Together we are Trusted to Serve Scotland.
It’s not every job where you can say you genuinely shape how an organisation evolves - but this is exactly that kind of role. At Scottish Water, you'll make a real impact, helping us put people right at the heart of every change we make.
Sound good? We’re looking for a Principal People Consultant to join our People Programmes and Project Delivery team.
What you’ll be doing
1. You’ll work closely with our People Business Partnering team, shaping and steering strategic HR change projects that make a real difference. From pinpointing the key issues and setting a clear strategy, to designing solutions and making sure changes become part of everyday life – you’ll guide the whole process.
2. Day-to-day, you’ll dive into business projects, quickly spotting what matters most – the people involved. Drawing on your proven expertise in managing complex HR situations – like TUPE transfers, restructures or out of hours operational changes – you’ll drive tangible improvements that teams will see and feel, always keeping people at the heart of every decision.
3. You’ll coordinate specialists from across our People Directorate, adapting policies and ways of working seamlessly. And because great change relies on great leaders, you’ll coach and advise managers through every step, guiding them confidently through employee relations and the realities of change management.
What you’ll need
1. You’re an experienced HR professional, confident in employee relations, ideally in a unionised environment. You’re comfortable handling complex HR projects from start to finish, and honestly, you kind of enjoy the challenge.
2. You’re comfortable managing project resources, directly or through matrix, keeping everyone pulling in the same direction (and even having a little fun along the way). A bit of know-how around project management, like Agile or Scrum, would help you hit the ground running.
3. You’re a natural at change management – facilitating, coaching and guiding leaders through transitions with confidence and positivity. And when it comes to analysing people and business data, you’re quick to translate insights into practical strategies.
4. Communication is your superpower; building relationships and getting people on board comes easily to you. You're a strong collaborator, actively seeking and valuing input from right across the business and the People Directorate.
5. And if you have Chartered CIPD membership tucked under your belt, even better.
Looking out for you
While the work we do is important, we know it’s not the only thing that matters. That’s why we make sure you have everything you need to find a good work-life balance.
This is a full time (35 hours per week) role, Monday to Friday. But you’ll get plenty of time to recharge with 38 days of holiday every year (including public holidays). And you can even buy five more if you need a little extra time. You can also take paid time off to volunteer in your community.
When it comes to major life events we have family-friendly policies around adoption, maternity, and parental leave. And for the everyday? We embrace flexible working.
For your future, there’s our pension (the ‘know-what-you’ll-get-when-you-retire’ kind), as well as life assurance.
As for some nice extras? You can expect an annual company bonus. Not to mention access to SW Splash – handy rewards that can save you money on holidays, bills, and shopping.
The not-so-small print
This role will be a Grade 8. If you’re new to Scottish Water, you’ll join us on a starting salary of £48,900. Performance-driven pay progression would then allow you to move through the range to a maximum of £68,510.
This role offers hybrid working, so you can be based anywhere in the Central Belt as long as you're within commuting distance of one of our main office hubs in Edinburgh or Stepps.
Job offers at Scottish Water are conditional. We’ll be able to confirm your start date once you pass our Pre-Employment Screening. This is done for us by a third party. We’ll ask for your permission before we initiate the checks.
If you’re interested in this role – or know someone else who might be, we’ll be accepting applications until midnight on Sunday 30 March 2025. We’ll be interviewing the week beginning Monday 7 April.
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! We hardly ever hire people who can do every part of a job from Day One. 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. Lots of our people have disabilities or neurodiverse conditions (including some of our recruiters!). We're also aware that some people might be experiencing temporary challenges because of life events, like menopause. 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 (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
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