing a flourishing Scotland, it’s important that all our employees are Scottish taxpayers. If you join us, your home address will need to be in Scotland. If you don’t already live here, you'll need to commit to moving here within your first three months.

  Finally (finally!), candidates who haven’t submitted an application in the last 12 months will have their records removed from our recruitment database. You won’t need to do anything. Your data will be automatically deleted.

  
  We’re here to help. Ask us anything at SWRecruitment@ScottishWater.co.uk

• About the company

  Scottish Water is a statutory corporation that provides water and sewerage services across Scotland.

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