Scientific Co-ordinator - Sampling (Edinburgh)

at  Scottish Water

Together we are Trusted to Serve Scotland.
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 Scientific Coordinator to join our Waste Water Sampling team.
What you’ll do
Our Samplers are working across Scotland every day, planning, collecting, processing and delivering water samples across their patch. That means visiting all sort of places, from waste water treatment works to customer’s premises – every day is different.
As a Scientific Coordinator for the team, you’ll play an important part in keeping things running like clockwork. Sometimes you’ll be the most senior person on shift, providing support for the team and cover for the Waste Water Sampling Team Leader.
You’ll be training new Samplers, calibrating equipment, checking paperwork, maintaining quality documentation, and providing advice to Samplers if they encounter challenges while they’re on the road. You’ll make sure the team have the necessary bottles, labels, paperwork and equipment they need to get the job done safely and effectively and help the Team Leader with regular audits to make sure the team are consistently hitting their quality targets.
You’ll be mostly office-based, but there are times when you’ll also be out on the road taking samples to support the efforts of our team, maintain compliance with sampling programmes and to meet the needs of our customers.
What you’ll bring
You’ll ideally have sampling experience, and you’ll know what’s required for maintaining UKAS accreditation and ISO 17025 and ISO 14001 certification. Many of our sampling procedures are accredited by UKAS, so you’ll need a keen eye for detail and experience in sticking to policies and procedures - you know, dotting those i’s and crossing those t’s.
And, although it probably goes without saying, you’ll always have health and safety at the top of your list, making sure we tick every box of every regulation.
Ultimately, you’ll be the face of Scottish Water when you’re dealing with customers – high standards, an openness to learn, and a ‘sure, we can do that’ attitude go a long way.
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 the team’s daily and weekly targets.
You’ll spend some of your time in one of our branded vans or pool cars, so you’ll need a full, clean driving licence.
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.
This is a full time (37 hours per week) role. But 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.
The not-so-small print
The working hours for this role are Monday to Friday, from 9.00 am until 5.00 pm. About 10% of sampling happens at the weekend, so you’ll be part of a standby rota to cover these jobs.
The team keep a close eye on the waste water quality throughout Scotland. So, although you’ll be based at Juniper House in Edinburgh, you can expect some occasional travel and overnight stays.
This role is a Grade 5. If you’re new to Scottish Water, you’ll join us on a starting salary of £29,800. Performance-driven pay progression would then allow you to move through the range to a maximum of £35,760.
If you’re interested in this role – or know someone else who might be - we’ll be accepting applications until midnight on Sunday 22 September. And we’re aiming to do interviews for this role the week beginning Monday 7 October.
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.u

Please refer the Job description for details