Customer Researcher

What you’ll be responsible for

The Customer Researcher is responsible for supporting and delivering high-quality insight into customer needs, expectations and experiences to inform Welsh Water’s strategy, services and investment decisions. The role supports the design and delivery of research programmes that ensure the customer voice is central to long-term planning, regulatory submissions and day-to-day service improvements.

Working across the organisation, the Customer Researcher will manage both quantitative and qualitative research, translating findings into practical insights for decision-makers. The role will help shape engagement programmes that build trust, inform trade-offs and support major strategic decisions affecting customers and communities.

This role suits someone who combines strong research skills with curiosity about people, behaviours and social trends, and who is motivated by improving essential services for communities across Wales.

Key responsibilities of the role:

• Manage and deliver customer research programmes, including surveys, focus groups, consumer panels, deliberative research and behavioural studies.
• Work with external research agencies and ensure quality, value and methodological rigour.
• Support customer engagement for regulatory business plans and long-term strategy
• Analyse research data and produce clear, actionable insight for strategic and operational decision-making.
• Provide insight into customer priorities, willingness to pay and service expectations
• Develop segmentation models and insight into vulnerable and hard-to-reach customers
• Translate complex research findings into clear executive and board-level briefings.
• Work with internal teams (e.g. strategy, customer service, communications, operations) to embed customer insight into decisions
• Monitor trends in customer attitudes, behaviours and expectations
• Support development of customer engagement tools, panels and community engagement programmes.
• Ensure research complies with ethical, regulatory and data protection standards
• Maintain knowledge of best practice in customer insight, behavioural science and public engagement.
• Support the work of the Independent Challenge Group (and its successor)
  
  

About you

The following are essential requirements for the recruitment of the role:

•             Degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. social sciences, psychology, market research, statistics, economics, geography or similar).

• Membership of a professional body (e.g. MRS – Market Research Society) is desirable.

Experience

•             Experience delivering customer or social research (quantitative and/or qualitative).

•             Experience designing surveys, discussion guides or research frameworks.

•             Experience analysing and interpreting research findings.

•             Experience with deliberative or participatory research methods.

•             Experience managing external research agencies.

Knowledge and Skills

•             Strong understanding of research methodologies (quantitative and qualitative).

•             Understanding of customer insight and behavioural drivers.

•             Knowledge of regulatory customer engagement requirements is desirable.

•             Awareness of affordability, vulnerability and social equity issues.

•             Understanding of the UK water sector or public services is desirable.

Good to know

Applications from candidates who are wanting to work flexibly are welcome for this role

Benefits

As well as a market competitive salary, 34 days annual leave (pro rata, including public holidays), we offer a range of employee benefits and rewards including:

• Variable pay schemes (your salary band will remain the same, but performance depending, you could receive an incremental within-band increase and a yearly incentive)
• Option to buy additional annual leave up to 5 days per year
• Enhanced employer pension contributions – Up to 11% employer contributions
• Free Mortgage Brokering Services 
• Enhanced family friendly policies
• Progression opportunities, including the ability to apply for funded training and coaching and mentoring programmes
• Gym and fitness discounts as well as high street shopping
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discount off all Welsh Water visitor attraction centres and gift shops
• Car-leasing scheme and free on-site parking at all sites
• Health CashBack scheme and access to an online GP service
• An employee assistance programme for employees and their immediate family

Many more can be found on our website. 

Due to the nature of the industry, we require satisfactory references, post offer medical clearance, and a criminal records Basic Disclosure check on all new employees joining the business.

Who we are

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water keep 3 million people healthy each day with safe, reliable water, and take away wastewater to clean, before returning it safely to our beautiful rivers and seas.
 

To be able to deliver high quality, essential services which help to protect the health of our customers, colleagues and our environment, we need the right people to deliver on our vision.  This is achieved by living our core values and demonstrating the core behaviours that underpin them.  The security of our people, assets and information is key to us, so we are looking for people who understand and comply with the company’s required security objectives.
 
We know that the most successful teams are the most diverse teams. Equality, diversity and inclusion provide the very foundation to our culture at Welsh Water. We want every individual to feel confident, proud and able to bring their whole selves to work. 
 
To ensure an improved representation in our workforce, applications are particularly welcome from minority groups including Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people, Females, LGBT+, Non-binary and people with disabilities. Together we continue to build a workplace that not only celebrates the diverse voices of our colleagues but also represents each customer we serve.
 
In essence, ours is a company based on trust, openness, respect, commitment and honesty. A company that our colleagues are proud to work for.