Graduate United Utilities Lingley

Type: Graduate
Region: North West

ob DescriptionGraduate (Economist) (21599)Job ID:

21599

Location:

Warrington, UK

Salary:

£30,000.00

Working Hours:

37.00 per week

Hybrid Work:

yesJob Purpose

About United Utilities

More than ever before we need inspiring graduates to join us and make the North West greener, healthier and stronger. We all know the challenges of climate change and by joining our graduate scheme you’ll play a role in securing efficient, reliable water resources for customers across the North West.

You may know us for keeping the taps flowing and toilets flushing for customers in the North West, but we’re also a responsible business who cares about delivering great customer service, protecting and enhancing the environment, caring for its communities, and making sure we’re investing in the region to support future growth, address climate change and work in partnership to improve river health.

Whichever scheme is right for you, you’ll be at the heart of bringing innovation and positive change to the water industry.

Ready to live your future?

You’ll be rewarded for your commitment with a starting salary of £30,000, 26 days of annual leave every year, which will increase to a maximum of 30 days after four years’ service, plus bank holidays. Our fantastic benefits include private healthcare, discounted gym, flexible holidays, and award winning pension scheme. We’re proud to be one of the UK’s top inclusive employers.

We are looking for graduates that have the capability to engage with people at all levels of the business and develop into outstanding leaders of the future. We’re looking for inspiring individuals to help deliver our ambitious plans, drive performance and improve customer service in a safe working environment. Sound like your cup of tea? Start living your future today.

In our strategy, policy and regulation department, you’ll have the chance to work within a highly motivated team that has a great track record in helping to deliver great service to our customers. The work we do touches almost every part of the organisation, which means you will work alongside a wide range of professionals from different fields, gaining a wealth of experience and creating a fantastic professional network as do you.

Job Accountabilities

You’ll receive a tailored development programme, primarily within strategy, policy and regulation (SPaR) but there will be opportunities for placements in other areas of the business. There is also potential for sponsorship for a masters or other postgraduate qualification subject to suitability and making satisfactory progress in your placements. The SPaR team itself leads a diverse portfolio of work, such as:

• Drawing upon economic theory to provide advice and support to teams and individuals from around the business;
• Developing and drafting regulatory submissions to Ofwat in support of the company’s business plan and pricing settlement;
• Conducting statistical/econometric analysis to understand what drives cost when delivering a water and wastewater service;
• Producing analysis to inform the company’s strategic direction;
• Working with teams from around the business to ensure that the information we submit to Ofwat is of high quality;
• Ensuring that the company engages with competitive markets in an appropriate way that will benefit our customers;
• Supporting financial modelling activity to inform business decisions; and
• Understanding and interpreting data to drive decisions about how charges and tariffs should be applied to the customer base.

Don’t worry, you won’t be going it alone. Mentors, managers and graduate buddies will support you as you find your feet and work towards your personal development goals. We’re looking for enthusiastic graduates to lead the way and help us to meet the challenges of the future.

More details about the position

• As a SPaR graduate, you will be given responsibility at an early stage across a wide variety of projects. We’ll expect you to be highly motivated and develop your understanding of how the business works, and how it’s affected by economic regulation, on the job. However, we won’t expect you to know everything from day one, and we’ll support you every step of the way as you learn the ropes.
• The graduate scheme is three years in length over which time you will get the opportunity to work in different teams within SPaR and around the business.
• You’ll receive a tailored development programme with 3-12 month placements, based at our head offices, Lingley Mere, in Warrington.
• There is a potential for sponsorship for a masters or other postgraduate qualification subject to suitability and making satisfactory progress in your placements.
• It’s fair to say no two days will be the same, as you learn how we manage regulatory risk, maintain good relationships with our regulators and use a wide range of data and information to provide expert regulatory and strategic advice.
• From specialist training to mentoring and coaching, we’ll be with you every step of the way. Managers, mentors and graduate buddies will be on hand to support you through your placement, help you set personal targets and make sure you’re on the road to success.

Knowledge and Skills

Our team has a strong reputation for excellence and as a graduate, you be will an important part of that success. The role will suit applicants with a quantitative background or with knowledge of economics, but we encourage all those interested in the position to apply – this role will draw upon a diverse range of skillsets.

We require graduates to have a minimum 2:1 degree classification in any discipline.

You will need to be:

• Motivated, enthusiastic and curious
• An excellent team player
• An excellent communicator (both verbally and in writing)
• Able to respond positively to pressure
• Highly organised
• Able to prioritise work
• A keen eye for detail
• Interested in current affairs
• Proficient with Microsoft Office
• Proficiency with a statistical analysis package is desirable but not required (e.g. Stata, SAS, R)

Additional Information

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an assessment centre which are taking place between 6th-15th December 2023.

We need fantastic people to enable us to deliver a great service to the public. We are committed to reaching and recruiting from every community and then supporting employees to achieve their full potential ensuring they feel valued and included, regardless of their gender, age, race, disability, sexual orientation or social background.

If you are offered a job with us, a number of pre-employment checks need to be carried out before your appointment can be confirmed. Any offer of employment with United Utilities will be subject to a satisfactory checking report from the Disclosure Scotland / the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Closing Date:

22/10/23