Senior Project Manager - SDLC & Implementation

About the role

Join us at a pivotal moment in our transformation journey. As a Senior Project Manager in our IT Programme Delivery team, you’ll be at the forefront of shaping, delivering and embedding complex change across our technology landscape. This is a dynamic, fast-moving environment where no two days look the same perfect for someone who thrives on variety, innovation, and working with smart, passionate people.

You’ll work across both business and technical domains, leading multi-disciplinary teams through the full project lifecycle. With a strong technical foundation, you’ll bring a broad understanding of infrastructure delivery especially data centre operations, systems integration and enterprise platforms while also being an outstanding communicator who can translate complexity for stakeholders at all levels.

This is a highly collaborative role, working closely with Business Owners, Product Owners, Programme Managers and technical specialists to ensure our portfolio lands successfully and delivers real value.

What you will be responsible for

• Leading large-scale and complex IT projects from initiation through to service transition.
• Creating clear plans, estimates, budgets, milestones and deliverables for your programme of work.
• Managing multi-disciplinary teams in a matrix environment, ensuring clarity, alignment, quality and motivation throughout.
• Building strong working relationships across both technical and non-technical teams, ensuring clear communication and proactive risk management.
• Ensuring project governance, documentation and processes are followed in line with PMO standards.
• Managing third-party suppliers and partners to ensure they deliver to scope, quality and timescales.

Additional Requirements

• Occasional travel to other Southern Water sites may be required.
• Participation in project-specific out-of-hours activity (e.g., implementation cutovers) on a rota basis where relevant.

What you’ll bring to the role

Essential

• Strong experience leading complex IT infrastructure projects, ideally within large organisations.
• Excellent communication skills — able to engage, influence and bring clarity to stakeholders at every level.
• Demonstrable experience managing project teams in a matrix structure.
• PMP, PRINCE2, Agile certification or equivalent professional experience.
• A strong technical background with broad understanding of IT infrastructure, including data centre environments.
• Proven ability to work proactively, solve problems independently, and drive delivery at pace.

Desirable

• Experience managing portfolio-level initiatives or supporting Programme Managers with resource planning.
• Experience with procurement and managing third-party suppliers.
• Degree in Computer Science or related field.
• Experience of Data Centres, especially moving and migrating hardware and services.
• Experience within regulated utilities, critical infrastructure, or similar environments.

Southern Water is at the forefront of transforming Britain’s water industry, investing significantly to enhance resilience, sustainability, and service excellence. With £7.8bn planned investment for 2025-30, this is an unparalleled opportunity to join a business committed to delivering a generational shift in the way water services are managed.

You will be joining at a time of significant change, working alongside a highly skilled leadership team with a clear vision for the future. We offer an environment where senior professionals can make a meaningful impact, influence major strategic decisions, and drive long-term value creation

At Southern Water, we believe diverse perspectives drive innovation. If you’re passionate about making a positive impact and think you can bring value to our team, we’d love to hear from you—even if you don’t tick every box. Your unique skills and experiences could be exactly what we need.

Our Commitment to Diversity

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or any other protected characteristic. If you need reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.

Additional information

In line with Southern Water’s security requirements, successful candidates will be required to provide evidence of their identity, eligibility to work in the UK, criminal record

check (DBS) and verification of their employment and/or education history for the past three years.

Appointment to this role is subject to the successful completion of all pre-employment checks, including security vetting.

Please note that if a candidate does not meet the required security standards or fails to pass the vetting process, Southern Water reserves the right to withdraw the offer of employment. Some positions may also require higher levels of security vetting, which may involve providing additional documentation.