About the Organisation

Spring is the open-innovation hub for the UK and Irish water sector. We work at the centre of a rapidly changing industry that is shaped by climate change, growing populations, ageing infrastructure and increasing public scrutiny.
Our vision is to become global leaders in open innovation.
Our mission is to attract, connect and support the brightest thinkers, both within and beyond the sector, so that transformation can happen more quickly.
Our objective is to centralise innovation intelligence for the UK water sector.
In practice, we:

act as the front door to the UK and Irish water industry, giving companies and suppliers immediate insight into who is doing what, what is working and where the next breakthrough may arise;
broker partnerships, share lessons learnt and remove duplication so that ideas move from concept to deployment at pace;
give water companies the time and head-space to innovate by curating intelligence, building networks and highlighting opportunities;
help the sector respond to its toughest challenges, ensuring resilient, sustainable water services for customers, communities and the environment.

By combining innovation intelligence, clarifying priorities and making innovation knowledge flow freely, we enable the industry to meet today's challenges and create solutions for tomorrow.

The Role
As Head of Service Strategy, you will be responsible for shaping, overseeing, and continually refining Spring's service strategy. You will translate vision into structured service portfolios, ensuring each element is clearly defined, aligned with organisational priorities, and delivering measurable value across the water sector. Reporting directly to the Managing Director and sitting on the senior leadership team, you will work closely with the Head of Operations and the Delivery Manager to ensure coherence between strategy, operations, and delivery. The role will line-manage one direct report and will be measured by clarity of Spring's service offer, sector adoption, and the alignment you create between strategic ambition and operational delivery.

Key Responsibilities

Service Portfolio & Strategy - Define, maintain, and evolve Spring's service portfolio to align with business strategy, ensuring each service has clear purpose, value, and performance measures.
Planning & Road mapping - Develop annual and multi-year service roadmaps, including plans for new services, scaling cross-team collaboration existing offers, or retiring those no longer relevant.
Cross Team Collaboration - Work closely with colleagues in operations, delivery, and communications to ensure services are interconnected and embedded consistently.
Business Cases & Investment - Lead the development of business cases for new services, including value propositions, financial modelling, resource planning, and risk assessment.
Performance Oversight - demonstrate and articulate value from services including tracking and reporting service-level performance against KPIs, ensuring accountability and recommending course corrections where required.
Stakeholder Engagement - Work with water companies, affiliates, regulators and funders to shape demand, gather feedback, and align Spring's services with sector needs.
Change Leadership - Manage the transition of services, including scaling, re-focusing, or decommissioning, with clear communication and risk management.
Market Insight - Monitor sector trends, regulatory developments, and external innovation to inform service evolution and maintain relevance.
Line Management - Provide direction, coaching, and support to one direct report, ensuring their work contributes to wider service strategy goals.
Continuous Improvement - Embed feedback and learning loops to ensure services remain relevant, high quality, and impactful.

Skills

Strategic thinking, able to design clear service pathways that translate vision into practical offers.
Analytical ability, confident with value propositions and performance data to underpin decision-making.
Excellent communicator, able to explain strategy simply and secure buy-in at senior levels.
Influencing and relationship-building skills to align diverse stakeholders.
Service design sensibility, understanding how services are structured, positioned, and delivered.
Confident in leading change and guiding others through transitions.
Coaching skills, able to support and develop a direct report.
Flexible and adaptive, able to respond to sector shifts and organisational needs.

Experience

Leading or contributing to service or product strategy in a complex organisation.
Designing, launching, and evolving services in an innovative environment, with evidence of measurable impact.
Building and presenting business cases, including value propositions and resourcing options.
Working across functions to integrate strategy with operations, delivery, and communications.
Monitoring and reporting on service performance, using data to drive decisions.
Engaging senior external stakeholders (funders, regulators, or clients) to shape and validate services.
Managing change projects such as scaling, re-focusing, or retiring services.
Line-managing staff, with evidence of developing capability and aligning work to wider strategy.
Water sector experience preferable.

Requirements

Legal right to work in the United Kingdom.
Willingness and ability to travel within the UK for occasional team sessions or stakeholder meetings.

Benefits

Innovative, purpose‑driven environment at the heart of water‑sector transformation.
Hybrid working model with high levels of trust and autonomy. Travel to London Head office required one day per week.
Comprehensive private health insurance and well‑being support.
Pension scheme with 3 % employee and 6 % employer contributions.
27 days' annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing with service.
Life assurance at three times salary.
Professional‑development and three paid volunteering days per year.
Salary Range £65000 - £75000

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Head of Service Strategy

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