Resilience Officer
Location: Aylesbury
Overview
Buckinghamshire Council is looking for a Resilience Officer to work in the Resilience Service, part of Business Operations. This is a busy team of experienced professionals ensuring that the Council is ready and able to respond to any number of disruptive challenges and possible emergency situations affecting Buckinghamshire, whilst ensuring that the Council is in compliance with the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) and associated Regulations and Guidance and other legislation.
Our work matters, and together, we can achieve big things!
About us
The Resilience Service consists of a dedicated team of 6 staff in various roles who will perform the duties of Resilience Officer. The role will support the Council to deliver integrated emergency management, developing community resilience and managing the business continuity function on behalf of the council.
This is a great time to join the team as you will perform a pivotal role in supporting the team to develop new structures to enhance our delivery of emergency management, community resilience and business continuity.
By working with us, you are part of something bigger. From supporting residents who are at the heart of what we do, to shaping our county for now and future generations – as a Buckinghamshire Council employee, you contribute to the local community, whatever your role. As one of the biggest local authorities in the UK, we are part of a network of partners spanning both public and private sectors.
Our services are wide-ranging, the opportunities to grow and progress are endless. Our commitment to work-life balance and adapting ways of working is shaping our working lives for the better. So from the moment you join us, we’ll support you to be the best you every step of the way.
About the role
This role will be key to the ongoing work of the team as we build on the reputation of the Resilience Service to meet the challenges for the future with regards to emergency management, developing new frameworks for supporting the delivery of community resilience and delivering business continuity to internal and external partners. The role will undertake a range of activities with regards to leading on a number of operational areas that both support Council activity as well as working hand in hand with partner agencies such as the Thames Valley Resilience Forum. Community resilience is an aspect of work undertaken by the team and we will be seeking to engage with local communities, utilising Community Boards to support communities become more self-sufficient and resilient in times of adversity.
The role has been designed as a career graded role that will enable the applicant to undertake development in a number of areas and as such provides career progression in the Resilience Service to support personal growth.
We will look to provide training in other areas to enable the post holder to develop new skills and build up a proficient knowledge base to deliver on the requirements for the role. The role will report into the Head of service.
We are looking for someone with a range of relevant skills who will be capable of quickly taking on the responsibility for a number of tasks. For example, you may become the lead officer for planning for a flu pandemic, updating our flood plans or preparing an exercise for our voluntary organisation colleagues. Our work is varied and responsive to external influences, so you need to be flexible and able to adapt to changing situations and priorities.
About you
We are seeking an individual who is up for a challenge and will actively take part in developing the Service moving forward. The successful candidate will have a range of skills to support the ongoing development of emergency management and business continuity with the ability to work closely with multi-agency stakeholders. The role will be responsible for leading on a number of activities with regards to managing plans to support the Council and communities.
The role also requires that any applicants are able to perform an out of hours on call duty, training is provided to undertake this role and the relevant equipment provided to fulfil the function. The on call procedure runs 24/7 365 days a year and consists of evening and weekend duties. This role is shared between the core Resilience Service members and a small group of volunteer Deputy Resilience Officers. The weekend requirement is normally based around a seven week rota but there needs to be a degree of flexibility to cater for any issues arising. The on call procedure attracts an additional payment in line with Council policy.
The successful candidate will possess current, demonstrable and relevant knowledge of civil contingency legislation, integrated emergency management and business continuity management. You will have excellent planning and organisational skills and you should be able to prepare an emergency plan from inception to validation, and then keep it maintained and fit for purpose. You should have excellent communication skills – both written and verbal – and be capable of preparing and delivering training / presentations to a variety of audiences and provide succinct briefings to senior management. You will be capable of preparing and delivering exercises. You should have excellent inter-personal skills and be able to create good working relationships with a wide variety of professional partners. Occasional evening and weekend working is necessary.
The unit operates a duty officer system on a 24/7 basis and a daily allowance is paid to the duty officer. You will need to be able to attend meetings across Buckinghamshire, the wider Thames Valley and occasionally further afield. You should be able to play a key role in the response to an emergency whether from the Council’s dedicated Emergency Operations Centre or from a partners’ coordination centre.
Other information
The interviews will be face to face at the Walton Street Offices, Aylesbury. Interviews are proposed to take place on 11th and 14th March 2025.
The team are currently following Council guidelines with regards to working from home but as we are developing the new Service we are currently spending more days in the office to facilitate better communication and development.
With regards to Work Smart principles the Service are described as Mobile and we will adhere to any new direction from the Council with regards to an office/home working split.
For further information on this role please see the attached job summary.
If you would like to have an informal conversation with the recruiting manager, please contact: Vince Grey at [email protected]
This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:
- All unspent cautions and/or unspent convictions
For further information on how long it takes for cautions and convictions cautions to become spent, please refer to our guide on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (updated 2023) | Nacro
We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.
Our values and culture
We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.
By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:
- a fair and inclusive culture
- the chance to really make a difference to those around you
- health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
- a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
- ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
- opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events
At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.
From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.
We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.
About the Business Unit
Resources cover a wide range of specialisms, including Human Resources, Finance, ICT and Business Operations. Our main focus is supporting the other directorates to provide the best possible service to our residents. To do that, we have to make sure we have the right people in the right roles across the organisation. From our finance teams, working strategically to ensure the best value from public money; to HR keeping our employees healthy and happy, each service is vital in making sure Buckinghamshire Council has what it needs to run effectively and efficiently.
As well as providing high quality services to other areas of the Council, you could also be helping us build on the revenue which comes from our external clients. If you are ambitious, customer-focussed and bursting with new ideas, we want to hear from you.
We recognise and reward you
Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.
https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/
