Jack Brailsford

Project Manager, United Utilities

Jack is a Project Manager with experience delivering rail infrastructure, telecommunications, and water projects across the UK. He has managed complex, multi-disciplinary schemes valued at over £50m, building a strong reputation for delivering technically challenging projects ahead of schedule and within budget, while maintaining high safety and quality standards.

Currently working for United Utilities as part of the Rainwater Management team, Jack leads the delivery of multiple schemes from feasibility through design and into construction. His work focuses on reducing pressure on the combined sewer network and improving long-term environmental resilience through sustainable drainage solutions. He coordinates stakeholders across engineering, environmental, commercial, and delivery functions to ensure efficient and compliant project execution.

Jack is driven by fostering open communication, accountability, and mutual respect in his work with stakeholders. He takes a proactive approach to stakeholder engagement, bringing together local authorities, regulators, and delivery partners to support informed decision-making and drive successful outcomes on complex projects.

Session: From grey to green: Delivering a £300m shift to nature-based infrastructure

Alicja and Jack will share how United Utilities is delivering a £300m Rainwater Management Programme, representing the first time a UK water company has secured funding at this scale to accelerate green-blue solutions and trial new ways of working. Their presentation will explore the people and behaviours behind delivering such a programme, how teams navigate uncertainty, build trust across organisational and supply-chain boundaries, and create the conditions for innovation in a highly regulated environment.

Drawing on practical experience, Alicja and Jack will discuss the leadership and behavioural shifts required when moving early into catchment-based, nature-based solutions: encouraging collaborative decision-making, balancing regulatory drivers with long-term environmental outcomes, and supporting teams to make “best value” and “least regret” investment decisions when the answers are not always clear.

Alicja will also reflect on the importance of culture, governance and stakeholder engagement in enabling organisations to move away from traditional grey infrastructure towards partnership-led, sustainable solutions at scale.