Emergency Planning & Risk Officer Ref: 58-24

Salary: Grade 9 (£24,916 to £30,873 per annum) subject to job evaluation
Hours: Full time 37 hours per week
Place of Work: Breckland Council, Dereham (will involve regular travel both within the district and beyond)
Basis: Permanent

Would you like a job where what you do:

• Helps ensure our staff and communities are protected.
• Makes a real difference to our workplace and the local environment.
• Ensures great team working.
• Inspires our staff and communities.
• Provides variety and great job satisfaction.

We are seeking an enthusiastic Emergency Planning and Risk Officer who will make a real difference to our workplace, communities and  the local environment. The role will be rewarding, varied and challenging! We have a very good track record, and you would be joining a high performing team.

You will:

• Take an active role in helping to ensure that Breckland Council are legally compliant with Health and Safety Legislation.
• Work with Service managers to ensure compliance with statutory requirements and good practice.
• Ensure the continued development of the Health and Safety strategy, including the production, monitoring and auditing of a robust health and safety management framework, ensuring compliance in all areas.
• Support the risk assessment process, ensuring suitable and sufficient risk assessments are carried out by, and in place by, service areas.
• Assist the Corporate Safety & Emergency Planning Team Leader in building and maintaining relationships with key partners, both within the council and a variety of partner organisations, including the emergency services, voluntary and faith groups, the military, other central and local government departments, the public and private sector to enhance coordination on emergency planning and business continuity.
• Support the development and maintenance of Breckland Emergency Management arrangements (e.g. Emergency Response alert and activation plans, and Rest Centre Plans). Ensuring we are well prepared for all eventualities.
• Support the development and maintenance of Breckland Business Continuity Management arrangements.
• Support and maintain arrangements to enhance community resilience and confidence.
• Support arrangements for Emergency Planning / Business Continuity training and exercises for council staff and partners as required.
• Assist with the promotion of business continuity management arrangements to business and voluntary organisations and provide advice and assistance when requested.
• Contribute to the activities of the Norfolk Resilience Forum (NRF) and the Norfolk Local Authority Resilience Partnership (NLARP).
• Ensure we have effective recovery plans and procedures in place.
• Help positive promotion of the service and ensure all external, internal partners and stakeholders have high levels of confidence in the services provided.
• Embrace and Support other areas of work within the Environmental Health & Licensing Service as required on an occasional / business need basis.

About you:

Your personality and attitude are just as important to us as your experience. You are a strong team player with very good organisational skills. People like dealing with you, because you make things easy for them to understand, you focus on and listen to what they say. You are empathetic and will do whatever you can to help, which allows you to quickly establish rapport and build strong relationships.

You exude confidence, remain calm and collected during difficult situations.

You will deal sensitively and confidentially with situations that may be challenging but require clear and logical decisions to be made. You keep going no matter how difficult things get and use setbacks as a springboard for greater success.

You are passionate about providing the best possible service for our staff and residents and take pride in successful outcomes.

Collaborative - I look for ways to work in partnership and listen supportively to the ideas of others, building on their ideas, while sharing my views and knowledge. 
I recognise the skills, talent and experience of others and reach out to them for their contribution and input.

Ambitious - I always ask myself 'How could we do this better?', taking ownership of change and helping others to understand, adapt, implement, and embed it.
I have an open mindset, take risks and explore new ways of doing things. 

Results-driven - I review my own performance and ask for feedback to learn and improve. I make sure I am clear on what I need to achieve, keeping a focus on results and solutions.
I am driven, showing courage and resilience even when things don't go to plan. 

Empowering - I show energy and drive to explore new opportunities and challenge the status quo - acting on opportunities to generate income or reduce costs, embracing new technology and promoting digitalisation.
I ask for help and support when needed, and take responsibility if things don't go well, learning from it for my own and for the organisation's development.

Supportive - I treat others as I would want to be treated myself, ensuring that I am welcoming, friendly and approachable. I give time to colleagues who need help or support.
I understand and take care of my own wellbeing, as well as the wellbeing of those around me.

OK, I'm interested...but is it really the job for me?

As our Emergency Planning and Risk Officer, you will have:

• Highly developed organisational and communication skills
• Technical knowledge and experience of working in a similar role.
• Experience of meeting tight deadlines and targets in a fast-paced work environment
• Good attention to detail, with a 'can do ' attitude.
• Highly developed team working skills

Please see job description and person specification for a more comprehensive list of duties and qualities needed. 

If you would like to know more about this role please contact Nick Kendrick, Corporate Health & Safety Advisor, by emailing nick.kendrick@breckland.gov.uk

Closing Date: 10am Monday 27th January

What's it like to work for us?

