Water Supply Production Operator, Coxbench

Salary: £29,325 - £34,500 (depending on experience)

Location: Horsley, Heddon on the Wall

We have an exciting opportunity to join our Water Supply team as a Water Supply Process Operator, playing a vital role in delivering safe, high-quality drinking water to our customers every day. This is a fantastic entry point for someone looking to build a technical career, as full training is provided to support you in developing the specialist knowledge required for the role. We’re looking for someone with strong transferable skills, a proactive mindset, and a willingness to learn and grow within a supportive environment. Based at Horsley Water Treatment Works, you’ll also have the opportunity to contribute to operations across nearby sites, gaining broad, hands‑on experience.

In this role, you’ll be at the heart of the treatment process, using company systems to monitor performance, spot trends, and respond quickly when issues arise. You’ll apply your problem‑solving skills to carry out fault‑finding and take appropriate action to keep processes running smoothly.

You will also carry out laboratory testing, accurately recording results to support regulatory compliance and inform operational decisions. Working with chemicals and maintaining the accuracy of instruments through validation and calibration will form an important part of your day‑to‑day responsibilities.

Alongside this, you’ll contribute to the upkeep of the site, supporting general maintenance and cleaning activities. This includes process unit cleaning and tasks such as tank cleaning to remove waste materials, ensuring the site remains safe, efficient, and compliant.

We’re passionate about developing our people, so you can expect ongoing training, clear progression opportunities, and the chance to grow your career within the organisation while making a real difference to the communities we serve.

Strong communication skills are at the heart of this role, so we’re looking for someone who can express themselves clearly and confidently, both in writing and verbally. You’ll be comfortable sharing information, recording accurate data, and working collaboratively with colleagues to keep operations running smoothly.

You’ll bring a natural ability to think on your feet, using your problem‑solving skills to quickly assess situations, understand root causes, and take the most effective action when challenges arise. A calm, practical approach will help you manage issues efficiently and maintain high standards of performance.

We’re seeking a team player who thrives in a varied and hands‑on environment, someone who is flexible and willing to adapt to changing priorities. At the same time, you’ll be equally comfortable working independently, taking ownership of your responsibilities and managing tasks with minimal supervision. As much of the role involves working outdoors, you’ll enjoy being active, resilient, and ready to take on the demands of an operational site.

Here at Northumbrian Water, we embrace and value Diversity, Inclusion and Equity, and encourage all colleagues to bring their most authentic self to work. Our colleague network groups include our Rainbow Support Network (LGBTQIA+), REACH (Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Heritage), WiSTEM (Women in STEM) and Thisability (disability and neurodiversity) networks. We encourage and welcome all applications, as we strive to be an equal opportunity employer, committed to having diverse communities represented within all our teams, structures, and organisation.

NWG is an inclusive employer who supports the rehabilitation of offenders; we will not, however, consider candidates who have certain unspent convictions to ensure our commitment to fostering a safe and secure working environment for all OR colleagues, suppliers, customers and third parties.

• Generous holiday entitlement starting 23 days, plus bank holidays and additional time off on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. There’s also the option to buy or sell holidays.
• Company pension scheme, where we’ll double match your contributions up to an employer contribution of 10%.
• Free access to local attractions.
• A fantastic discount scheme, with savings on days out, shopping, travel and more.
• Award‑winning ‘Living Well’ wellbeing support, including access to a digital GP service for you and your family members.
• Support with sustainable travel – through salary sacrifice cars and a cycle to work scheme.
• Financial wellbeing support – access our community savings scheme, financial education and low cost loans through Salary Finance. We also provide 4 x Life Assurance and an Income Protection Scheme.
• Support with your development – we offer a range of development opportunities, can support you through an interest free qualification loan and we’ll even pay for any relevant professional body subscription.

This role has also been defined as a safety or security critical role and as a condition of a formal offer of employment you’ll be required to undergo a drug and alcohol test. Prospective employees and agency workers in defined safety and security critical roles will be required to undertake a drug and alcohol test after the job offer has been made. This will be prior to or within four weeks of their start date. Prospective employees and agency workers who fail a pre‑employment urine drug screen will have their sample analysed by the Company appointed laboratory as a matter of course. Failing a pre‑employment drugs or alcohol test may lead to the job offer being revoked. Please note this role requires a DBS to be completed prior to employment.