I joined the Royal Air Force in 1987 and served for 19 Years, completing three tours at RAF Marham in Norfolk, One at RAF Lossiemouth in the North of Scotland and three years overseas in Gibraltar. I trained as multi-skilled Aircraft technician (Weapons) and over the years I have undertaken maintenance on Ejection Seats, small arms and munitions, first line maintenance of Tornado aircraft and conventional and high threat anti terrorist Bomb Disposal finishing my career as JNCO ic RAF Marham Bomb Disposal Training Cell.
I started with Anglian water at the end of November 2021 where I was attracted by job security, salary and package.
I joined Anglian Water as a Senior Automation Engineer, within Operational Technology (OT) Optimisation. This role meant I was involved in the programming and optimisation of small changes and projects, checking compliance to standards with our System integrators and partners and the commissioning of optimisation projects.
In my new role of OT Architect, I assist in automation project solution and design, standard creation and compliance and implementation of new technologies to Anglian Water. What I enjoy about my role is the freedom to manage myself, propose new ways of working and introduce new technology to the business to enable it to grow
The best thing about Anglian water is there is a strong sense of teamwork within the business and the overall morale of everyone I have met seems to be high and is definitely a business I would recommend working for.
I joined the Royal Air Force when I was 18yrs old and served for 13yrs 6months. I was an Intelligence Analyst throughout my career but with each promotion I moved to more of a management position – people and equipment.
I applied to leave earlier than my termination date from the RAF when I got offered a job with Anglian Water. I had researched the company thoroughly and their values and working culture is what drew me in.
It is quite daunting at first when looking for a new career as I had only known the military and that particular lifestyle, but when reading AW’s values: Build Trust, Are Always Exploring and Do The Right Thing, they match my own and are very similar to that of the RAF. From then, I visited the team I’d be working with and the welcoming and helpful culture from absolutely everyone I met was refreshing! That was definitely what ‘sealed the deal’ for me. The people you work with are so important!
The Change Manager role involves focussing on the people side of the change, and working alongside a Project Manager who focusses on the technical side. I create/update engagement plans throughout the project journey ensuring all stakeholders are involved to the level that they need/want to be. I ensure communication works both ways and make sure the people involved have the correct support and training to make the change happen. And finally, I make sure the change sticks!
The main thing I enjoy most about working for Anglian Water are the people and their innovative mindset. But also the extra benefits you get from being an employee. The military provide the serviceperson with a great package; medical, dental, pension, healthy leave allowance, to name a few, so it can be hard to find somewhere else which matches that level and gives you that security, mentally and physically. Anglian Water provides private healthcare, a great pension scheme, a decent salary and leave balance and a number of salary sacrifice schemes which you can choose to opt in to. Aside from the overall package though, working for a business who truly advocate flexible working and positive mental wellbeing is definitely another thing I enjoy most about working here.
I would definitely recommend Anglian Water to other Serving members who are in their resettlement period or who are looking to leave. I definitely feel like my transition to ‘civilian life’ has been a positive one and I feel supported and valued in my new role.
I recently joined Anglian Water after spending 23 years in the British Army. I wanted a role where I could use my transferable skills and could confidently perform well. I was also impressed by the Glassdoor review, which was very good and steered me towards Anglian Water over another option.
Since joining Anglian Water my experience has been positive and I feel that it is somewhere I would like to stay and further develop. The culture is very people focused and everyone is happy to help and support where they can.
My manager gave me lots of support and advice before introducing me to my current project, and it has given the best chance to succeed. Throughout a project, I support the people aspect and help them adopt and utilise new ways of working in a structured and supportive way.
I joined Anglian Water in August 2021 after being made redundant from my previous job. I considered retirement, but I had a number of offers of employment. Anglian Water was of interest because it was local, offered me a wide range of opportunities and, as a public utility, offers the chance to give something back to my community. It also helps that the invitation to discuss a potential job was made through a friend so I had an opportunity to really understand what working for Anglian Water would be all about.
I completed a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force in 1999 serving as a logistics specialist. During my service, I completed a number of logistics roles as well as some more specialist jobs including MoD–wide reviews, leading a service-wide programme of manpower reductions and as an Aide de Camp to a senior RAF commander.
My role as Lean Consultant results in me working across many parts of the business reviewing processes and helping make improvements. Whilst a member of the Business Process Management Team, we all work autonomously with other areas of the company and this autonomy makes the role ideal for me.
The people within Anglian Water are all very friendly and I think are genuinely interested in the aims and purpose of the company. They appear open to new ideas and different ways of working and it is this that makes my role so enjoyable; the opportunity to apply my experience into a new organisation and help both it and those in it to develop is very satisfying.
I do remember how daunting leaving the military was especially after serving for a significant time. Anglian Water has a number of mechanisms in place, including the Military Covenant, and understanding the needs of the wider military family, which includes serving personnel, reservists, their families and veterans, makes Anglian Water more open to recruitment of those with an ex-military background.
