Interim Director of Design

Tender description

We require an Interim Director of Design to support a peak in work and help provide technical input into this phase of the Water 2020 programme. The purpose of this role is to lead the key Design work-stream in the Water 2020 Programme. The successful candidate would be expected to lead a portfolio of policy projects covering a major work stream for the programme. They would be a member of the Delivery Board responsible for oversight of the whole programme. The successful candidate will be expected to play a lead role in designing the new price control arrangements and the necessary changes to the regulatory regime to support the introduction of the upstream market reforms set out in the Water Act 2014. The key focus of the role will be to consider the responses to our December consultation and to take final decisions to the Ofwat Board in February-April as well as leading the development of the decision document (and any associated appendices) which will need to be published at the end of May. In parallel the successful candidate will need to manage a team of 15-20 staff to ensure that team both supports the development of the May decisions and associated deliverables as well as making further progress on the development of remaining policy issues to allow for further consultation on those issues. Key responsibilities within the programme The successful candidate will be responsible for leading a multi-functional team, with responsibilities including: a. Overall management of the Design work-stream and delivery against Level 1 and 2 plans, including highlight reporting, risk and issues management and resourcing issues. b. Accountability for all the associated deliverables coming from that work-stream but with focus on the delivery of our May decision document. c. Attending Programme Board and Ofwat Board meetings as required and representing the work of that team in those discussions. d. Leading and challenging the development of policy in this work-stream, e.g. on water resources, sludge market design and regulatory/price control reform, etc, to ensure that our policy proposals are evidence based and robust to external challenge.