Water-Energy Planning

Salary: £50,000 (plus substantial training budget)

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 12/12/2025

The Role

United Utilities (UU) and Newcastle University are offering an exciting opportunity to develop a toolkit for multi-sector and multi-scale water planning at pace for net-zero nature-friendly growth.

You will be part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project which aims to enable investment in sustainable water supplies to meet the demands of net-zero energy.

As a KTP Associate you will deliver an innovative project, developing a toolkit for multi-sector and multi-scale water planning at pace for net-zero nature-friendly growth. This will enable investment in sustainable water supplies to meet the demands of net-zero energy, for example hydrogen production.

United Utilities provides water and wastewater services to around seven million people in the North West of England, supplying 3 million households and 200,000 business premises. UU manage the catchment land around the reservoirs to safeguard the quality of the raw water that is collected and stored. UU then treat and deliver around 1,500 million litres a day to their customer's taps. Based at United Utilities you will be supported by an interdisciplinary team from Newcastle University, led by Prof Jaime Amezaga and Dr Anna Murgatroyd with expertise in Environmental Sustainability and Hydrology. You will be also supported by a Dr Richard Blackwell, the Director of the Water Resources West regional multi-sector planning group, who is hosted by United Utilities.

Candidates should have a MSc and PhD in hydrology or water resources management.

Benefits:

Develop managerial skills and attend two residential managerial workshops (each of one-week duration)£4,000 personal training budgetThe opportunity to lead a project, develop project management skills and improve long-term career prospectsMentoring by a Knowledge Transfer Network AdviserFull access to university resources to complete the projectAbility to work in a largely self-determined way, across the industry-academic partnershipOpportunities to develop both technical understanding and commercial awarenessThe possibility of studying for a higher degree or undertaking professional development

The KTP Associate will be an employee of Newcastle University but will spend most of their working time at the company's premises at United Utilities Water Limited, Lingley Mere Business Park, Lingley Green Avenue, Great Sankey, Warrington, Cheshire, WA5 3LP and when required at Newcastle University.

The KTP Associate will follow United Utilities working hours and holiday procedure. Your normal working week will be 37 hours. Annual Leave applicable to this role is 26 days (increasing one day per year of service up to a maximum of 30 days), in addition to bank holidays.

Although the contract is fixed term for a duration of 2 years, more than 70% of KTP staff gain a permanent job offer by their KTP company.

For more information or informal enquiries, please contact Prof Jaime Amezaga ) or Dr Anna Murgatroyd )

For further details on the Faculty of Science, Agriculture & Engineering please visit our web page at: 

For further details about Knowledge Transfer Partnerships please visit the web page at: 

To apply, please attach your CV and a cover letter that demonstrates how you meet the essential criteria for the position, as outlined in the Person Specification of the Job Description. Any requested additional documents required as part of your application, should be included within the same file as your cover letter. The total file size must not exceed 10MB.

Key Tasks

Project planning, management and delivery of a 2-year innovation project on multiscale, multisector water resources planning, focussed on water for the energy sector and similar fast-paced water intensive developments.Stakeholder engagement across multiple water and energy companies, governments and regulators.Establish research and development methods for the project.Design and develop a toolkit for multisector planning at pace.Work alongside water company colleagues to undertake a pilot application of the toolkit.Transfer and embed capability into United Utilities transfer across the water planning community (including water companies, regulators and other sectors) through dissemination, documentation and co-working.

The Person

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

Experience of systematic data collection from document analysis (policy, legislation and academic), semi-structured interviews and group meetings with technical stakeholders, regulators and policy makers.Understanding of systems-based approaches to planning, including use of decision-support systems i.e. modelling and optimisation tools for evidence-based water planning.Applying critical thinking and insight to challenge established planning processes and develop new ones.Strong communication skills to effectively convey technical information to non-technical stakeholders.Knowledge of current UK water resources regulated planning processes, and opportunities to improve it.Understanding of the policy context influencing water management, regulation and the water industry.Commercial awareness of market dynamics and investment processes, ideally in the context of clean energy, datacentres and water companies.Planning, managing, and delivering complex projects to strategic objectives.Knowledge of hydrological processes and environmental engineering principles to ensure sustainability is embedded in the planning.Experience of working within the UK water planning community. (Desirable)Experience of working with the UK water policymakers. (Desirable)Familiarity with transcription services and/or AI services is desirable to streamline data analysis.(Desirable)

Attributes and Behaviour

Personal motivation and drive.Excellent organisational and planning skills.Thrives in a project environment with the ability to work to tight deadlines.The ability to work independently and collaboratively with colleagues.The ability to work autonomously and the confidence to lead.Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate at all levels to different stakeholder groups in both academia and industry.Good attention to detail.Is a natural problem solver.Excellent verbal, written and presentation skills.

Qualifications / Experience

Candidates should have a MSc and PhD in hydrology or water resources management.

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 28714

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