Together we are Trusted to Serve Scotland.
Sampling Officer (Fixed-term/Secondment opportunity up to 12 months)
How’s this for job satisfaction: at Scottish Water we look after Scotland's most precious natural resource. From source to tap, we’re guarding Scotland’s reputation for refreshingly pure water, and caring for our environment at the same time.
Sound good? We’re looking for a Sampling Officer to join our Water Sampling team, who keep a close eye on the water quality in Oban (part time) and surrounding areas.
What you’ll do
When there’s a water sample to be taken, you’re there – you’ll plan, collect, process and deliver them across your patch. That means visiting everywhere from water treatment works and service reservoirs to customer’s houses and Top Up Taps – every day is different.
Many of our sampling procedures are accredited by UKAS, so you’ll need a keen eye for detail. And yes, you’ll often be working alone – but your contribution to the team’s targets will be huge.
Every day you’ll be out and about collecting samples, representing Scottish Water – your friendly, professional manner is part of the uniform.
What you’ll bring
You’ll spend a lot of time in one of our branded vans, so you’ll need a full, clean driving licence. (You can take the van home, so you can skip the morning commute – but you’ll need to leave it at the depot over holidays.)
Love a to-do list and always keep your calendar organised? Us too. Most days you’ll work to a schedule, but you’ll flex for the occasional logistical challenge or reactive job, such as urgent resampling. You should be goals-focused too, always with one eye on helping the team meet daily and weekly targets.
Sometimes a sample needs to be taken after dark or at the weekend – you’ll be part of a standby rota to cover these jobs.
Looking out for you
While the work we do is important, we know 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.
It is a part time role for Oban area (21.3 hours per week). The hours will be worked across three days with some weekend working and standby requirements. But you’ll get plenty of time to recharge with pro-rata 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 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), and 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.
This role will be a Grade 2. If you’re new to Scottish Water, you’ll join us on a starting salary of £28,840 (pro-rata). Performance-driven pay progression would then allow you to move through the range to a maximum of £31,260 (pro-rata)
If you’re interested in this role – or know someone else who might be - we’ll be accepting applications until the 24th April 2026 at midnight.
Job offers at Scottish Water are conditional, and will be confirmed on completion of our pre-employment screening, e.g. referencing, criminal record checks, license checks, etc. Screening is conducted on our behalf by a third party, and must be completed before your start date. Don’t worry - we’ll only start these checks once you’ve accepted an offer.
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.
Please note, Scottish Water takes the safety, health and wellbeing of our employees, colleagues and customers very seriously and as such you may be subject to Drug & Alcohol testing in line with our policy.
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
