Innovation Project Managers

What you’ll be responsible for

Job Title: Innovation Project Managers (2x Positions Available)

Please note: References to "Scale & Embed" have been removed from this role title as they are no longer applicable following recent organisational changes.

This role is the Innovation Project Manager responsible for managing approved, complex and cross-functional innovation and business improvement activity through controlled delivery or adoption, with significant operational, environmental, customer, financial, regulatory or service impact.

Depending on the assignment, projects may focus on pilot and validation activity, or implementation, adoption and embedment activity. Once assigned, the role owns controlled delivery for that stage of the project lifecycle from an approved business case, mandate or delivery brief through to the agreed handover, closure or decision point. The role works with Innovation Managers, business sponsors, operational teams, enabling functions, suppliers and partners. It brings people from different teams together around one shared objective and ensures delivery is well governed, progress is visible, evidence is robust and impacts are controlled. It also ensures value for money and return on investment are actively managed, with outcomes handed over with clear ownership, benefit measures and next steps.

What You'll Do

1. Lead the delivery of assigned workstreams within complex innovation and business improvement projects, ensuring agreed outcomes are delivered within approved scope, time, cost, quality, risk and governance parameters.
2. Manage delivery plans, requirements, budgets, forecasts, benefits, ROI tracking, governance controls and delivery documentation, ensuring alignment with business strategy, regulatory commitments and investment objectives.
3. Maintain project controls including RAID logs, milestones, change control, reporting and approvals, ensuring compliance with DCWW and PfMO/ePMO governance processes.
4. Lead and influence cross-functional teams, suppliers and partners, coordinating resources, maintaining delivery momentum and ensuring responsibilities are clearly understood and delivered.
5. Apply appropriate project delivery methodologies, including waterfall, agile and hybrid approaches, to ensure effective and consistent project delivery.
6. Control project budgets, forecasts and spend, reporting variances and ensuring value for money, benefit realisation and return on investment.
7. Manage supplier and partner performance, resolving delivery, commercial and contractual issues while ensuring agreed costs, quality and timescales are achieved.
8. Coordinate assurance activities, reviews, testing, acceptance, user validation and service readiness activities to support successful implementation, transition and handover.
9. Support the delivery of pilots, proofs of concept, trials, business adoption and change activities, ensuring objectives, risks, benefits, success measures and stakeholder requirements are effectively managed.
10. Prepare and present reports, recommendations, lessons learned and governance papers to senior stakeholders, using evidence, insights and performance data to support delivery decisions, benefits realisation and continuous improvement.

Undertake any other duties as required to meet the needs of the business.

About you

Essential Qualifications, Experience, Knowledge & Skills

Qualifications

• Project management qualification or equivalent experience managing projects in a governed delivery environment.

Experience

• Significant experience managing complex projects through governance, including planning, budgets, RAID, approvals, funding, forecasting, reporting, change control, assurance, implementation, closure and benefits handover.
• Experience leading matrix delivery across teams, suppliers, partners and enabling services, securing resources, maintaining resource plans and aligning milestones, budgets, risks, dependencies and outcomes to one shared objective.
• Experience working across waterfall, agile or hybrid delivery frameworks and applying project standards, controls and consistent ways of working.
• Experience leading approved pilots, trials, proofs of concept, implementation or embedment, using evidence, success criteria, risk controls and operational constraints to inform delivery decisions.
• Experience supporting high-impact or high-risk delivery stages or workstreams aligned to business strategy, regulatory commitments or investment outcomes.
• Experience planning testing, user validation, acceptance criteria, readiness checks, business change, training, live service or BAU transition, handover to named owners, adoption measures and benefits.
• Ability to manage risks, issues, assumptions, dependencies, budgets, resources, supplier performance and delivery constraints, recommending options and escalation routes.
• Ability to assess and present evidence, learning, benefits, customer and operational impact, ROI, service readiness and residual risks to support senior decisions.
• Experience in regulated, operational, utility, customer service, digital or transformation environments with significant customer, service, financial, regulatory or operational impact.
• Experience using project tools, Microsoft 365, dashboards or portfolio systems to manage delivery, budgets, assurance, actions, risks, senior governance papers, exception reports and lessons learnt.

Good to know

For an informal discussion about this role, please contact: Willow.Smallbone@dwrcymru.com and enter the job ID [9003] in the subject title line. 

Please note, we may close this role sooner if required. We may also extend the original closing date depending on interest.

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. For some roles there may be additional checks and security clearance required, and this offer is subject all checks being satisfied. You will receive further information on how to complete these checks via email once you have accepted this offer.

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
• Flexible working considered
• 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.