Principal Civil Protection Officer

We have an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated and enthusiastic individual to be part of our professional Civil Protection Unit to help us maintain the Council’s resilience and meet the challenges of the next few years and beyond. We are offering you a unique opportunity to play a key role in contributing to the operations of a unit which prepares, validates and exercises plans and provides training to ensure that Swindon Borough Council can respond effectively to major civil emergencies. The Unit liaises, trains and exercises with the emergency services, neighbouring local authorities, utility companies, businesses, the military and voluntary organisations., As the Principal Civil Protection Officer you will report to the Civil Protection Unit Manager and will work to build upon recent successes in emergency preparedness. Under the direction of the Civil Protection Unit Manager you will be responsible for providing many aspects of emergency planning, including assisting in the maintenance and review of existing guides, procedures and policies, the design and delivery of training courses, exercising and liaison activities within the Borough. The successful candidate will require the following skills

• You will be educated to degree level or possess equivalent significant relevant experience in a similar role.

• You will combine initiative and motivation with excellent organisational and communication skills and have the ability to respond decisively to a major emergency.

• You will be required to work closely with internal directorates of the Council and the Local Resilience Forum when knowledge of current emergency planning issues is essential.

• You should have a thorough understanding of local government, the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and other relevant emergency planning legislation.

The Unit oversees an out of working hours Duty Officer system for the Council at all levels of command and control and as post holder you will be expected to be part of that.

The successful candidate must hold a current Driving License.

The ability to travel and have a flexible approach to your working hours is also essential.

You must be fluent in the English language (as a requirement of Part 7 of the Immigration Act "for the effective performance of a customer-facing role")., Potential applicants are sometimes put off if they don’t meet 100% of the requirements. We think individual experience, skills and passion make all the difference, so if you meet the majority of the criteria, we’d love to hear from you.

Your next package

Please see our Rewards and Benefits offer for more details.

As an employee, you will receive a diverse and exciting environment in which to work, encouraging creativity and innovation whilst recognising the need to support ongoing personal development and a flexible work life balance.

For Swindon to thrive in the future, we need to lay the foundations now. It’s why our regeneration and transformation programmes are already underway. So, you’ll be joining us at an exciting time on our journey. We’ll look to you to share your knowledge, influence decisions and drive real, positive change. With your contributions, we’ll achieve our vision of a prosperous, re-vitalised Swindon together. And you’ll be proud to say it was made better with you.

For further information about the role please contact Nick Bancroft, Civil Protection & Emergency Planning Manager at nbancroft@swindon.gov.uk

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early so early applications are encouraged.

If you are experiencing technical issues submitting your application please email resourcing@swindon.gov.uk