Head of Digital Innovation

As the Head of Digital Innovation, you will shape the organisation’s digital innovation strategy and align it with the Business and Digital strategy.

You will drive innovation efforts, ensuring that the appropriate tools, people, and processes are in place to execute the strategy. You will establish an environment that supports research, collaboration with product and platform teams, and facilitates proof of concepts and prototype development, as well as communicating progress and sharing ideas. Additionally, you will support the establishment of an innovation hub to enable long-term innovative thinking and research aligned with emerging trends.

What you’ll be doing as the Head of Digital Innovation

• Strategic Leadership - Lead and define the organisation’s innovation strategy in collaboration with the CIO and CTO, ensuring alignment with the Digital strategy and broader Business strategy.
• Oversee the execution of the organisation’s innovation strategy, ensuring that the necessary tools, processes, and people are available to drive innovation efforts.
• Understand and evaluate emerging technology trends and the changing business and competitor landscape, preparing the organisation for disruptive technology changes.
• Facilitate innovative activities by fostering an environment for research, proof of concepts, and prototype development.
• Define the pipeline of emerging innovative ideas that the organisation should pursue to create new business opportunities in the long term.
• Set up evaluation criteria consisting of key financial and non-financial metrics to shortlist innovative ideas for short-term tactical gains or long-term strategic advantage.
• Establish a dedicated space for rapid prototyping and experimentation, fostering an environment for research, proof of concepts, and prototype development
• Create a quarterly technology horizon scan with an overview of emerging tech trends and capabilities that can be shared with the business and technology teams through our intranet

Base location – Hybrid – Clear Water Court, Reading RG1 8DB

Working pattern – Monday to Friday
Requirements for the role – Occasional travel to other sites for meetings

What you should bring to the role
To thrive in this role, the essential criteria you’ll need are:

• Proven experience in defining and delivering digital innovation strategies in complex, asset-intensive environments such as utilities, infrastructure, or regulated sectors
• Strong knowledge of advanced technology architecture and emerging trends
• Familiarity with the latest technologies, trends, standards and products
• Ability to develop and articulate technology innovation roadmaps and visions
• Experience in customer-centric design and technology innovation

 
Extra qualities that would be a great fit for our team:

• Experience working with smart infrastructure technologies (e.g. IoT, digital twins, AI/ML) to solve real-world operational challenges in water, wastewater, or related industries
• Understanding of the UK utilities sector, including its unique operational and regulatory challenges
• Awareness of industry-specific technology, such as SCADA systems

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary of up to £95,000 per annum depending on experience
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays)
• Car Allowance - £5800
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON
• Private Medical Health Care
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks

Who are we?
We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water
Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy fast-tracked career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

Whether you’re interested in a role in one of our call centres or science labs, we’re looking for people like you with real passion and a burning desire to make things better.

So, if you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

Our overarching aim is to ensure that Thames Water is great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and offer extra support for those who need it throughout the recruitment process. Our aim is to remove any real or perceived barriers to success, so if you need assistance, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.