Together we are Trusted to Serve Scotland.
Ready to own your future? At Scottish Water, our Summer Internship programme empowers you to gain hands-on experience, tackle real challenges, and contribute to shaping Scotland's future. This isn't just a summer job - it's an opportunity to make a real impact. As part of our team, you'll play a key role in delivering essential services and infrastructure that help Scotland flourish every day.
You'll be joining us at a fascinating time, as we transform into a more agile, innovative organisation that delivers outstanding service and works in an environmentally sustainable way that goes beyond Net Zero.
Graduating in 2026? Kickstart your career with a 12-week summer placement and start building your future today.
What you'll do
As an Environmental Sustainability Intern in the Zero Emissions team or Capital Investment Net Zero team, you'll dive right into real-world projects that help drive Scottish Water's bold mission to reach net-zero emissions by 2040. You'll gain hands-on experience in reducing process and capital emissions, collaborating with our partners on embodied carbon initiatives. You'll contribute to cutting-edge projects by tracking emissions, analysing data, and recommending impactful changes. You'll also head out to sites to see the action firsthand, assisting with the installation and calibration of sensors that monitor emissions. This is your chance to witness how data drives decisions in the fight against climate change and play a direct role in making a difference.
You'll collaborate with operational teams and contractors to implement changes that cut emissions and help write reports that showcase the results of your work. You'll also be involved in broader sustainability projects, from climate change adaptation to biodiversity, all while contributing to Scottish Water's commitment to sustainability beyond just emissions.
This is a paid summer internship with an hourly rate of £12.60, aligned with the Real Living Wage. This is typically a full-time position (35 hours), but we're open to discussing flexible working patterns to suit your needs. For a 35-hour week, the equivalent annual salary would be around £23,020, pro-rated for the length of the internship.
What you'll need
You'll be in the penultimate year of university, or maybe about to do a Masters. Either way, you'll be on course for at least a 2:2 degree. And it goes without saying that you will be available for the full placement time: 12 weeks.
You'll be studying towards a degree in an environmental subject, such as Environmental Science, Sustainability, or a related field.
A strong interest in emissions reduction and/or data analysis is essential, as you'll be working with both environmental data and sustainability projects.
What happens next?
The closing date for applications is midnight on Sunday 9th of February. Please provide a Cover Letter (max. 500 words), alongside your CV.
If you're shortlisted, final face-to-face interviews will happen during February. If you accept a place on the programme, you'll go through some pre-employment screening during the Spring, including a criminal record check.
All our new Interns will start together at the beginning of June for a 12-week Summer Internship, finishing at the end of August. You'll learn more about the organisation, meet our leaders, visit some of our operational sites, start making friends, and have a lot of fun.
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! 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. We're also aware that some people might be experiencing temporary challenges because of life events. 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, 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.
We're here to help. Ask us anything at SWRecruitment@ScottishWater.co.uk #J-18808-Ljbffr