Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS)

WICS is the economic regulator of Scottish Water, the publicly-owned provider of water and sewerage services across Scotland. Scottish Water serves over 2.5 million households and 150,000 businesses, with an annual turnover of £1.3 billion. The water sector is vital to Scotland’s prosperity, ensuring sustainable economic growth, environmental protection, and community well-being. As a non-departmental public body, WICS has statutory responsibilities. Our role is to challenge Scottish Water to achieve long-term value and best-in-class service levels for customers and communities. Additionally, WICS oversees the competitive retail market for non-household water and sewerage services.

At this crucial time for the sector, WICS is seeking a strategic and highly capable Director of Markets to lead its market-focused initiatives, ensuring fair competition and customer value. This is an opportunity to play a pivotal role in shaping the regulatory framework and market performance of Scotland’s water sector. As a key member of the senior leadership team, the Director of Markets will oversee the development and regulation of competitive markets, ensuring fairness, transparency, and a level playing field. While primarily focused on the retail non-household market, this role will also explore opportunities to apply best practices from other jurisdictions to improve efficiency and sustainability. The Director will be responsible for monitoring and evaluating the performance of the retail market, ensuring compliance with licensing, and managing processes related to market performance monitoring and enforcement actions. They will also drive initiatives to enhance market transparency, support the adoption of a retail market Code of Practice, and strengthen stakeholder engagement with government, industry, and consumer bodies. Additionally, the role involves providing strategic advice to senior leadership and the Board, aligning market strategies with WICS’s corporate objectives.

WICS is looking for a values-driven leader with a strong background in market regulation, competition policy, or economic regulation. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of leadership in competitive market development, regulation, or consumer protection, ideally within a relevant industry such as utilities, infrastructure, or financial services. They will possess exceptional stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate with government, industry, and regulatory bodies. Strong analytical and strategic thinking abilities will be essential, along with experience in compliance enforcement, governance, and market oversight. A deep understanding of competition policy, regulatory frameworks, and customer-focused market practices will be valuable. The successful candidate will demonstrate a commitment to public service and a drive to foster fair, transparent, and effective markets in Scotland’s water industry.

Saxton Bampfylde Ltd is acting as an employment agency advisor to WICS on this appointment. For further information about the role, including details about how to apply, please visit www.saxbam.com/appointments using reference QALAKE. Alternatively email Belinda.beck@saxbam.com. Applications should be received by noon on Friday 2 May 2025.