Job Description

Together we are Trusted to Serve Scotland.

It\xe2\x80\x99s not every job where you make a difference for the people of Scotland. But it\xe2\x80\x99s what\xe2\x80\x99s behind every job here. Our work keeps Scotland\xe2\x80\x99s water flowing, from reservoir to tap \xe2\x80\x93 and from sewer to treatment plant.

Do your bit by joining our Juniper House lab on the outskirts of Edinburgh \xe2\x80\x93 home of our Technical Support Team for Scientific Services.

What you\xe2\x80\x99ll be doing:

Clean water doesn\xe2\x80\x99t just happen. Our team of 300 samplers, scientists and support staff analyse their way through an average of one test every minute. As a Scientific Sampling Administrator within our Technical Support Team, you\xe2\x80\x99ll play a crucial role in our extensive analytical testing service.

You\xe2\x80\x99ll be following our processes to register and receive a high volume of water and wastewater samples from all over Scotland, from both internal and external customers. To keep the high volume of work flowing, you will investigate and resolve regular customer queries. You\xe2\x80\x99ll help schedule and prioritise work within your team and carry out routine maintenance and calibration of equipment.

Naturally, we\xe2\x80\x99ve got a big focus on health and safety. The standard? 100% compliance with the strictest standards \xe2\x80\x93 many of them set out in law.

This role is an ideal entry level role for people looking to start their Scottish Water career.

What you\xe2\x80\x99ll need:

When you join us, you\xe2\x80\x99ll be part of Scientific Services development programme which lasts 2 years, and where you can perfect your customer service and administrative skills. But you\xe2\x80\x99ll need some foundational knowledge to get you off to a flying start.

You\xe2\x80\x99ll need top-notch customer service skills and the confidence to talk to anyone. And of course, you\xe2\x80\x99ll know your way around Microsoft Office \xe2\x80\x93 even the fiddly bits, like table formatting.

Attention to detail is a must: you will need to make sure all sampling data is entered correctly to allow technical interpretation of laboratory results by others.

Beyond that, we\xe2\x80\x99re looking for a few \xe2\x80\x98nice-to-haves\xe2\x80\x99. Experience working in a UKAS-accredited laboratory environment would be ideal. With that probably comes awareness of ISO 17025 or 14001 accreditations for health and safety (if you know, you know) and experience of LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System).

What you\xe2\x80\x99ll get:

While the work we do is important, we know it\xe2\x80\x99s not the only thing that matters. That\xe2\x80\x99s why we make sure you have everything you need to find a good work-life balance.

You\xe2\x80\x99ll get plenty of time to recharge with 38 days of holiday every year (including public holidays). And you can even buy five more if you need a little extra time. You can also take time off to volunteer in your community.

When it comes to major life events we have family-friendly policies around adoption, maternity, and parental leave. And for the everyday? We embrace flexible working. For your future, there\xe2\x80\x99s our pension (the \xe2\x80\x98know-what-you\xe2\x80\x99ll-get-when-you-retire\xe2\x80\x99 kind), and life assurance.

As for some nice extras? You can expect an annual company bonus. Not to mention access to SW Splash \xe2\x80\x93 handy rewards that can save you money on holidays, bills, and shopping.

The not-so-small print

The starting salary for this role is \xc2\xa321,053 (part time pro rata).

You\xe2\x80\x99ll be placed on our Scientific Sampling Administrator Progression Plan, which starts from \xc2\xa321,053 and reaches \xc2\xa325,468 (part time pro rata) over a 2-year period. Progression is 6 monthly and tied to completion of specific training milestones in your development plan.

This is a part time role (25 hours per week), and you\xe2\x80\x99ll work shifts between either 8.00 am to 1.00 pm or 9.00 am to 2.00 pm, Monday to Friday. Overtime or time off in-lieu will apply where this is required.

The role will be based at Juniper House in Edinburgh and is not suitable for flexible/home working.

All new Scottish Water employees are required to complete pre-employment security checks before they can start work.

If you\xe2\x80\x99re interested in this role \xe2\x80\x93 or know someone else who might be - we\xe2\x80\x99ll be accepting applications until midnight on Tuesday 29 August 2023. We\xe2\x80\x99ll be interviewing the week beginning Monday 11 September 2023.

Do you have any support needs?

Please let us know if there are any changes we can make to our application and selection process to make it easier and more comfortable for you. Email us with the vacancy reference number in the subject line so we can work with you to support you throughout your application.

Working at Scottish Water

Scottish Water is one of the UK\'s leading water companies, the quality of drinking water and satisfaction with the service we provide our customers has never been higher - but we want to be even better \xe2\x80\x93 and you could help play an important part!

We take employee engagement very seriously and have an inclusive and collaborative work environment where we respect people\xe2\x80\x99s differences. We are committed to creating an engaging environment and a positive experience for our employees.

We were recently recognised as a Top 10 Flexible Employer in Scotland at the Flexibility Works Awards 2021 and by The Times as a Top 50 Employer for Women in 2019.

In 2019 we also won the Age Inclusive Award at The Herald and GenAnalytics Diversity Awards and were winners of the Best Public Sector Employer at the Family Friendly Working Scotland Awards 2020.
We have Carers Positive Exemplary Status and were Silver Award 2019 & Gold Award winners 2020 of the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (DERS).

We aim for work to be an energising and fulfilling experience and everyone plays their part to ensure that Scottish Water is trusted to serve our customers and communities.

We are passionate about creating opportunities for young people and are proud to have achieved the Gold standard in the Investors in Young People accreditation, demonstrating our commitment to creating rewarding opportunities for young people.

You will have access to a host of benefits which include 38 days holiday a year, a defined benefit pension scheme, a discounted medical cash plan and cycle to work, plus a variety of agile working arrangements and family-friendly policies designed to support your wellbeing.

Next Steps

Any offer of employment with Scottish Water will be subject to the successful completion of a mandatory pre-employment screening process, including Disclosure Scotland and eligibility to work in the UK. Details can be found on our website.

For more information about this role or if you require any additional support throughout the application process please contact the recruitment team:

As part of our commitment to developing a flourishing Scotland, it is important that Scottish Water employees are resident in Scotland and contribute to the Scottish economy by paying Scottish income tax on their earnings. As a result we ask all potential employees to confirm that they are resident in Scotland, or to confirm their intentions to move to Scotland within 3 months of their start date.

Please note that candidates who have not submitted an application in the last 12 months will be automatically removed from our system records.

Scottish Water