At Scottish Water, our graduate programmes empower you to drive change, tackle real challenges, and shape Scotland’s future. This is more than just a launchpad for your career – it's an opportunity to make a meaningful impact. As part of our team, you’ll play a key role in delivering essential services and infrastructure that help Scotland flourish every day.
You’ll be joining us at a fascinating time, as we transform into a more agile, innovative organisation that delivers outstanding service, delivers great value for money, and works in an environmentally sustainable way that goes beyond Net Zero. Start a career that’s built for you, today.
What you’ll do
Our operations are critical to providing essential services that millions of people across Scotland rely on every day. In this programme, you’ll be trained to become a future leader within our operations teams, ensuring that our services continue to run smoothly and efficiently.
You’ll develop key leadership skills while gaining hands-on experience in managing teams, overseeing processes, and driving operational success. Working in a fast-paced environment, you’ll be expected to think creatively, solve problems, and deliver results quickly. You’ll collaborate across teams to drive continuous improvement, ensuring the efficiency and reliability of our services. Your role will be key to maintaining the smooth running of the business, and you’ll have the opportunity to build a strong foundation for a career in operational management.
Take a look at the teams hiring
Customer Water Services (CWS)
This team is responsible for managing approximately 250 water treatment assets across Scotland, divided into four distinct geographical areas, each with its own unique challenges. The team plays a key role in leading people, overseeing asset performance and maintenance, and ensuring compliance with all regulatory standards, including health, safety, and wellbeing. Operating within set financial budgets, they collaborate closely with both internal teams and external stakeholders, such as the Drinking Water Quality Regulator (DWQR), to ensure the delivery of high-quality, reliable water services across the country.
Electrical & Mechanical (E&M), Property and Workplace
This team ensures the performance and resilience of Scottish Water’s water and wastewater assets, along with the maintenance of office and depot facilities. They manage planned, statutory, and reactive maintenance, focusing on compliance and operational excellence. Graduates will work on projects like Condition-Based Monitoring, Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Event Duration Monitoring, and the development of an E&M inventory app. They’ll also contribute to the team’s strategic review, driving process improvements. The role offers a mix of office and site-based work across Scotland, providing exposure to a wide range of operational services and opportunities to collaborate with key stakeholders.
Wastewater Business Improvement
This team supports operations with data and insights to optimise site performance and ensure environmental compliance. Over the past year, they’ve rolled out advanced technologies for 24/7 performance monitoring at various wastewater treatment sites. With increasing data points, they are improving early response capabilities, enhancing environmental protection, and ensuring compliance.
Over your three years with us, you’ll receive dedicated training to become a fully qualified Operations Team Leader, building the skills and confidence needed to succeed.
How does the graduate programme work?
- You’ll be employed on a permanent contract from Day One, with a starting salary of £31,000.
- You’ll be part of a cohort of c.30 graduates, giving you an instant and invaluable network of contacts throughout the business.
- There is plenty of support. As well as your day-to-day manager, we’ll match you up with a mentor who will support and coach you as you go through your programme.
- You’ll have access to both structured and informal training designed to equip you with the skills you need now, and in the future.
- As you progress through the programme and reach key milestones, you’ll be rewarded with salary increases that recognise your growth and commitment to ongoing learning. Upon completing the programme, you’ll also have the opportunity to advance into an Operations Team Leader role, starting from £41,000. For more details, please visit out graduate page on the Scottish Water website.
What you’ll need
You’ll have graduated within the last three years (or be on track to graduate next summer). We are keen to hear from applicants from a range of backgrounds, so we’re flexible on degree programme - we're looking for a minimum of a 2:2 classification.
And you’ll need a full UK-issued (DVLA) driving license – or be on track to pass your test.
We’re particularly interested in individuals with strong people and business development skills, rather than specific technical expertise. If you have previous experience in a leadership role, we’d love to hear about it.
You’ll need to live within commuting distance of one of our offices, in Edinburgh or Stepps. The role holder can expect a mix of office and site-based working.
In terms of essential requirements? That’s it.
But here’s the thing: We get thousands of applications for our Graduate roles each year. What makes the best candidates stand out?
Here are a few things we love to see
- CVs that tell us more than what grades you earned over the years. Show us what you’ve learned. What you love. What your aspirations are.
- Cover letters that tell us why you’re interested in Scottish Water (and in this role)
- People who use their application to show that they are Bold, Responsible, Inspiring and Caring.
Looking out for you
While the work we do is important, it’s not the only thing that matters. That’s why we make sure you have everything you need to find a good work-life balance.
You’ll 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 paid 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’s our pension (the ‘know-what-you’ll-get-when-you-retire’ kind), as well as life assurance.
As for some nice extras? You can expect an annual company bonus. Not to mention access to SW Splash – handy rewards that can save you money on holidays, bills, and shopping.
What happens next?
- The closing date for applications is Sunday 22nd December.
- Assessment activity will kick off in January with some surprisingly fun (no, really!) online testing.
- Final face-to-face interviews will happen during February. Where you can give us a good grilling too.
- If you accept a place on the programme, you’ll go through some pre-employment screening during the Spring, including a criminal record check.
- All our new Graduates will start together in September, with a week-long induction event in Glasgow. You’ll learn more about the organisation, meet our leaders, visit some of our operational sites, start making friends, and have a lot of fun.
A few final things worth knowing
Research shows that some people avoid applying for jobs unless they can meet every single criteria. If you’re interested in this job, but don’t tick all the boxes, apply anyway! We hardly ever hire people who can do every part of a job from Day One. Everyone has a learning curve. So don’t rule yourself out!
Let us know if there are any changes we can make to our recruitment process to help you perform at your best. Lots of our people have disabilities or neurodiverse conditions (including some of our recruiters!). We're also aware that some people might be experiencing temporary challenges because of life events, like menopause. We’re very used to making adjustments, so please don’t be afraid to ask.
As part of our commitment to developing a flourishing Scotland, it’s important that all our employees are Scottish taxpayers. If you join us, your home address will need to be in Scotland. If you don’t already live here, you'll need to commit to moving here within your first three months.
