Emergency Planning Lead
South East Water
At South East Water, keeping the water flowing for millions of customers requires world-class foresight, rapid tactical execution, and unwavering resilience. We are seeking an authoritative, visionary Emergency Planning Lead to take total organizational accountability for our Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery (EPRR) framework.
This isn't just about managing plans-it is about leading culture, shaping strategy, and ensuring our operations withstand any challenge.
The Opportunity:
As our subject matter expert, you will step to the forefront of our operational strategy. You will set the direction, standards, and priorities that elevate our resilience, ensuring South East Water remains robust, agile, and fully compliant with all regulatory and legislative requirements.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership: Head a dedicated team of Emergency Planners,
establishing clear priorities and long-term EPRR strategies.
Internal Collaboration: Partner directly with the Ops Improvement Team,
Alternative Water Team, and SEMD Lead to integrate localized tactical plans
seamlessly into our master response strategy.
External Influence: Serve as the face of South East Water across regional
Local Resilience Forums (LRFs). Actively contribute to area-specific water
disruption plans and drive the adoption of industry best practices.
Regulatory Governance: Ensure complete, uncompromised compliance
across all statutory emergency obligations.
Brand Restoration: Play a critical frontline role in enhancing operational
resilience, minimizing impact during incidents, and actively rebuilding trust
with external partners and local communities.
What We Are Looking For:
Proven EPRR Expertise: A seasoned emergency planning expert with a strong
track record in critical national infrastructure (CNI) or utility sectors.
Decisive Command: A confident leader capable of providing clear, concise,
and calm direction during high-pressure incidents.
Cross-Functional Negotiator: Ability to translate complex tactical data from
specialized teams into actionable strategic frameworks.
Key Stakeholder Influencer: Extensive experience building robust working
relationships with external multi-agency partners, emergency services, and
LRFs.
Main responsibilities:
Team Leadership & Delivery:
- Directly manage the Emergency Planning Team, overseeing performance and professional growth.
- Build capability within the Emergency Planning Team, using previous experience to coach and mentor as required.
- Provide wider business coaching, specifically on incident management and emergency response.
- This role will be responsible for building internal relationships with key stakeholders to build a collaborative response to incidents and emergency planning.
- This role will be responsible for working with Local Resilience Forums to ensure industry best practice is adopted at South East Water. The role will actively participate in LRF working groups, contributing towards area specific water disruption plans.
- This role will support our internal incident review process, working closely with the Operational Resilience and Security Manager to identify opportunities for improvement.
- This role will be responsible for ensuring improvement opportunities are recorded, implemented and tested.
- This role will be responsible for aligning operational, tactical and strategic plans within our Incident and Emergency Plan.
- This role will be responsible for reviewing our existing emergency planning policies and where necessary updating.
- This role will be responsible for creating new emergency planning policies, and where possible aligning with the multi agency response approach.
- This role will be responsible for an ongoing programme of incident management training.
- This role will be responsible for developing training material for all roles on our incident management rota.
- This role will be responsible for ensuring the principles of Gold, Silver and Bronze Command are understood and implemented.
- This role will be responsible for wider business continuity, by assessing potential threats and conducting impact assessments to inform business continuity plans.
- This role will be responsible for updating our existing business continuity plans and ensuring a clear line of sight to South East Water's Emergency Plan.
Skills / Qualifications / Experience
- Good standard of secondary education and able to demonstrate a good standard of numeracy and literacy skills.
- A formal qualification in incident management and or emergency planning would be advantageous.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage diverse audiences and build strong working relationships.
- Highly organised, methodical and adept at managing time effectively.
- Able to simplify complex topics and issues to engage with a wider range of internal and external stakeholders.
- Proven ability to plan effectively and deliver against deadlines, even when facing significant obstacles.
- Willingness to undertake continuous professional development in emergency planning and incident management.
- Proven track record in managing teams, projects, or large-scale programmes.
- Proficiency as a technical author, capable of creating structured business templates and procedural documentation.
- Practical knowledge of emergency planning and incident response processes, including development and maintenance of plans and procedures.
- Experience working in emergency planning, business continuity or incident response. Ideally within the water industry or an operational environment.
- Awareness of the Security and Emergency Measures Direction (SEMD) and a working knowledge of the Civil Contingencies Act.
- Experience supporting or contributing to emergency exercises, post incident reviews and training.
Grow a career with a meaningful purpose.
We know the communities we serve are diverse. We recognise creativity comes from diversity not similarity. That's why we are enthusiastic about creating inclusion across age, race, gender, ethnicity, religion and identity. You will experience our dedication to equal opportunities and fair treatment for all: through your recruitment, employment and career progression with South East Water.
Benefits package:
- Excellent Stakeholder pension scheme, up to 10% employer contribution.
- 5 weeks holiday plus bank holidays per annum, increasing to 6 weeks with length of service.
- Flexible annual leave policy to buy or sell holiday leave.
- Paid volunteering days.
- Cycle to work scheme.
- Health cash plan.
- Life assurance.
- Wellbeing related benefits.
- To apply for this position, please submit your CV on our career's website.
- It is necessary for you to have the legal right to work in the UK when you begin employment with South East Water.
- Additionally, as part of the employment offer, you will need to pass background, identity, and employment referencing checks.
South East Water kindly asks that recruitment agencies refrain from submitting CVs to our employees or associates without explicit invitation from our HR Resourcing team. CVs sent on a speculative basis will not be acknowledged and will not assume any responsibility for fees or commissions in the event that we hire a candidate who applied directly or subsequently introduced by an instructed agency.
Compensation package:
Upto £60,000
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