Senior Flood Management Officer

Do you want to help us, our partner organisations, and our communities to better manage flood risk, with a focus on implementing innovative actions from our forthcoming Local Flood Risk Management Strategy (LFRMS), including engaging with communities? We have a great opportunity for a Senior Flood Management Officer to join the Strategic Flood Management Team on a permanent basis.

The Strategic Flood Management Team is a team of fifteen who are enthusiastic and passionate about managing local flood risk in BC's role as the Lead Local Flood Authority. We are responsible for delivering the statutory duties (outlined below) of the LLFA under the Flood and Water Management Act (2010) and Land Drainage Act (1991), delivery of a number of flood management projects and developing new flood alleviation projects, and guiding the flood management approach on large infrastructure projects.

We have recently updated our LFRMS, which will set the team's direction over the coming few years with a number of exciting proposed actions, including around building the resilience of our communities to flood risk and climate change through supporting community flood action groups.

About us

Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally.

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity for someone with experience in a flood or water management role, which you may have gained while working for a previous local authority, other Risk Management Authority, or consultancy.

The Senior Flood Management Officer post is a vital and influential role, helping lead and deliver the non-planning statutory role of the LLFA (Flood Investigations, Land Drainage Consents and Enforcement, and responding to enquiries).

The role will have a focus on managing and delivering actions from our LFRMS in collaboration with other partners, including planning and delivering flood resilience engagement with local communities. There is also potential to project manage a small number of pipeline capital projects through feasibility and business case.

Key Accountabilities

• Work in a dynamic team to deliver the statutory duties of the LLFA as required (including flood investigations, land drainage consenting, land drainage enforcement, and responding to enquiries), with a particular focus on being out in the community where flooding has occurred.
• Plan and deliver actions from our new Local Flood Risk Management Strategy in collaboration with internal and external partners.
• Help plan, manage and deliver engagement with communities e.g. to support the setting up of community-led flood groups and action plans.
• Develop effective working relationships with a diverse range of partners and local communities to manage local flood risk.
• Potential for managing the feasibility and options appraisal parts of flood mitigation projects.

Skills & Experience

• Has relevant experience and technical skills in a flood or water management role, including:
• Strong understanding of all sources of flooding, including groundwater flooding mechanisms.
• Understanding of relevant best practice guidance for surface water drainage and fluvial flood management techniques.
• Ideally, experience of using, interpreting or commenting on outputs from hydraulic modelling, drainage software packages and/or Computer Aided Design drawings.
• Strong working knowledge of water-related law, regulation and policy.
• Confident, passionate and articulate in engaging with the public and community representatives.
• Adept at communicating complex technical matters clearly to stakeholders at all levels.
• Ability to build and maintain effective relationships with a range of stakeholders, and an ability to represent professional service area both internally and externally.
• Self-motivated, with initiative and ability to manage and prioritise your own work with little supervision.
• Well-developed customer service skills, with an ability to deal with challenging situations or escalated complaints, utilising persuasion and influencing skills.
• Strong analytical, negotiation, communication and presentation skills.
• Degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline is essential.
• Membership of a relevant professional organisation is welcomed.
• Some project management skills and experience is welcomed.

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.

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

Our Planning, Growth and Sustainability directorate works with partners to help shape the future of Buckinghamshire. We deliver services on planning, economic growth, regeneration, strategic infrastructure, transport and property.

Our key priorities include developing the economic narrative for Bucks, creating more jobs and delivering the right infrastructure to help businesses and residents thrive. We also aim to provide a proactive planning service that is responsive, whilst making the best use of the Council's land and property portfolio. This will in turn support community services and create housing, jobs, regeneration and income to support public services.

It's a great time to join one of our teams. As part of the Planning, Growth and Sustainability function you will not only get to help shape the economic future of Buckinghamshire; you'll also be involved in delivering high-profile development projects and work on some of the biggest infrastructure projects in the UK. You will support us to deliver the results that our local residents and businesses deserve.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserve 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.