Previously Waters held a number of positions for the BT Group, where she was formerly director, people & policy. Her role at BT focused on realising BT’s business ambitions through leading-edge people strategies, underpinned by robust policies and processes, promoting inclusivity and the empowerment of individuals whilst allowing them to contribute to the community and volunteering. For many years, she actively pioneered homeworking, and other forms of flexible working as well as active employer engagement with government departments.
Waters regularly contributes advice and guidance to government and industry. She is a board member or chair of a variety of employer forums and governmental working parties including Roffey Park, Whole Education, IncrediBull, The National Equality Standard, the MoD’s Defence Diversity & Inclusion Programme Board and The Science Council Diversity Forum. Waters has also judged a number of prestigious diversity awards.
Her work was widely recognised across the industry with her appointment as HR director of the Year at HR magazine’s HR Excellence Awards in 2009. She is consistently placed within the top 3 positions in their annual ‘HR’s Most Influential People’ listings. This leadership was further recognised by the award of an OBE in the New Year Honours List 2010 for services to diversity and equal opportunities.
Waters also mentors a number of people, from apprentices to senior business leaders. She has now formed her own consultancy, CW Consulting Box where she provides strategic HR and transformation insight to an impressive group of private and public sector organisations.