Head of Collections Systems & Integration

At Thames Water, we make a daily difference to our 16 million customers by supplying 2.6 billion litres of water through 32,000 km of pipes, ensuring taps keep flowing and toilets keep flushing. We deliver life's essential service so our customers, communities, and the environment can thrive.

As the UK’s largest water company, we are taking action for a new world of water—fixing today’s problems and building resilience for tomorrow. We are seeking an experienced business leader with a strong IT and transformation background, particularly in collections, and recoveries. You will be responsible for replacing and integrating our Collections IT systems, ensuring seamless governance, business adoption, and operational efficiency. This role will be instrumental in driving Thames Water’s debt management transformation as part of our Retail and Digital roadmap.

What You’ll Be Doing as Head of Collections Systems & Integration

We are seeking an experienced business leader with a strong IT background in delivering enterprise-scale solutions, particularly within Collections and system replacements. In this role, you will:

• Lead the end-to-end transformation of Thames Water’s Collections IT systems, ensuring they meet long-term strategic goals.
• Define and implement governance structures that drive efficiency, compliance, and best practices.
• Drive the replacement of the DM9 system, ensuring successful implementation within Retail and Digital roadmaps for 2025 and 2026.
• Work closely with key business stakeholders, including senior leaders across Retail, Income, and Digital directorates.
• Source, evaluate, and integrate new IT solutions, ensuring they align with business needs and future growth.
• Manage timelines, budgets, and resource allocation, ensuring seamless project execution.
• Ensure business readiness, collaborating with training and change management teams to drive adoption and minimise disruption.
• Lead and manage a team of direct and indirect reports, fostering collaboration across cross-functional teams.
• Develop and execute change management plans to minimise disruption and drive user adoption, ensuring a seamless transition for all impacted colleagues while maintaining invisibility to customers.
• Define and implement an end-state organisational model that maximises benefits and efficiency within Retail while aligning with the Digital strategy.

What You Should Bring to the Role
Essential Experience:

• Proven track record in leading large-scale IT and business transformation projects within a complex organisation.
• Expertise in credit management, collections, and recoveries, with a strong understanding of financial operations.
• Significant experience in designing and delivering governance frameworks to support system and business change.
• Strong planning, problem-solving, and strategic leadership skills.
• Experience working with executive stakeholders and cross-functional teams.
• Background in business readiness, process change, and organisational design.

Technical Skills:

• Expertise in IT system integration and replacement projects.
• Project management and financial acumen, including budget and resource management.
• Strong understanding of digital solutions and their role in business transformation.

Base Location & Working Pattern
Hybrid working/ Swindon with travel required to other key sites.
Full-time, 36 hours per week.

What’s in It for You?
We’re passionate about building a better future—for our people, communities, and the environment—and we’re looking for skilled, driven individuals to join us on our journey.

• Competitive salary: £76,400 - £130,000 per annum, depending on experience.
• 26 days holiday per year (rising to 30 with length of service) plus bank holidays.
• Car allowance & annual bonus.
• Private medical healthcare.
• Defined contribution pension – up to 12%.
• Personal medical assessments (annually).
• Wider benefits, including our benefits hub, packed with offers and wellbeing support.

Who are we?
We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water
Thames Water is a unique, rewarding and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy fast-tracked career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

Whether you’re interested in a role in one of our call centres or science labs, we’re looking for people like you with real passion and a burning desire to make things better.

So, if you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region and our planet.
Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

Our overarching aim is to ensure that Thames Water is great, diverse and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and offer extra support for those who need it throughout the recruitment process. Our aim is to remove any real or perceived barriers to success, so if you need assistance, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business, meet colleagues and earn some extra money along the way.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.