Senior Sustainable Travel and Road Safety Officer

About Us

North Somerset Council is committed to providing high-quality services to our community. We are committed to creating a fair, green, and more inclusive environment for all our residents. Join us and contribute to making a positive impact in our communities.

The Role

We are seeking a dedicated and experienced Senior Sustainable Travel and Road Safety Officer – Section 106, to join our Sustainable Travel and Road Safety Team. The Team works to enable active and sustainable travel and make roads safer through infrastructure and behaviour change projects. Our workstreams include: active travel schemes; behaviour change; road safety; development management; electric vehicle infrastructure; feasibility work; and policy development.

The creation of an active travel network is strategic. The Active Travel Action Plans (ATAPS) have shaped what future improvements may come forward working with local communities. Funding streams from DfT and Active Travel England help to plan a future network of walking, wheeling, and cycling routes and develop schemes for implementation and provide behaviour change activities to promote these. The team ensures that local routes are created, as part of new developments and that they tie into the existing network. We also encourage Electric Vehicle (EV) uptake through the creation of charging hubs and infrastructure, using grant funding initiatives through the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles.

The team provides road safety education for children, ‘Bikeability’ cycle training and manages the school crossing patrol service. We work actively with the Climate Emergency team to change behaviour positively to ensure we address carbon emissions through transport, which is the biggest contributory sector within North Somerset. We work closely with a range of teams within North Somerset to help ensure active and sustainable transport are considered as part of day-to-day activities for the council.

NSC receives substantial Section 106 funding from new developments, and other developer contributions. These pay for the monitoring of Travel Plans, travel information packs and sustainable travel incentives for new residents. The role is focused on using this funding to ensure that new developments are as sustainable as possible, and that new residents and employees are fully aware of the sustainable travel options open to them. Developer’s contributions also pay for infrastructure improvements, such as active travel access improvements, and EV charging. The implementation of these improvements will largely be outside of this role, but liaison with other officers will be required, for example in their promotion and providing monitoring data.

Key Responsibilities:

• To develop the systems of work to support sustainable travel behaviour through activities funded through the S106 process.
• To allocate and prioritise resources to support the delivery of these activities.
• To report delivered activities and monitor financial spend.
• To support the Travel Plan process identified in the North Somerset Travel Plans Supplementary Planning Document, adopted February 2023.
• Providing comments on new development planning applications from a sustainable travel perspective.

A valid driving licence will be required, as the role will include some site-based work at remote locations some without public transport, and there will be times when equipment and resources need to be carried. The EV fleet will assist staff site visits.

Work Style

At North Somerset Council, we offer a hybrid working environment based on four distinct work styles. Depending on the role and personal circumstances, you will fall into one of these categories. However, please note that during the induction period, it may be necessary to spend more time in the office to support your learning and development. This role falls into the category of Flexible Worker which means you can expect to work in the following way:

• 1-4 days per fortnight in the office.
• Includes working remotely as required.
• Comes into the office for meetings or focused work as required. Virtual connections with the team are essential, with portable technology supporting work on the go.

Your official base will be the Town Hall, Weston-super-Mare – when in the office your working hours commence from this location. When making site visits, your working time and travel expenses are based on travel from the Town Hall.

About You

We are looking for an individual who is passionate about sustainable and active travel, and who possesses the following skills and experience:

Essential Criteria:

• Development, delivery and monitoring of a variety of Travel Plans and related promotional activities.
• Development of schemes to facilitate and promote sustainable travel.
• Strategic policy formulation, including familiarity with local and national policy.
• Planning and organising – able to work on own initiative, prioritising work, organising work for self and others to agreed deadlines.
• Able to efficiently visit development sites throughout North Somerset, as required by the role.

Desirable Criteria:

• Able to use GIS.
• Experience of working with partner organisations, such as public transport operators, developers, consultants, Sustrans, resident associations, etc.
• Experience or awareness of the development management process.
• Membership of relevant professional body.

What We Offer

At North Somerset Council, we value our employees and provide a supportive and inclusive work environment. We offer:

• Competitive salary and benefits.
• Flexible working arrangements.
• Local Government Pension.
• Opportunities for professional development.
• Inclusive staff groups including Carers, Disabled, LGBTQ+, REACH (Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Heritage), and Young Staff Forums.
• Opportunity to purchase up to an additional 10 days annual leave each year.
• Dedicated in house Wellbeing Team.
• Salary sacrifice Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle schemes.

Further details of our excellent rewards package can be found in our Benefits booklet.

How to Apply

If you share our vision and values and are ready to make an impact to North Somerset, please select the apply online button below. If you are interested in this exciting opportunity, please submit your application by 11.59pm on the application closing date. When completing our online application form, please detail how you meet the essential criteria for the role.

Contact Information

For further information about the role, please contact Frankie Mann, Active and Sustainable Transport Manager, frankie.mann@n-somerset.gov.uk or 07941 358172.

Important Information

As a Disability Confident Leader, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job role. Interview Date(s): Commencing week Monday 14 July.

Please note: We are currently only able to accept applications from candidates who have full permission to work in the UK and are unable to provide Sponsorship for this role.

Equal Opportunities

At North Somerset Council we want all our employees to feel valued and appreciated. We aim to ensure equality of opportunity and prevent discrimination irrespective of your sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or belief, race, age, disability, including neurodiversity, if you are married or in a civil partnership or are pregnant or currently on maternity leave. We strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We reserve the right to close this advertisement early or extend the closing date depending on the number of applications received.