Strategy Manager

What you’ll be responsible for

Reporting to the Strategy Director, the Senior Strategy Manager plays a central role in shaping Welsh Water’s strategic direction by leading the development of strategic content, coordinating long-term business planning, and liaising with stakeholders on strategic issues.

The role is responsible for supporting the end-to-end strategy and business planning processes, ensuring that long-term pathways, choices and trade-offs are clearly articulated, credible and grounded in evidence. The postholder brings together horizon scanning, insight and organisational inputs to develop coherent strategic narratives that inform Executive and Board decision-making.

Key responsibilities of the role

1.    Play a leading role in development and oversight of Dŵr Cymru’s long-term corporate strategy.

2.    Develop and articulate long-term planning pathways and directional choices, supporting clarity on options, dependencies and implications over 5, 10 and 25-year horizons.
3.    Lead and coordinate horizon scanning activity across political, regulatory, environmental, technological and societal domains, translating emerging trends into strategic insights and implications.
4.    Manage strategic planning frameworks and governance, ensuring alignment between corporate strategy, business planning and asset investment.

5.    Prepare high-quality written materials for Executive and Board consideration, including strategy papers, long-term plans and options narratives.
6.    Work closely with Regulation, Finance, Asset Planning, Customer and Operations teams to ensure long-term plans are informed by evidence.

7.    Contribute to the ongoing development of tools to promote a strong strategic culture across the organisation, encouraging long-term thinking, collaboration and evidence-based decision-making

8.    Support the development of policy positions on regulatory reform and national plans, and engage with external stakeholders to push forward and shape reforms to the regulatory framework in Wales, in line with the needs of our strategy and plans.

9.    Support government and policy engagement by producing policy analysis, insights and strategic positions to inform external consultations and national strategic plans.

Who you’ll work with

About you

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

Qualifications

•    Degree or equivalent professional qualification in strategy, business, economics, public policy, social science or a related discipline.
•    Postgraduate qualification in strategy, public policy or business (desirable).

Experience

•    Significant senior-level experience working in strategy development, regulatory policy or business planning within a complex, preferably regulated,  organisation.
•    Proven experience leading or supporting structured strategy development processes and multi-year business planning, from early thinking through to Executive and Board sign-off.
•    Strong track record of authoring high-quality strategy documents, long-term plans or position papers for senior decision-makers.
•    Experience synthesising inputs from multiple disciplines (e.g. insight, regulation, finance, operations) into coherent long-term narratives.
•    Experience undertaking or coordinating horizon scanning and translating emerging trends into strategic implications.
•    Experience operating in regulated, infrastructure companies desirable.

Knowledge & Skills

•    Deep knowledge of the UK water sector, regulatory environment, government policy drivers and price reviews.
•    Strong understanding of strategy development methodologies, including long-term planning and pathway-based approaches.
•    Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate complex data and insight into strategic recommendations.
•    Exceptional written communication and document authorship skills.
•     Ability to work collaboratively across different parts of an organisation, forming strong networks.
•    Strong critical thinking, synthesis and judgement.
•    Ability to work effectively with senior stakeholders across organisational boundaries.

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 
•    Enhanced employer pension contributions – Up to 11% employer contributions
•    Several internal employee networks including Embrace, LGBT+, Neurodiverse, Disability, Women of Welsh Water, Parents, Wellbeing and many more...
•    Enhanced family friendly policies
•    Progression opportunities, including the ability to apply for funded training and coaching and mentoring programmes
•    Reduction on high street & online shopping
•    Cycle to work scheme/Car-leasing scheme
•    Online GP service
•    Voluntary private healthcare
•    Free mortgage brokering service
•    An employee assistance programme for employees and their immediate family
•    Free Headspace App to support your wellbeing
•    Colleague matched fundraising scheme up to the value of £500 per year for your chosen charity
•    20% off all Welsh Water visitor attraction centres and gift shops
•    Flexible working patterns
•    We also recruit our own volunteer Wellbeing Champions (on an annual basis) - successful recruits will receive full i-act and StRaW training

 
Whilst also working for a not-for profit company that truly cares about earning the trust of customers everyday, and about looking after our beautiful environment.