We aim to nurture and support our colleagues on their journey to making a difference in raising awareness of water scarcity and empowering individuals, communities and organisations to take action to use water wisely where they can. We prioritise staff wellbeing and are an inclusive, kind and supportive team.
As the leading independent voice in the UK for using water wisely, for the benefit of people and the planet, having a team of highly-skilled, diverse and forward thinking individuals is essential to helping us drive social and political change across the nation.
Underpinned by our values, we aim to make Waterwise a great place to work and offer opportunities for individuals to advance their personal development and career aspirations, whilst supporting their wellbeing too.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
At Waterwise, we are committed to driving equity and preventing discrimination in all the work we do and in the workplace. We aim to create a diverse and inclusive working environment where everyone feels celebrated and respected as both an individual and a member of the team. By promoting honest conversations and enabling a more inclusive work environment, we hope that everyone can succeed. Read our full Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Statement here.
Our EDI actions include
- A team of Board and staff EDI champions.
- Unbiased recruitment, and reserving some staff roles for disabled candidates only.
- Measuring Board and team diversity characteristics – including family wealth.
- The Four Day Week (for full-time pay) – supporting those with external responsibilities.
- Measuring the diversity of perspectives of attendees, panels and speakers at Waterwise events. We do not allow all-white or all-male panels at our events.
- Measuring the diversity of perspectives of the audience we reach in our campaigns and training to ensure our work is valuable to all.
- Measuring inclusion and how it feels to work for Waterwise in staff surveys.
- Signatories to ACEVO’s and Energy and Utility Skills’ EDI Commitments.
- Member of Race Equality Matters.
Everyone in our team has a role to play in helping Waterwise become more diverse and inclusive. We are clear that EDI is never ‘done’ and that both Waterwise and the sectors we operate in have much more to do. We are committed to continuous learning and taking proactive measures to drive more equity, diversity and inclusion.
“At Waterwise, we adopt meaningful engagement with EDI in practice, not just in words. It feels embedded in all decision making on this programme. I feel like people want to learn from me as much as I want to learn from them. I’m included, valued, and encouraged to grow.
I would say, if we’re serious about finding innovative, creative and sustainable solutions in water-efficiency, then I think diversity is the greatest asset that we have available to us, and that’s diversity of thought and diversity of lived experience.”
Jordan Wylde, Waterwise Board Observer and participant in Board Racial Diversity UK Pathways to Trusteeship Programme.
“Often, EDI commitments in the workplace feel like a superficial tick-box exercise. However, at Waterwise, with the support of our incredible leadership, it feels integral to everything that we do and how we do it. We want our work to be valuable to all and to drive positive change. As Waterwise’s EDI Champion, I’m proud to be part of a team that genuinely celebrates our differences, and is not afraid to challenge ourselves to do better. I feel empowered, both on my own and alongside the team, to keep pushing this forward in a meaningful way.”
Lauren Slater, Waterwise EDI Champion
Wellbeing at Waterwise
At Waterwise, we work to establish and maintain an inclusive culture where our colleagues feel fully supported, valued and listened to, and are provided with the appropriate assistance to make a positive impact on their wellbeing.
Staff wellbeing is our CEO’s number one priority. As a people-led organisation, Waterwise prioritises the wellbeing of its staff in a holistic way.
Our wellbeing programme includes
- Staff team and Board Wellbeing Champions.
- Daily wellbeing reminders/activities such as: regular check-ins; ‘grateful’ exercise; sharing a wellbeing action on ‘Wellbeing Wednesdays’; optional tea-breaks and 1 optional extended well-being lunch per week.
- Shared office allowance.
- Staff surveys on wellbeing at work – taken twice a year.
- Social staff get-togethers 3 or 4 times a year.
- Shared well being-related resources including links to awareness campaigns.
- Four-Day Week organisation with tools and training.
- Multiple Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs) in the team.
“We aim to be an open and supportive organisation which values challenge, where team members feel they have safe space to make that challenge; and an organisation which supports and enhances the wellbeing of all team members.”
Nicci Russell, CEO
“Protecting and enhancing our wellbeing is so important not just to Waterwise but for ourselves as individuals too. Work takes up a big chunk of our lives so we want to make sure employees of Waterwise are happy and thriving at work, especially as we all work from home. This is an area I’m hugely passionate about for various reasons so I’m thrilled to be Waterwise’s Wellbeing Champion.”
Laura Berks, Waterwise Wellbeing Champion
