Location
Reading

Hours
Full Time

Salary
£65,000 - £70,000 per annum, depending on experience

About the Role
We’re looking for an experienced HR & OD Manager to play a key role in shaping how our organisation evolves. Working closely with Heads of HR Partnering, Centres of Expertise and People Services, you’ll provide insight, challenge and leadership to design and deliver effective organisational change that enables the business to achieve its strategic goals. You’ll be at the heart of change and transformation, driving initiatives that put employee engagement at the forefront and turn strategy into action. With a strong grasp of organisational design and people interventions, you’ll develop practical solutions that improve performance and unlock business impact. Using HR and business data, you’ll generate meaningful insight to inform decisions and ensure change is evidence‑led and sustainable.
This is a 12-month Fixed Term Contract to start ASAP.

As HR & OD Manager, you will lead and develop a team of HR Consultants while driving organisational design and change across the business. You’ll oversee OD initiatives from planning to delivery, ensuring governance, risk management and alignment with financial budgets and workforce plans. Working closely with the Head of HR and HR Consultants, you will coordinate and support Divisional teams to align controlled organisational data with financial budgets, ensuring clear, real-time visibility of planned FTE across the financial year and AMP to support effective workforce planning and alignment to business plans. You will work alongside leaders, providing the link between business and People strategies, offering support and challenge to shape and implement effective People plans.

Benefits
Competitive salary of £65,000 - £70,000 per annum, depending on experience.
26 days annual leave, increasing to 30 with length of service (plus bank holidays).
Car Allowance of £5,800.
Annual Bonus.
Private Medical Health Care.
Contributory pension – Defined Contribution - Maximum of 12% (2x employee contribution).
Personal Medical Assessments available annually.
Access to a wide range of benefits supporting health, wellbeing and finances including annual health MOTs, physiotherapy, counselling, Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.
Performance-related pay plan linked directly to company performance measures and targets.

Thames Water is the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, serving over 16 million customers. We are committed to building a better future for our customers, communities, people, and the planet. Join us for a rewarding career with meaningful impact, flexible working arrangements, and excellent benefits.

Experience
- Proven experience leading and developing HR teams
- Strong background in organisational design, workforce planning and change management
- Experience delivering complex OD and change initiatives
- Strong analytical, problem-solving and Microsoft Excel skills
- Ability to apply people practices to create value and manage risk

About you
You will bring strong, adaptable leadership with excellent stakeholder engagement skills. You are confident using HR and business data to generate insight, shape decisions, and deliver sustainable change. You are flexible, solutions-focused and comfortable operating in complex, fast-changing environments, with a sound understanding of employee relations and employment law.

Qualifications
Desirable: Chartered/fully qualified member (Level 5) of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) or equivalent professional qualification or HR knowledge.