Natural capital is a growing area of importance for United Utilities, the water industry and society in general and how we increase our understanding of the impacts and opportunities our activities and investments have on the natural capital of the North West is key. This role is a fantastic opportunity to help shape our direction with regard to natural capital and establish it has a key element of the decision making process to ensure the true value of our activities is assessed and maximized in business decisions.
This role will focus on understand and accounting for the delivery of natural capital across UU so that there is a best practice and coherent approach. You will work with partners in other organisations to support regional natural capital and drive for alignment across North West natural capital approaches. A key focus will be to drive consistency and confidence in United Utilities natural capital assessments, both internally and with other partners, so they can be used effectively in business decision making. Influencing the direction of natural capital approaches nationally will be important both within the water industry and beyond, to shape the national approach to valuing natural capital and using this in decision making.
Job Accountabilities
- Provide quality assurance to ensure consistency in the use of natural capital tools
- Broad understanding of the natural capital tools available and relative strengths to help shape future direction
- Subject matter expert in the use of natural capital valuation tools
- Ownership and maintenance of the natural capital tools used by United Utilities
- Support other areas of the business (property, engineering, operations etc.) in the use of natural capital valuations in their decision making
- Understanding of the full natural capital profile across UU's business and ensure integrity in how we report our natural capital and the benefits that flow from it
- Support the Integrated Catchment Strategy Managers in the development and delivery of natural capital opportunities
- Own the UU corporate natural capital account and be responsible for its maintenance
- Support the development of a natural capital group for the north west to develop regional accounts and promote consistency with the different geographic accounts in the region
- Own the regulatory reporting data for United Utilities natural capital and the enhancements we deliver
- Ownership of the Natural Capital Rule book and relationship with external assurers
- Communication and training in the use of natural capital tools to the wider business
- Represent UU on regional and national natural capital groups
Knowledge and Skills
- Degree in relevant discipline or relevant experience in financial reporting or environmental economics.
- Excellent understanding of natural capital and how it can be applied to the water industry.
- Broad understanding of current and potential approaches to natural capital accounting
- Broad understanding of markets for ecosystem services, how these are developing and the impact they may have on natural capital valuations
- Able to identify and articulate opportunities and risks posed by future water industry legislation.
- Computer literate with an excellent knowledge of SharePoint, Excel and other relevant computer systems to enable manipulation of data to aid reporting.
- Strong analytical skills and able to draw appropriate conclusions from relevant data and information.
- Good oral and written communication skills with particular emphasis on influencing and negotiating and be comfortable dealing with a range or external and internal stakeholders.
- Ability to think creatively and develop and present their own ideas to ensure that appropriate changes are effectively delivered through the business.
- Good organisational skills to ensure that work is prioritised and managed through to completion.
- Able to maintain knowledge and skills to develop within the role.
Desirable Criteria
- Knowledge of GIS mapping systems to enable to collection of relevant spatial data
- Knowledge and experience of a variety of Natural Capital tools
- Membership of a relevant professional body.
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