Job Description

Graduate Technical Leadership Programme (Innovation)
LET'S CUT STRAIGHT TO IT
At Severn Trent, we believe everyone deserves more. More care for the environment, more sustainable initiatives, and more support for the communities we serve. That's why we're on a mission to deliver bigger and better things, and we need passionate graduates like you to help us achieve our goals.
Our people and culture are the heart of our success. We're proud to be in the top 5% of utility companies worldwide for employee engagement and ranked as a Top 50 UK Employer on Glassdoor. With nearly 10,000 dedicated colleagues, we're looking for more brilliant people who are eager to turn challenges into opportunities for a better future.
If you're excited to learn, and ready to make a real impact, we want you on our team.
LET'S TELL YOU MORE
Severn Trent is a FTSE 100 company and one of the only ones outside London to have an all-encompassing Innovation department. Our Technical Leadership (Innovation) Graduate Programme offers the perfect blend of personal and professional development. Within this programme you will rotate through 3 placements.
Through working in different teams, you will gain great oversight of Innovation used at Severn Trent. The programme will enable you to develop your skills.
We welcome all graduates from diverse backgrounds, as we know diverse minds bring new ideas and a different way of thinking. We are looking for someone who wants to build their career with us and grasp new opportunities, and in return we will support you with varied experiences, training and development to provide a grounding for your future career.
HOW WILL THE PROGRAMME WORK?
You will be based at Severn Trent Headquarters in Coventry, the heart of our patch. You will also likely spend some time on various sites and at different Severn Trent offices. The programme requires you to complete 3 placements throughout your time in the role, gaining exposure in different areas of the department so that you are equipped with the right skills to build your career here at Severn Trent.
Placement 1 - Working as a Technical Expert in the innovation team, your strong scientific background will be put to good use working on wastewater and clean water treatment and networks projects. Working on strategic business challenges, creating, and running trials, analysing results, and feeding these results back to key stakeholders via your growing professional network.
Placement 2 - As a Project Manager you will be working on various innovation projects ensuring they're delivered on time, and within budget. Ensuring certain milestones are achieved and that the projects stay focussed and key stakeholders are informed and engaged with the progress of the trial.
Placement 3 - Potential for an out of team placement or a change in department, dependant on the candidate. Alternatively additional time can be spent in either the PM or TE role, or other Asset Intelligence & Innovation teams, depending on preference or business need.
In this exciting programme, you will have the chance to discuss your development and career ambitions in your 1-1 meetings with business leads, mentors, a study buddy, the cohort leader, and the New Talent Team.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
You will expand your knowledge of:
Water Treatment and Distribution
Wastewater Treatment and Networks
Bioresources, Carbon accounting and Digital Twins
Water Industry and Regulation
Project Management and Finance
Core Business Skills and Health & Safety
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We want our employees to care and to have a genuine passion for what we do as a business. We need people who want to make a difference in providing a vital service to our customers, now and for the long-term.
If you have the passion to succeed that we see in our graduates every day, you'll be a great match for our programme. We'd love you to be someone with: (skills and behaviours role requires)

• Strong Communication skills
• Translating complex data simply to others
• You will be comfortable taking ownership of projects

• Be open to learning new skills and ways of working at pace

• You'll complete a number of educational and informative online courses covering water and wastewater treatment

• You'll use your strong rapport building skills and stakeholder engagement to build your network

ABOUT THE PROGRAMME
Our New Talent Team will guide you and support you every step of the way. Furthermore, your line manager, mentor and graduate buddy will be there to help you in making sure you reach your full potential here at Severn Trent.
Location: Severn Trent Headquarters, Coventry, CV1 2LZ
Programme Duration: 27 months
Starting Salary: 31,500
Entry Criteria: A STEM degree background preferred, ideally in Science, chemical engineering, chemistry, biology, microbiology, or environmental science.
Driving Requirements: It is essential to have a full UK driving licence and access to your own vehicle upon starting the role.
HOW WE'LL REWARD AND CARE FOR YOU IN RETURN
It's not just a job you'll get here; you'll get a career too. We have a range of benefits that reward and recognise great work and award-winning training to ensure you reach your potential. And we'll also help you play your part in looking after the environment and the community in which we live.
Here are some of our favourites:

• 28 days holiday + bank holidays (and the ability to buy/ sell up to 5 days per year)
• Annual bonus scheme (of up to 2,225 which is subject to eligibility)
• Leading pension scheme - we will double your contribution (up to 15% when you contribute 7.5%)
• Sharesave - the chance to buy Severn Trent Plc shares at a discounted rate
• Dedicated training and development with our Academy
• Electric vehicle scheme and retail offers
• Family friendly policies
• Two paid volunteering days per year

As if that isn't enough, you'll receive an annual salary increase whilst you're on programme and you'll also get an increase when you move into your first job.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
At Severn Trent we are passionate about our people. We want to make sure that we continue to foster a more diverse, inclusive, and cohesive culture that represents the communities and customers we serve. We're making sure we keep up the progress with our wonderful working groups - LGBTQ+, Women in Operations & STEM, Disability and Ethnicity, who help us with our commitments. Find out more about at Severn Trent.
LET'S GO
Apply now to build an amazing career and be part of a brilliant team. We can't wait to hear from you.

• Roles close on 13th January at Midday (12pm)
• Check your diary - face to face assessments will run from 16th February to 20th March 2026
• Estimated start date- September 2026

To find out more about working with us, search #LifeatSevernTrent on social media.

Skills Required