Principal Climate Change Officer

Are you passionate about tackling climate change and improving lives? Join us at Buckinghamshire Council as we deliver ambitious, real-world solutions to reduce emissions, cut energy bills, and support our most vulnerable residents. This is an exciting time to join our Climate Response Team us as we continue our mission to address the challenge of climate change.

By working with us, you will be an integral part of delivering our Climate Change & Air Quality Strategy. This role will take the lead in managing the Warm Homes: Local Grant for which we have received over £3m in grant funding from the government. Over the next two and a half years, you will oversee our managing agent as they deliver energy efficiency and low carbon heating upgrades to low income homes across the county. This will help to reduce energy bills, reduce carbon emissions and improve living standards in the treated households. In so doing, you will be playing a key part in our journey to toward a net zero future in Buckinghamshire.

The successful candidate will: manage the contract with our managing agent; work with the Dept. for Energy Security & Net Zero to fulfil all reporting requirements for the project, work with the RISE support service to enable successful delivery, carry out project management activities including reporting to the project board, manage the £3m budget with robust financial oversight and ensure that data is handled appropriately.

This is an opportunity to make a difference, gain experience of delivering a large scale retrofit project and contribute to our mission to deliver a local response to the global climate change challenge. If you are excited by this position and feel like you could play a key role in bringing our ambitions to fruition, then we would love to hear from you!

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.

The Council’s Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy was adopted in 2021 and includes 60 separate actions to mitigate and adapte to climate change in Buckinghamshire. The Principal Climate Change Officer will lead on projects to enable the planning and delivery of the infrastructure needed to support the transition to a low carbon energy system. They will work with colleagues from planning policy to develop a new Bucks wide local plan with key focus on sustainability and will lead on projects with the GSE Net Zero Hub delivering funding for retrofit of energy inefficient homes.

About the role

The Council’s Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy was adopted in 2021 and includes 60 separate actions to mitigate and adapte to climate change in Buckinghamshire. The Principal Climate Change Officer will lead on projects to enable the planning and delivery of the infrastructure needed to support the transition to a low carbon energy system. They will work with colleagues from planning policy to develop a new Bucks wide local plan with key focus on sustainability and will lead on projects with the GSE Net Zero Hub delivering funding for retrofit of energy inefficient homes.

Any-Desk:

As an ‘any-desk’ worker, you’ll need to be connected to our network to access digital folders and resources, but this can either be from home or an office location when required. You will be required to work from the office a couple of times a week, depending on your role and team requirements.

About you

• Substantial experience (ideally 5 years) in the field of building decarbonisation, particularly domestic property sustainable energy projects; with excellent knowledge of sustainable energy technologies and the role they play in whole house retrofit planning. Able to provide examples of projects worked on.
• Experience of contributing to the development of procedures / service policies / strategies.
• Excellent interpersonal, persuasion and negotiating skills, with experience of resolving escalated / complex customer queries.
• Authority and credibility to build relationships influence and engage successfully with colleagues, partners and customers at all levels in complex or politically sensitive situations.
• Experienced project manager with an excellent understanding of project management methodologies and systems. Able to provide and articulate examples of project management best practice from own work.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills, to manage a range of complex activities and to achieve given targets and objectives.
• Excellent research and analysis skills demonstrating evidence of the ability to identify and diagnose complex problems/issues and develop innovative solutions.
• Good ICT skills including use of standard Microsoft applications and specialist systems.
• Excellent time management skills to manage a complex workload prioritise and set deadlines and cope with conflicting and changing demands.
• Experience of preparing and publishing invitations to tender/quote and awarding and managing contracts
• Experience of managing large budgets
• Experience of securing and managing grant funding
• Proven track record of using initiative, strategic and political awareness in problem solving and decision making.
• Experience of co-ordinating partnership working. Experience of representing the work area externally.
• Excellent knowledge of how effective climate change mitigation and adaptation can be delivered through the planning process.

Other information

This is a fixed-term contract until 31st March 2028.

For further information on this role please see the attached job summary.

We typically work two days in the office and the remainder of the week from home.

Number of positions available: 1

Interview-type / process: TBC

If you would like to have an informal conversation with the recruiting manager, please contact David Johnson using climatechange@buckinghamshire.gov.uk . Please include “PCCO WHLG Role” in the subject header.

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 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 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.