We are passionate about our people and pride ourselves on being a great place to work, we genuinely care and know that a happy workforce is a productive and motivated one! If you're still not sure, here are some stats from our 2024 staff survey to convince you..

• 94% said they feel trusted and empowered
• 90% of staff recommend Breckland as a great place to work
• 89% said they have had opportunities to learn and grow in the last 12 months
• 94% think Breckland provide positive action on health and wellbeing
• 91% said they felt supported by their manager

If you STILL need convincing, here's what some of our staff say...

• "Breckland is a fantastic employer, lots of opportunities and support"
• "Having only just started, it is a great place to work, everyone says hello, is smiley and chatty. I like the groups that are on, like carers shed and neurodiversity"
• "We are encouraged to take regular breaks and there are mental health first aiders and a wide range of good promotional aspects of healthy living and wellbeing."
• "In times of need the council offers excellent support."
• "BDC really does seem to care about the wellbeing and happiness of their staff."

At Breckland Council we have embraced the Government's agenda to modernise local government. Our approach is to lead change rather than follow it, and to add the best value we can to our communities. We achieve this by developing our employees to their full potential, providing them with the relevant knowledge, equipment, and authority to carry out their duties.

We are a dynamic and innovative organisation that is always testing and learning as we seek to continually improve. We have never stood still in response to the emergence of new opportunities, changing customer demands, and ongoing funding challenges. We have exciting plans for how to deliver the best possible services to our residents and businesses.

Breckland as a district is a special place nestled in the heart of rural Norfolk, spanning over 500 square miles of beautiful countryside and forest, with five Market Towns and over 140,000 residents. We care, we listen, and we support people and businesses within our district. We have big ideas and we are innovative in our approach, coming up with ways to meet the needs of the local communities that we serve. Through our actions, we want to make things better.

But we know that we can't do it alone. We are a collaborative organisation and we work together with others to make a greater impact. We are also an organisation where our employees can grow and develop and are empowered to achieve and succeed. We are proud of our area, and by driving investment and enabling opportunities, we can maximise its full potential. We want to inspire aspiration to live, work, visit, or do business here: we want our district to be one of choice.

We will support and enable growth and change in our thriving, welcoming places where people and businesses choose to be, knowing their ambitions can be not just fulfilled but exceeded. By listening to people, by understanding what they need and by working together, we can shape what we have to offer. By doing so, we can benefit those who are already here and those who choose to come to live, work, visit, or do business.

We offer excellent conditions of service, including:

• A local government pension scheme (14 per cent employer contribution).
• Attractive holiday package (25 days increasing after three years' continuous Local Authority service by one day per year up to the maximum of 28 days, plus bank holidays)
• Free car parking.
• Remote-enabled working arrangements.
• A newly refurbished office. See what it is like working here by watching this short film: 
  

Our commitment to talent development, on the job learning and upskilling, training and professional memberships, will keep your knowledge and skills up to date.

Job summary

Description of duties

• Take an active role in helping to ensure that Breckland Council are legally compliant with Health and Safety Legislation.
• Working with Service managers to ensure compliance with statutory requirements and good practice.
• To ensure the continued development of the Health and Safety strategy, including the production, monitoring and auditing of a robust health and safety management framework, ensuring compliance in all areas.
• To support the risk assessment process, ensuring suitable and sufficient risk assessments are carried out by, and in place by, service areas.
• To assist the Corporate Safety & Emergency Planning Team Leader in building and maintaining relationships with key partners, both within the council and a variety of partner organisations, including the emergency services, voluntary and faith groups, the military, other central and local government departments, the public and private sector to enhance coordination on emergency planning and business continuity.
• Support the development and maintenance of Breckland Emergency Management arrangements (e.g. Emergency Response alert and activation plans, and Rest Centre Plans).
• Support the development and maintenance of Breckland Business Continuity Management arrangements.
• Support and maintain arrangements to enhance community resilience and confidence.
• Support arrangements for Emergency Planning / Business Continuity training and exercises for council staff and partners as required.
• Assist with the promotion of business continuity management arrangements to business and voluntary organisations and provide advice and assistance when requested.
• Contribute to the activities of the Norfolk Resilience Forum (NRF) and the Norfolk Local Authority Resilience Partnership (NLARP).
• Help positive promotion of the service and ensure all external, internal partners and stakeholders have high levels of confidence in the services provided.
• Embrace and Support other areas of work within the Environmental Health & Licensing Service as required on an occasional / business need basis.
• Ensure compliance to all policies, procedures, standard operating practices, with recommendations for action and continuous improvement.

