Together we are Trusted to Serve Scotland.
Data Analyst – Programme Assurance Team
Do you enjoy turning data into clear insight that supports better decisions? Are you motivated by improving data quality, confidence and transparency? If you’re passionate about using data to shape investment decisions and deliver value for customers, this could be the role for you.
At Scottish Water, we provide essential water and wastewater services to communities across Scotland, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. High‑quality, trusted data underpins everything we do.
Within the Programme Assurance Team , data plays a critical role in shaping investment decisions, managing risk and ensuring the organisation delivers the greatest possible value for customers both now and in the future.
This is an opportunity to work at the heart of Programme Assurance and planning, producing meaningful analysis that directly informs senior decision‑making and long‑term strategy.
About the team
The Programme Assurance Team sits at the centre of investment planning and governance, supporting the prioritisation, assurance and performance of Scottish Water’s capital programme. We work closely with stakeholders across the organisation to ensure decisions are informed by robust evidence, transparent data and clear insight.
The Data Analyst role is key to this, helping to ensure portfolio and programme data is accurate, consistent and accessible, and that insight is clearly communicated to support confident decision‑making.
What you’ll be doing
As a Data Analyst within the Programme Assurance Team , you’ll support the effective use of data and information to improve portfolio management, governance and decision‑making.
Your work will focus on improving data quality, understanding data issues and translating analysis into practical insight. You’ll analyse portfolio, investment, financial and performance data, identify trends and risks, and help stakeholders understand what the data is really telling them, while identifying data quality issues, investigating root causes, and contributing to practical improvement actions.
In this role, you’ll produce clear, structured analysis and reports that highlight key trends, risks, and opportunities, working closely with portfolio managers, analysts, and business stakeholders to understand data needs and decision contexts. You’ll help ensure the consistent use of corporate data sources and agreed definitions across the portfolio, while contributing to the development of data processes, controls, and governance arrangements.
A key part of the role is supporting the embedding of good data practices and fostering a data‑driven culture within the team and wider organisation. You’ll also develop a strong understanding of Scottish Water’s portfolio data landscape, using this knowledge to deliver timely, relevant, and genuinely useful insight.
What you’ll need
You’ll bring strong analytical skills and a methodical, curious approach to understanding data and solving problems. You’ll be comfortable working with complex datasets and explaining your findings clearly to a range of audiences.
We’re looking for someone with experience analysing and interpreting data using Excel, or similar analytics platforms, and the ability to investigate data issues and translate findings into clear insights and practical actions. A working experience in creating and / or managing reports within Power BI is essential.
You’ll bring strong communication skills, with confidence presenting analysis to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders, alongside a solid understanding of data quality principles, including consistency, accuracy, and fitness for purpose.
A collaborative mindset is essential, with the ability to work effectively across teams, build relationships, and manage competing priorities.
Experience in a data, analytics, portfolio, performance or governance role is desirable, as is familiarity with data visualisation, reporting or assurance activities. An awareness of data governance, controls, metadata and information management principles would also be beneficial.
Most importantly, you’ll bring a continuous improvement mindset and a genuine interest in using data to drive better outcomes for customers and communities across Scotland.
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.
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 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.
The not-so-small print
This role will be a Grade 6. If you’re new to Scottish Water, you’ll join us on a starting salary of £37,815. Performance-driven pay progression would then allow you to move through the range to a maximum of £48,395.
If you’re interested in this role – or know someone else who might be - we’ll be accepting applications until 6pm on 17th June 2026.
We operate Balanced Hybrid working at Scottish Water and we encourage people to work half their time in a Scottish Water location.
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
