Senior Technical Specialist

Together we are Trusted to Serve Scotland.

Can you help us to deliver the planning requirements of our Capital Investment Programme?

At Scottish Water, we are actively pushing ahead with our plans to meet our strategic ambitions to transform our future operations. The effective delivery of our capital programme is critical to achieving these and we need people who are enthusiastic about playing their part in our success. 

Scottish Water’s Planning Team is on the lookout for an experienced Town Planner to join us on a full-time basis. While the remit is Scotland wide, it is anticipated that the successful candidate would have a key focus on our North portfolio involving the Highlands and Islands. Please note we offer hybrid working and that there will be some flexibility around location dependent on individual situations.

You will play a key role in a large multi-disciplinary team situated across Scotland, where you will help us to achieve our goal of successfully delivering Scottish Water’s Capital Investment Programme. The planning team workload is expanding and becoming increasingly diverse, so this is a fantastic opportunity to become involved.

What You’ll Do

Your core focus will be to advise on and deliver the planning requirements of Scottish Water’s large portfolio of projects, being responsible for your own individual project portfolio. No day will be the same, as you will be responsible for the delivery of varied projects including the upgrade of existing sites and the development of new sites in diverse and often challenging locations.

You can expect to be involved in the identification of planning requirements for Scottish Water’s projects, the delivery of planning permissions and related consents including EIA screenings, Managing the planning deliverables for a portfolio of projects in line with key milestones and liaising with stakeholders both internal and external on project specifics as required. You will have a varied workload involving key/major projects to deliver Scottish Water’s capital investment programme plus potential involvement in renewables projects.

What You’llBring

To be successful in this role, you will have Town Planner Chartership (RTPI Accreditation) and a relevant educational background, we are looking for you to have completed a degree (or equivalent) in Town Planning. 

Additionally, you will have stakeholder management experience and be able to effectively liaise with different stakeholders to assist them with interpreting the planning requirements of your project portfolio.

You will also have a comprehensive understanding of present planning legislation as it relates to submission and processing of planning applications, experience with Committee representation and leading on major planning applications,with strong collaboration and communication skills.Lastly, you will have good IT, problem solving and data management skills.

What You’ll Get

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. 

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 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), and 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

This role will be a Grade 7. If you’re new to Scottish Water, you’ll join us on a starting salary of £41,000. Performance-driven pay progression would then allow you to move through the range to a maximum of £51,970.

If you’re interested in this role – or know someone else who might be - we’ll be accepting applications until midnight on the 21th of April 2024 and we aim to carry out interviews on week commencing the 6th of May.

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.