Relationship Lead

Job Description

Relationship Lead (East & West)

Location: East or West Anglian Water region (field-based with hybrid working)
Salary : £45,000 - ££50,000 per annum depending on experience

Permanent Full-time - 37 hours, with flexibility for part time

About the role

At Anglian Water, our purpose is to bring environmental and social prosperity to the region we serve through our commitment to Love Every Drop. With an £11bn investment programme planned for AMP8, we’re delivering some of the most significant water infrastructure projects in the UK — and strong, trusted relationships sit at the heart of making that happen.

We’re looking for a Relationship Lead to act as the strategic point of contact for stakeholder engagement across either the East or West of our region. This is a newly created role, designed to strengthen how we engage with landowners, communities, local authorities and partners as we deliver major capital programmes.

You’ll be the “eyes and ears” on the ground — building trust, understanding local priorities, identifying risks and opportunities, and ensuring stakeholder insight directly informs project delivery and decision-making.

If you’re excited by the idea of shaping long-term relationships while supporting nationally significant infrastructure, this is a chance to make a genuine impact.

What you’ll be doing

Regional relationship management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with local authorities, parish councils, community groups, businesses and other key stakeholders across your allocated area.

• Own stakeholder relationships within the region, ensuring regular, meaningful engagement.

• Act as a local intelligence lead, identifying emerging issues, sensitivities and opportunities.

Capital project awareness and support

• Maintain a clear understanding of all capital projects in your area, including timelines, impacts and engagement needs.

• Provide relationship and engagement insight to project teams to support effective delivery.

• Attend project meetings and escalate risks, issues and opportunities where appropriate.

Engagement planning and delivery

• Develop and deliver stakeholder engagement plans aligned to programme and corporate priorities.

• Support consultations, forums, community liaison activity and wider corporate engagement.

• Create tailored engagement materials including presentations, briefings and other communication materials.

• Organise and facilitate engagement activities such as workshops, public meetings and stakeholder briefings.

• Work closely with Brand & Communications colleagues to align engagement and communications activity.

• Capture stakeholder insight and feedback to inform decision-making and continuous improvement.

Risk, insight and reporting

• Identify and manage local risks and constraints that could impact delivery or reputation.

• Record and analyse engagement activity, feedback and outcomes, ensuring robust reporting and data compliance.

• Contribute to lessons learned and continuous improvement across stakeholder engagement practices.

What you’ll need

• Proven experience in stakeholder engagement, relationship management, public affairs or community liaison.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the confidence to engage diverse audiences.

• Ability to manage relationships independently across a defined geographic area.

• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.

• Educated to degree level or equivalent experience.

Desirable

• Experience supporting capital delivery or major infrastructure programmes.

• Knowledge of statutory engagement processes (e.g. planning or consent-led projects).

• Understanding of the water industry or local government landscape.

Why join Anglian Water?

We’re proud to offer a supportive, flexible and purpose-led working environment. Our benefits include:

• Competitive salary and annual performance bonus

• Generous pension scheme

• Private healthcare and wellbeing support

• 26 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays (with the option to buy more)

• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements

• Ongoing learning, development and career progression opportunities

• The chance to work on projects that make a real difference to communities and the environment

Inclusion at Anglian Water

Inclusion is for everyone and we are an equal opportunity employer, which means we’ll consider all suitably qualified applicants regardless of gender identity or expression, ethnic origin, nationality, religion or beliefs, age, sexual orientation, disability status or any other protected characteristic. We recruit and develop our people based on merit and their passion for creating better outcomes, and we’re committed to creating an environment where all our colleagues feel they belong.

Closing date: 12th February 2026

Interviews: Week commencing 23rd February 2026