Graduate Programme 2025 – Water Quality Analytics

Together we are Trusted to Serve Scotland.

Ready to own your future? 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 

At Scottish Water, our Process Scientists are key to delivering clean, safe water to millions of people. They turn data into powerful insights that help us optimise performance and ensure water quality. As a Water Quality Analytics Specialist Graduate, you'll be right in the middle of this work, making sure our water meets the highest standards and helping shape Scotland’s future water services. 

This is more than just analysing data – it’s about having a real impact. You’ll be tackling water quality challenges, ensuring compliance with standards, and driving improvements across our operations. Whether you're working on microbial or chemical water quality or supporting investment decisions, you’ll be crucial in keeping Scotland’s water clean and safe. 

Over the two-year programme, you'll gain hands-on experience and training to become a qualified Process Scientist or Data Scientist. With role rotations every six months, you’ll develop the skills you need to manage the future challenges of water quality. 

You'll work closely with the Water Business Improvement team, helping them shift from a reactive to a proactive approach in managing water quality. Using advanced technologies and data insights, you’ll support key reporting and evaluations that influence decisions both internally and externally. 

By the end of the programme, you'll have the expertise to shape water quality management at Scottish Water and kick-start your career in a field that impacts millions of lives. 

How does the graduate programme work?  

You’ll be employed on a permanent contract from Day One, with a starting salary of £29,000.  

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 a Process Scientist or Data Scientist role, starting from £33,560. For more details, please visit www.scottishwater.co.uk/graduates.  

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.  

What you’ll need  

You’ll have graduated within the last three years (or be on track to graduate next summer). Your degree should be in a Scientific discipline such as Environmental Science, Engineering, Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, Biology, Chemistry or equivalent. And we’re looking for a minimum of a 2:2 classification.   

We’re looking for someone who’s curious about science and analytics, who likes to investigate and interrogate patterns or trends in data. You’ll be someone who enjoys building connections and working with different people. If you’ve been involved in a project that made a real impact, that would definitely be a bonus.  We are looking for candidates who can demonstrate application of data analytics within their degree discipline, with experience of statistical programming tools like R or Python. 

You’ll need to live within commuting distance of one of our main office hubs, e.g., Edinburgh, Stepps, Dundee, Inverness.  

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 the 25th of May.  

• Assessment activity will kick off in week commencing 9th of June with some surprisingly fun (no, really!) online testing.  

• Final face-to-face interviews will happen during ween commencing the 30th of June. 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.

Finally (finally!), candidates who haven’t submitted an application in the last 12 months will have their records removed from our recruitment database. You won’t need to do anything. Your data will be automatically deleted. 

We’re here to help. Ask us anything at SWRecruitment@ScottishWater.co.uk