Primary Line/Performance Management Objectives of the Role

• To provide support to the Corporate Safety & Emergency Planning Team Leader and Service Manager to ensure that Breckland Council is compliant with health, safety and welfare provisions.
• To ensure that the Council has up to date emergency and business continuity procedures and that we are adequately prepared and resilient.
• Ensure regular testing of procedures and 'exercising'
• Ensure all relevant staff have received appropriate levels of training
• Ensure the duty officers are coordinated to provide 24/7 cover
• Maintenance of all essential documents on resilience direct
• Maintenance of the Councils emergency contact list

Responsibilities for:

People: The post holder will be responsible for their own day to day management of their workload. They will be responsible for ensuring the coordination of the duty officers and arrange cover where appropriate as well as coordination of standby allowances. They will be responsible for checking all services BC plans and working with partner agencies to ensure all council plans are fit for purpose.

Decision making: The post holder will have some decision-making responsibility in terms of day to day support and advice on corporate health and safety, emergency planning and business continuity matters. Higher level decisions will need to be made with the post holders line manager/senior manager/'Silver' and 'Gold command'.

Communications: The post holder will be expected to communicate with a wide range of audiences and stakeholders from individual residents, community groups/organisations, senior managers and elected members in the council to Blue light services and partners ( including Voluntary Sector). The individual will be expected to effectively communicate actions as well as respond to requests from partner agencies as well as recording decisions and communications.

This job description is not exhaustive.

The job description outlines the current position and will be subject to review in the light of development within the service. This will be in consultation with the post holder, as detailed in your Contract of Employment.

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

• Ability to work on own initiative.
• Good knowledge of Information & Communications Technology.
• Ability to develop procedures and write plans & reports.

Desirable

• A sound knowledge of Health and Safety legislation.
• Experience working within an emergency planning and/or business continuity environment.
• Knowledge of the Public Sector and/or how Local Resilience Forums and 'command structures' work
• Experience in development and delivery of training programmes.
• Experience and knowledge in relation to the production of procedures and emergency response/ recovery and business continuity plans.

Qualifications

Essential

• Minimum NVQ Level 3 educational attainment in a relevant discipline or equivalent.
• Full current driving licence with access to a vehicle for work.

Desirable

• NEBOSH Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health or equivalent.
• Formal qualification within emergency management and/or business continuity or equivalent experience.
• Specific training on emergency evacuation and shelter, emergency response and recovery
• Training on Business Continuity Management

Essential Behaviours

Collaborative:

• I listen supportively to the ideas of others, building on their ideas, while sharing my views and knowledge
• I recognise the skills, talent and experience of others and reach out to them for their contribution and input

Ambitious:

• I always ask myself 'How could we do this better?'
• I am a proud ambassador for the Council, taking pride and responsibility for the work we do and encouraging others to do the same

Results Driven:

• I make sure I am clear on what I need to achieve, keeping a focus on results and solutions
• I am flexible ensuing I provide the best possible service, wherever and whenever possible for the customer

Empowering:

• I embrace new technology and look for new ways for our services to become digital not forgetting to be accessible for all
• I take responsibility if things don't go well and learn from it for my own and for the organisation's development

Supportive:

• I treat others as I would want to be treated myself, ensuring I am welcoming, friendly and approachable
• I treat everyone with kindness, dignity and respect, valuing their thoughts, background and experience

Mental Demands

The demands of the post include the ability to work in an open plan environment undertaking a range of tasks. This will include the need to concentrate on large documents and strategies and check for accuracy as well as long periods of time working on a PC. Other demands include the ability to work out of hours and respond to requests via the duty phone 24 hours a day, the unpredictability of the call can in itself be quite stressful as can the difficulties in dealing with the incident. As the service being provided could lead to loss of life/property/livelihoods, focussed attention to detail and concentration will be required for a considerable amount of the time. Mental demands may include dealing with recovery and emotional situations and demands.

Physical Demands

Predominantly light effort is required for most tasks with the exception of more heavy work when dealing with the management and auditing or moving of rest centre equipment. The post holder will be required to travel within and outside the District and have the use of their own car.

Health & Safety (exposure to risk)

The post is exposed to occasional unavoidable risks including:

As the result of an accident or emergency situation. Requirement to travel within district and potential during poor weather / road conditions. Lone working and long hours of work if involved in the management of an incident are also considerations of this post.

If you would like to know more about this role, please email nick.kendrick@breckland.gov.uk Corporate Health & Safety Advisor

Closing Date: 10am Monday 27 January

APPLY ONLINE

Equal Opportunities

We are committed to being an Equal Opportunities employer, recognising the benefits of sustaining a workforce that reflects the diversity of the community we serve. We welcome applications from anyone who feels they meet the requirements of our vacancies. These are listed as essential requirements on the person specification.