Casework Associate

We are Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, a non-ministerial government department responsible for regulating the water sector in England and Wales.

We have an opportunity for two Casework Associates to join our Casework, Enforcement & Customers Directorate.

The water sector is entering a new chapter. Following the Independent Water Commissions Final Report and subsequent White Paper - 'New Vision for Water', the UK government has set out a bold new direction - one that brings together expertise from across the sector to deliver better outcomes for customers and the environment.

Ofwat is working in collaboration with the government and other regulators to help establish a new body for England, combining our strengths with those of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, the Environment Agency, and Natural England. Were also continuing to engage with the Welsh Government to support future decisions for Wales.

While these changes take shape, our mission remains the same: to hold water companies to account, drive performance, and ensure the sector delivers real value for customers, communities, and the environment. If youre passionate about making a difference, this is a unique moment to join us and help shape the future of water, and together we can continue to make a positive impact.

You can find out more about why you should join Ofwat, our strategy, values and our framework for success in the attached Information for Candidates Pack.

As an Associate in the Casework team, you will work across one or both of our Licensing and Complaints, Enquiries and Disputes workstreams, as required. You will respond to customer enquiries and complaints that Ofwat receives and deliver small scale investigations, where we have legal powers to determine a dispute between a customer and their water company. You will also lead the assessment of licence applications we receive from companies wishing to operate in the water sector.

The successful candidate will have an understanding (and ideally experience) of regulation and/or the water sector and/or utilities, strong customer service and planning skills; be able to identify and assess analyse relevant information to make evidence-based recommendations; and be great at working with others to gather and share information clearly in writing or verbally.

You will be responsible for managing a varied caseload of customer enquiries, complaints and licence applications.

Key deliverables:

In this role you will be expected to:

• Lead the successful resolution of customer disputes, enquiries and complaints and delivery of licence application assessments.

This will require you to: 

1. Plan, prioritise and manage your programme of work to meet required deadlines and in line with our process and governance requirements. 
2. Identify, gather and analyse a range of relevant data and information relevant to our decisions. 
3. Clearly and concisely present objective, evidence-based conclusions and recommendations in writing and verbally, and conveying complex information to a range of audiences. 
4. Identify and gather the inputs and information requiredfrom internal and external stakeholders to ensure our decisions are well-considered, timely and reflect relevant links and impacts in Ofwat's wider work. 
5. Consider and manage issues and risks arising from your work, escalating these to managers where appropriate. 

• Provide a high-quality service to customers and other relevant stakeholderscontacting Ofwat via phone, letter or email. This will require you to: 

1. Actively listen to our customers and stakeholders, to ensure you understand and can effectively respond to enquiries and complaints raised with us. 
2. Maintain accurate and up-to-date records of contacts you have responded to via our case management system. 
3. Work collaboratively with internal subject matter expertswhere needed to understand issues and prepare appropriate and timely responses. 

• Support continuous improvementin our ways of working. This will require you to: 

1. Help to identify and flag trends and insights from our work and reflecting on lessons learnt to inform future ways of working and our continuous improvement. 
2. Keep abreast of Ofwat's key announcements and wider trends and developments that might impact on our team's work. 
3. Play a role in enabling the success and well-being of our whole team, by seeking out and sharing knowledge; taking account of different individuals' needs and views; supporting each other in managing and adapting to changing workloads and priorities; celebrating success; and providing constructive feedback to support our learning and growth. 
4. Actively participate in finding solutions to challenges that might arise in our work, and in enabling and encouraging better and more efficient ways to achieve our team's objectives. 

• Take ownership of your own personal development and well-being. 

To be successful in this role you will need the below essential attributes, experience, skills and knowledge:

Experience, skills and knowledge

1. Lead Criterion: Experience of gathering and analysing complex information to make evidence-based conclusions and recommendations.
2. Lead Criterion: Understanding (and ideally experience) of regulation and/or the water sector and/or utilities.
3. Experience handling difficult conversations with, and conveying complex information to, customers, including vulnerable customers by phone and in writing.
4. Ability to work under pressure, planning, prioritising and managing a varied workload to meet different, and often tight, deadlines, while maintaining quality.
5. Strong attention to detail and experience maintaining accurate and up-to-date records/case files.
6. Experience identifying, assessing, mitigating and escalating risks as they arise.
7. Working with internal and external stakeholders to gather and share information and to deliver a common objective.
8. Desire to continuously improve a work environment, for example: sharing your ideas with colleagues and implementing improvements to policies and processes.
9. Ability to adapt communication style to suit various stakeholders and situations.

Attributes

10. Delivers outcomes

11. Creates clarity

12. Promotes collaboration 

13. Adaptable thinker 

Attributes as per Ofwat's Framework for Success for the relevant salary grade. You can read more about Attributes here.