I started my career with Anglian Water in in 2014, within TIDE Services, as a Conveyancing Customer Service Advisor. I progressed into a Sales Administration role after 2 years, eventually being promoted to Customer Services Manager in 2019.
In 2021, I took a 12-month secondment in Digital Operations within IS, managing the Core Systems OT team, in Lincoln, and the OT Configuration team, in Huntingdon. I did this to broaden my experience of People Management and to increase my understanding of the wider business. This was a huge challenge for me, as it involved learning a whole new industry, even though I was still with AW and managing two new teams remotely.
I didn’t go to University when I left Sixth Form, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do and heading straight to work allowed me to gain real-life experience. Working my way up to management means I have great respect for employees at all levels. I have a modern approach to management, seeing my role as an enabler, gaining the trust of my team and removing any barriers to allow them to reach their full potential. I am passionate about people and the value they bring to the business and I am currently working towards my Level 5 Diploma in People Management and HR with the CIPD.
Working at Anglian Water has allowed me to progress my career and explore different paths, as well as allowing me time to develop myself through our fantastic L&D programme. I enjoy the inclusive company culture and, as a woman in a male dominated area of the business, I am proud to be able to impact the diversity of my team and to enable personal development in their individual careers.
Since leaving school I have always been involved in engineering, completing a 4 year Apprenticeship and qualifications in Engineering Technology up to HND level. I have always wanted to remain within this discipline and progress further within an engineering field. Anglian Water have supported me in this, with additional training and encouragement to push and advance myself and my experiences to enable me to progress along my chosen career path.
In my current role, I assist in identifying and implementing opportunities to improve the way we deliver treated water to our customers; from abstraction, all the way to the customers tap, across the Anglian region. I get to work with a range of different people, from across the business and externally. By collaborating together we aim to identify, design and implement the best possible solution to any given opportunity.
As engineers applying to Anglian Water, I would say there are so many different opportunities to branch into, even if you do not know where you want to go to begin with. There are plenty of opportunities to learn and develop and if you’re willing to progress, you will always be supported in doing this. Whether that is through training or mentoring, there are people throughout the business who are willing to help and encourage you.
I joined Anglian Water in September 2019 within the Smart Water and Asset Operations Team in Optimisation, as a Project Engineer. This was working on the application of new technology to support long standing business challenges. Over my time at Anglian Water I have progressed into the role of Senior System Optimisation Engineer, leading the development of holistic solutions that will meet the challenges our systems face now and in the future.
My current role enables me to be able to influence, design and optimise the way our networks are operated and managed, something I find very rewarding. Taking an idea or a concept, from modelling and seeing it through design, to ultimately getting into the ground and operating, is a challenge, but is very satisfying when it comes together and means no two days are the same! My specialism is in modelling and hydraulics and I get to use these skills on a daily basis in my role and also mentor and support junior team members on these areas.
The main selling point to a career in engineering at Anglian Water, for me, is the ability to have an influence on the environment in the region I live and call home. This is quite powerful, especially with the climate change challenges, that are more acutely felt in this region of the UK. In addition, I’ve found there to be many development and learning opportunities available to progress; I’ve learnt a lot year on year since joining, with every day offering the opportunity to learn something new!
Having trained as a Multi-Skilled Engineer in a factory environment, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I joined Anglian Water, but quickly found all my skills were fully transferable into the water industry. When my previous Employment ended, due to redundancy, Anglian Water was on my list for places to seek a new job. I was very excited when I got the call to join one of the most up and coming teams in water recycling ‘The Steam Team”.
Since joining, the support from within the company has meant that ,within 3 years, I am already in a management role and now looking for new engineers to come join me on this journey.
A big thing for me was, that I wasn’t doing shifts or weekends anymore and had more time with friends and family, a massive work life balance improvement.
Engineer’s within the business play such and important role and I cant recommend it enough; anyone who wants a change in industry, it’s worth giving this one a try!
In my role within the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Team of Anglian Water, I see Engineering as ensuring that all assets run efficiently within the engineering tolerances, as set out by the manufacturers guidelines. In the case of CHP, this means gas using equipment, such as engines and boilers. This is done through proactive servicing work and reactive repairs.
I wanted a career in Engineering to work on big cool stuff – and it doesn’t get much bigger than 12Bar Industrial Steam Boilers and 91 Litre V18 Biogas Engines! Anglian Water has provided me the training and experience to work on these assets; starting at small service work, to full strip down and rebuilds of a variety of engine types.
I have also been encouraged to develop my skillset further, by exploring other engineering fields, such as cyber security, remote access engine management systems, and gas assets.
