SEMD Lead

Summary: As a hands-on Security and Emergency Measures Direction (SEMD) Lead at South East Water, you will sit at the very heart of operational resilience, ensuring critical operations meet vital regulatory standards under the Water Industry Act. This high-visibility role is ideal for a proactive project manager with a strong background in compliance, risk mitigation, and team leadership. Whether you bring deep expertise in security and emergency response within the water sector, or offer exceptional project management skills honed in another compliance-heavy utility or regulated industry, your work will directly safeguard key infrastructure. Serving as the strategic connector across South East Water, you will take ownership of two crucial workstreams while embedding SEMD guidance seamlessly into daily operations. As Lead Project Manager for the SEMD RAG Assessment 'Go Green Plan', you will drive departmental milestones, produce monthly performance reports for Steering Groups, and deliver high-level quarterly updates to the Executive team. Simultaneously, you will oversee the delivery of SEMD Legal Instruments, managing strict reporting deadlines, proactively mitigating milestone risks, and directly mentoring a small, dedicated team to execute daily objectives. To succeed, you need a proven track record in complex milestone tracking, risk management, and executive reporting, paired with a collaborative mindset that inspires cross-departmental buy-in. You are a hands-on leader ready to dive into the details while guiding your team to success. If you are ready to apply your resilience expertise to a role with broad impact, South East Water invites you to lead the charge. Main responsibilities: Own the South East Water annual SEMD RAG assessment: This role will be responsible for coordinating and submitting our annual SEMD RAG assessment. You will work closely with internal stakeholders to ensure the annual SEMD RAG assessment is reflective of our business, providing guidance, support and clarity. Ensuring the annual SEMD RAG assessment is managed and used as a working document, rather than an annual health check. Driving continuous improvement and compliance with the regulations.Own the South East Water 'SEMD go green plan': Responsibility for developing our SEMD 'go green plan' after each annual SEMD RAG assessment submission. You will also be responsible for reviewing the 'go green plan' regularly, ensuring it continues to meet the requirements of South East Water, within the SEMD guidance. You will partner with internal stakeholders to identify clear and measurable actions that sit within our 'go green plan'. Supporting internal stakeholders to deliver actions within our 'go green plan' by providing expert guidance and support. Providing regular reporting on our 'go green plan' which will be shared both internally and externally.Internal and external stakeholder management: This role will be responsible for raising the profile of SEMD within South East Water. With a combination of regular, informative updates, and using their expertise to bring the topic to life. This role will be responsible for liaising with the Drinking Water Inspectorate on issues relating specifically to SEMD.Horizon scanning: Identifying potential legislation changes and assessing the impact to South East Water to help shape our long term strategy. There is a requirement to sit on industry specific working groups, helping to identify external threats and issues facing other companies and ensuring South East Water have an appropriate and proactive approach to mitigate.Team Leadership and Delivery Directly manage and develop a team of three reports, overseeing performance and professional growth. Coordinate staff and build resource plans to ensure project milestones within our SEMD legal instruments are met efficiently. Act as the final 'quality controller' for all team outputs, ensuring work meets industry and company standards.Own delivery of our SEMD legal instrument: Overseeing project management of the activities within our SEMD legal instrument. Reporting progressing against milestones within our SEMD legal instrument, both internally and externally. Identifying and managing project risks within our SEMD legal instrument is integral to the role.You'll need: Skills / Qualifications / Experience Good standard of secondary education and able to demonstrate a good standard of numeracy and literacy skills. A formal qualification in security and or emergency planning would be advantageous. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage diverse audiences and build strong working relationships. Highly organised, methodical and adept at managing time effectively. Demonstrate thoroughness and a strong attention to detail. A curious and innovative thinker who is comfortable constructively challenging the status quo. Able to simplify complex topics and issues to engage with a wider range of internal and external stakeholders. Proven ability to plan effectively and deliver against deadlines, even when facing significant obstacles. Managed projects from initial discovery and scoping through to execution and post-launch evaluation. Proven track record in managing teams, projects, or large-scale programmes. Proficiency as a technical author, capable of creating structured business templates and procedural documentation. Demonstrable experience working on projects or initiatives relating to SEMD and a clear understanding of the requirements.Employees are required to be flexible and to be prepared to perform duties and other tasks within their capabilities. The nature of our business is such that the contents of any job profile are subject to change from time to time. Grow a career with a meaningful purpose. We know the communities we serve are diverse. We recognise creativity comes from diversity not similarity. That's why we are enthusiastic about creating inclusion across age, race, gender, ethnicity, religion and identity. You will experience our dedication to equal opportunities and fair treatment for all: through your recruitment, employment and career progression with South East Water. Benefits package: Excellent Stakeholder pension scheme, up to 10% employer contribution. 5 weeks holiday plus bank holidays per annum, increasing to 6 weeks with length of service. Flexible annual leave policy to buy or sell holiday leave. Paid volunteering days. Cycle to work scheme. Health cash plan. Life assurance. Wellbeing related benefits.What can you expect from your recruitment? To apply for this position, please submit your CV on our career's website. It is necessary for you to have the legal right to work in the UK when you begin employment with South East Water. Additionally, as part of the employment offer, you will need to pass background, identity, and employment referencing checks.If this sounds like the opportunity you've been looking for, apply now! South East Water kindly asks that recruitment agencies refrain from submitting CVs to our employees or associates without explicit invitation from our HR Resourcing team. CVs sent on a speculative basis will not be acknowledged and will not assume any responsibility for fees or commissions in the event that we hire a candidate who applied directly or subsequently introduced by an instructed agency. Compensation package: Upto £60,000, plus £6,492.29 car allowance