Job Description

Closing Date

27/11/2026

Job Title: Public Affairs & Stakeholder Engagement Manager (East/West)

Location: Durrington

Contract Type: Permanent

Hours: 37hours per week

Salary: From £50,000

About the role

Southern Water is delivering one of the largest infrastructure and environmental investment programmes in the UK, with £7.8bn of investment planned between 2025 and 2030.

The success of that programme depends on effective engagement, strong relationships and the ability to understand and respond to the needs of customers, communities, stakeholders and decision-makers.

As a Public Affairs and Stakeholder Engagement Manager, you'll lead the delivery of stakeholder engagement and public affairs activity across an allocated regional portfolio while acting as a business partner to key areas of the business.

Working with operational teams, programme leaders and senior managers, you'll help ensure stakeholder engagement is embedded into projects, programmes and day-to-day activities. You'll translate business priorities into practical engagement plans, build relationships with key stakeholders and help colleagues navigate complex stakeholder and political environments.

You'll be responsible for managing relationships with local and national government, MPs, community organisations and other stakeholders across your area. You'll lead engagement activity on major projects, operational issues and local priorities, helping the business build trust, respond to concerns and maintain productive relationships with the communities we serve.

The role combines regional relationship ownership with hands-on business partnering. You'll work closely with teams across the business to identify stakeholder risks and opportunities, coordinate engagement activity and ensure stakeholder insight informs delivery. You'll also play an important role in identifying issues that require wider corporate, political or reputational support, ensuring local intelligence contributes to broader communications activity.

This is a role for someone who enjoys building relationships, delivering engagement programmes and working with colleagues to solve problems. You'll be equally comfortable representing Southern Water externally, managing complex stakeholder issues and working alongside business teams to help them achieve their objectives.

What you will be responsible for:

• Leading delivery of stakeholder engagement and public affairs activity across an allocated regional portfolio.
• Acting as a Public Affairs and Stakeholder Engagement business partner for assigned directorates, programmes and business areas, providing day-to-day advice and support on stakeholder matters.
• Developing and implementing stakeholder engagement plans that support operational delivery, capital projects, environmental programmes and business priorities.
• Building and maintaining productive relationships with MPs, councillors, local authorities, regulators, community organisations and other key stakeholders across your region.
• Supporting programme and project teams to identify stakeholder requirements, manage concerns and deliver effective engagement activity.
• Managing stakeholder issues, enquiries and escalations, ensuring concerns are resolved quickly and appropriately and that commitments are delivered.
• Identifying stakeholder, political and reputational risks and opportunities and supporting the development of practical mitigation and engagement plans.
• Planning and delivering meetings, events, consultations, briefings and engagement activities on behalf of the business.
• Monitoring political, regulatory and stakeholder developments and sharing relevant intelligence with colleagues and leadership teams.
• Working closely with Communications, Operations, Capital Delivery, Asset Management and Customer teams to ensure engagement activity is coordinated and aligned with business priorities.
• Maintaining stakeholder records, engagement plans, reporting and governance requirements.
• Supporting responses during incidents, operational events and periods of increased stakeholder scrutiny.
• Contributing to continuous improvement across the Public Affairs and Stakeholder Engagement function by sharing learning, improving processes and promoting best practice.

Additional Requirements specific to the role

• Participate in role-appropriate on-call rotas and provide support during incidents, emergencies and periods of heightened operational, stakeholder or reputational risk.
• Travel across the Southern Water region to attend stakeholder meetings, events and engagement activities when required.
• Support and champion Southern Water’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy, demonstrating positive and inclusive behaviours.

What you’ll bring to the role:

Essential

• Experience in public affairs, government relations, political engagement, parliamentary affairs or influencing within political and regulatory environments.
• Experience in stakeholder engagement, external affairs, strategic communications, community engagement or relationship management within a complex organisation.
• Experience building and managing relationships with elected representatives, local authorities, regulators, community organisations or other external stakeholders.
• Experience developing and delivering stakeholder engagement, public affairs, advocacy or influencing activities.
• Experience supporting senior managers and business leaders on stakeholder, political or reputational issues.
• Strong stakeholder engagement, relationship management and influencing skills.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to prepare briefings, presentations and stakeholder materials for a range of audiences.
• Ability to operate effectively in politically sensitive, complex or highly scrutinised environments

Desirable

• Degree-level qualification or equivalent professional experience.
• Professional qualification in public affairs, communications, stakeholder engagement, marketing, public policy or a related discipline.
• Experience within utilities, infrastructure, environmental services or another regulated sector.
• Knowledge of political, regulatory and stakeholder landscapes relevant to the water sector.

Why join us?

This is an opportunity to influence issues that matter to millions of customers and communities across the South East.

You'll work at the intersection of politics, policy, operations and reputation, helping shape how Southern Water engages with stakeholders ranging from local campaign groups and councillors through to regulators, parliamentarians and government.

You'll join at a time of significant investment and change, with the opportunity to help shape major decisions, lead important relationships and make a visible contribution to the future of the business and the region it serves.

"At Southern Water, we believe diverse perspectives drive innovation. If you’re passionate about making a positive impact and think you can bring value to our team, we’d love to hear from you—even if you don’t tick every box. Your unique skills and experiences could be exactly what we need."

If this role isn’t quite what you’re looking for but are keen to be contacted about opportunities at Southern Water, you can register your details here: Introduce Yourself (myworkdaysite.com- Introduce Yourself)

Our Commitment to Diversity

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or any other protected characteristic. If you need reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.

Additional information:

In line with Southern Water’s security requirements, successful candidates will be required to provide evidence of their identity, eligibility to work in the UK, criminal record check (DBS) and verification of their employment and/or education history for the past three years.

Appointment to this role is subject to the successful completion of all pre‑employment checks, including security vetting.

Please note that if a candidate does not meet the required security standards or fails to pass the vetting process, Southern Water reserves the right to withdraw the offer of employment. Some positions may also require higher levels of security vetting, which may involve providing additional documentation.