Closing Date 2026-09-01 Our Placement Year Programme provides a unique opportunity to gain practical experience across a range of economic regulation disciplines within the water industry. During your 12-month placement, you'll undertake structured rotations across our Economics, Charging and Regulatory Reporting teams, giving you exposure to the breadth of activities undertaken by our Economic Regulation function. The programme is designed to develop your understanding of how economic regulation shapes investment, customer outcomes and business decision-making. You'll work alongside experienced professionals on real projects, whilst developing analytical, communication, teamwork and project management skills. Alongside on-the-job experience, you'll receive technical training and development opportunities to help you build the knowledge and skills needed for a future career in economic regulation, economics, finance or the wider utilities sector. Key Responsibilities As a Placement Year Student, you'll support a variety of projects and activities across the Economic Regulation team. Your responsibilities may include: Supporting the application of economic principles and regulatory frameworks to business challenges and decision-making. Assisting with the preparation and drafting of regulatory submissions to Ofwat and other stakeholders. Undertaking research, data analysis and modelling to help understand the drivers of water and wastewater costs and performance. Supporting the production and assurance of information submitted to regulators, helping to ensure it is accurate, complete and high quality. Working collaboratively with teams across the business to gather information and develop evidence-based recommendations. Assisting with the development of customer charges, tariffs and supporting analysis. Supporting projects that explore regulatory developments and opportunities to improve outcomes for customers. Preparing presentations, reports and briefing materials for internal and external stakeholders. Contributing to continuous improvement initiatives across the Economic Regulation function. What You'll Gain By the end of the placement, you'll have developed: A broad understanding of economic regulation within the water industry. Experience working across the Economics, Charging and Regulatory Reporting teams. Strong analytical, problem-solving and communication skills. Practical experience of regulatory reporting, charging and economic analysis. Exposure to business-critical projects and senior stakeholders. Enhanced teamwork, leadership and project management capabilities. This placement offers an excellent opportunity to gain valuable industry experience, make a meaningful contribution to an essential public service and build a strong foundation for your future career. Our purpose is big. Our impact is huge. And we know that every single one of us has the power, through our actions, to positively change society and the environment for good. It’s why careers with us have real meaning. Because, if you’re driven and ambitious, we can offer you huge opportunities for personal growth, professional development and constant innovation. Forever evolving. Forever focused on doing the right thing, we empower and encourage everyone to play to their strengths and to help us shape a fair and positive future for all. We believe in Water for Life. If you do too, Dive Right In. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, because delivering water for life is our core purpose. To achieve this, we need 24/7 support in place to resolve incidents quickly and efficiently. All our employees understand the importance of out-of-hours incident support – because when problems appear, fixing them is our top priority. That’s why our people join together and support when and however needed to make sure our customers get the service they deserve. Joining the Southern Water family means you’ll become part of our incident support team. During your interview, your manager will speak to you about any incident support rotas that apply to your position. Does this opportunity excite you but you’re not 100% sure if you meet all the requirements for the role? Or are you concerned that ‘normal’ office hours aren’t possible given your personal circumstances? Whilst we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we’ll try to find a practical solution. So why not engage with us and find out more about this role?