Pre-Employment Screening & Vetting Lead

FIXED TERM CONTRACT - UP TO 6 MONTHS

The role will lead the coordination and embedding of changes to the pre-employment screening and vetting framework across Resourcing, People Services, screening operations and external suppliers, ensuring consistent application, clear guidance and joined up delivery across both BAU and project activity. The role exists to ensure that updates to screening requirements, frameworks and processes are translated into practice, embedded successfully and sustained over time including the transition to enhanced screening and vetting approaches and controls, and their application to both new starters and existing colleagues.

In doing so, the role holder will support the end‑to‑end delivery of Thames Water’s pre‑employment screening and vetting approach, ensuring it operates in a compliant, efficient and risk‑based way and remains fit for the future. This includes working across teams to align delivery, clarify responsibilities and maintain consistency.

Working cross-functionally the role will maintain effective standards and controls, stakeholder guidance, and the successful delivery of current and future project work relating to screening, vetting and onboarding risk management.

What you’ll be doing as a Pre-Employment Screening & Vetting Lead

• Coordinate the embedding of changes to screening requirements, frameworks and standards into, resourcing processes, supplier delivery, screening operations and relevant people services processes.
• Work closely with the stakeholders to ensure updates are accurately reflected across, guidance, frameworks, toolkits, manager and colleague communications.
• Ensure updates are implemented consistently, avoiding duplication, drift or conflicting messages.
• Lead the operational embedding of enhanced screening and vetting approaches, ensuring clear guidance, role‑based application and proportionality across candidate and colleague populations.
• Support the delivery of screening and vetting related projects by translating agreed changes into operational reality Resourcing, Onboarding and People Services processes.
• Ensure project outputs are fully embedded into BAU processes, guidance and ways of working.
• Act as the bridge between change activity and day‑to‑day delivery of pre-employment screening and vetting.
• Work with Resourcing and Security to assess and manage the impact of enhanced screening and vetting requirements on attraction, candidate pools and workforce deployment.
• Work closely with external screening suppliers to align delivery to updated frameworks and expectations and ensure external providers are equipped to support new vetting pathways, documentation requirements and timelines, highlighting any risks to delivery, candidate experience or compliance.
• Coordinate input from Resourcing, People Services, Protective Security and other stakeholders to ensure changes are practical and understood.
• Surface delivery issues, unintended impacts or gaps for resolution through appropriate channels.
• Maintain oversight of how screening processes and frameworks are applied in practice, identifying inconsistencies or opportunities for improvement.
• Support assurance, audit and review activity by ensuring guidance, processes and delivery are aligned and up to date.
• Provide clear operational insight to the Resourcing Solutions Manager and People Services Manager minimising escalation dependency through robust process implementation.

Base Location: Reading – Hybrid

Working Pattern: 36 Hours

What you should bring to the role

To thrive in this role, the essential criteria you’ll need is:

• Strong understanding of end-to-end recruitment and onboarding processes, including pre-employment screening and vetting requirements.
• Ability to interpret screening, compliance or framework updates and translate them into clear operational guidance and ways of working.
• Confident working with written guidance, frameworks and toolkits, ensuring consistency across platforms and audiences.
• Strong stakeholder coordination and communication skills, with the ability to influence without formal authority.
• Knowledge and understanding of EDI and inclusive recruitment practices.
• Strong understanding of the pre-employment screening and vetting processes.
• Experience working within recruitment operations, onboarding, pre-employment screening or People Services ideally within a complex pr multi-stakeholder environment.
• Proven experience of embedding process, framework or policy changes to BAU delivery.
• Experience working in a regulated or compliance-led environment, where accuracy, consistency and audit readiness are important.
• Demonstrable experience coordinating activity across multiple teams and stakeholders, including third-party suppliers.
• Ability to support the delivery of project outputs into operational processes.

Extra qualities that would be a great fit for our team:

• Experience working with external screening or HR service suppliers.
• Knowledge of UK pre‑employment screening components (e.g. DBS, Right to Work, referencing, sanctions or security‑related checks).
• Awareness of data protection and confidentiality considerations in recruitment and screening contexts.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary from £47,000 - £57,000 per annum, depending on experience.
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays)
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks (Please note different T&Cs apply if on secondment)

Who are we?

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

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