Drinking Water Specialist (3076)

Job summary

Do you want to use your technical expertise to protect drinking water quality and make a real difference to public health in Scotland?

The Drinking Water Quality Regulator for Scotland is looking for a Technical Specialist to join the Drinking Water Quality Regulation Team to support the regulation of drinking water quality. This is a key role in protecting public health and maintaining confidence in drinking water through strong, effective regulation.

As the Drinking Water Specialist, you will assess compliance with regulatory requirements, provide expert technical advice, and carry out regulatory assessments and investigations. The focus of the role is to drive continual improvement in drinking water quality by shaping policy, guidance, and regulatory decisions that make a real impact.

Job description

• Lead technical inspections of Scottish Water assets and activities, engaging with all levels of the organisation, recommending improvements and reporting on findings.
• Lead liaison and supervision of Local Authorities in their duties concerning private water supplies.
• Classify and investigate water quality incidents, reporting findings and initiating and managing enforcement action where appropriate.
• Provide expert specialist advice to assist with policy development and drinking water research, delivering technical leadership on key strategies.
• Act as a credible, independent source of advice on drinking water quality to Scottish ministers, industry stakeholders and members of the public.
• Assist with the management of the public profile of the DWQR, including website, correspondence and media relations.

Person specification

Success profile: Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of skills, experience and behaviours candidates will be assessed on.
Technical / Professional Skills:

• Building and applying knowledge - Uses experience and expertise to assess Scottish Water’s performance against regulatory frameworks.
• Technical Oversight and Management - Investigates technical problems methodically to arrive at clear and defensible conclusions, with outcomes expressed succinctly and credibly.

Experience:

• Previous experience in a similar role, including relevant operational experience in the water industry or supply chain.

Behaviours:

• Communicating and influencing – Level 3
• Managing a quality service – Level 3

Licences

Driving License

Qualifications

You must have a Degree or equivalent in a relevant science or engineering subject (BSc (or MSc) within a scientific discipline such as biology, biological sciences, chemistry, biochemistry, medical microbiology, biomedical sciences, or various engineering disciplines). Candidates should (as minimum) be showing willingness to gain chartership with a relevant industry body (e.g. C.Si, Institute of Water).

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Building and applying knowledge - Uses experience and expertise to assess Scottish Water’s performance against regulatory frameworks.
• Technical Oversight and Management - Investigates technical problems methodically to arrive at clear and defensible conclusions, with outcomes expressed succinctly and credibly.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £47,730, Scottish Government contributes £13,827 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an interview and presentation. Assessments are scheduled for w/c 7 September 2026 however this may be subject to change.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces dive