Flood and Climate Resilience Specialist - Surrey County Council : Job Details

This role has a starting salary of £45,680 per annum, based on a 36-hour working week. This is a 13 month fixed term contract / secondment opportunity.

We are excited to be hiring a Flood and Climate Resilience Specialist to join our fantastic team, based in Woking, Surrey. This role offers hybrid working and the team spend time working from home and collaborating in the office two days per week.

Rewards and Benefits

• 26 days' holiday (prorated for part time staff), rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources

About the Role?

As Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) we have a duty to develop, maintain, apply and monitor a strategy for managing local flood risk. The Flood Risk Management Strategy and Partnerships Team is responsible for reviewing the strategy in line with the changes in national policy and for implementing the changes to this strategy by engaging and working with partner authorities, local communities, Councillors and MPs.

The Flood and Climate Resilience Group (FCR) is also responsible for managing local flooding issues and producing a programme of capital improvement work to reduce flood risk. We also have responsibility for managing the risk of flooding from surface water and groundwater in partnership with other Risk Management Authorities.

About the Team

As a?Flood and Climate Resilience Specialist you will lead the implementation of our flood risk management strategy as well as continuing to develop our strategic engagement with Risk Management Authorities and partners. You will manage the strategy's action plans by coordinating activities between our partners and reporting progress to Surrey's Flood Risk Partnership Board. To demonstrate how we are meeting the objectives of the strategy, you will also lead on the development and implementation of the impact report which is published annually.

A key component of the role is leading the organisation of the Flood Risk District and Borough meetings, Surrey Flood Risk Partnership Board and Working Group meetings. This includes ensuring these remain output-focused by establishing clear objectives, preparing thoroughly, and defining action items to ensure the meetings are productive and efficient.

Shortlisting Criteria

To be?considered for shortlisting for this position,?your application will?clearly evidence?the following:

• Experience of being a confident and clear communicator and working as part of a team and on your own
• Excellent writing skills and the ability to prepare and deliver high quality reports aimed at different audiences
• Being organised and able to manage and prioritise your own workloads unsupervised
• Outcome-focused and able to organise and collaborate with a variety of partners
• Have a good level of IT skills, including knowledge of GIS.

Application Questions

To apply, alongside your CV, you will be asked to answer the following questions:

• Describe a time when you have aligned team efforts or established operational structures to ensure project goals were achieved to lead the implementation of strategic plans or policies.
• Provide an example of a time you have developed partnerships and managed projects to deliver collaborative outcomes across several organisations.
• Please tell us about your understanding of legislation and why it is important in relation to flood risk management and working with other authorities involved to deliver strategies.
• What experience do you have of writing impact reports or working with others to gather information to develop and write reports that reflect outputs at a strategic level.
• Please tell us about a time you established clear objectives and actions through utilising strong organisation skills to achieve output-focused meetings.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 21/05/2025 with interviews planned for 04/06/2025 and 06/06/2025.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applicants where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role. We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.