Senior Flood Liaison Officer

Overview

The Senior Flood Liaison Officer will organise and lead our engagement with communities to build community flood resilience, leading partnership working with Risk Management Authorities and other key stakeholders, and increasing stakeholders’ understanding of the sources of flood risk. This new role is situated in the Flood Management Team within the wider Climate Change and Flood Risk Management Team.

About us

The Climate Change and Flood Risk Management (CCFRM Team) manages flood risk in Buckinghamshire in its role as the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA), as well as managing the council’s response to climate change. The Team is comprised of the Flood Management Team, the Sustainable Drainage Team, Project Groundwater, the Capital Flood Programme Team, the Domestic Resource Efficiency Service, and the Climate Response Team, with officers who are enthusiastic and passionate about managing local flood risk and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The CCFRM Team delivers the statutory duties of the LLFA under the Flood and Water Management Act (2010) and Land Drainage Act (1991); develops and delivers a wide range of flood management and research projects; guides the flood management approach regarding large infrastructure projects; helps households reduce their energy, water consumption and carbon emissions; and manages large tree planting, electricity grid capacity upgrades and the council’s Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy.

The Flood Management Team, which this role is situated within, is responsible for the non-planning statutory role of the LLFA, which includes undertaking investigations into significant flood events, managing land drainage consents and enforcement, and responding to enquiries.

The Team updated the Buckinghamshire Local Flood Risk Management Strategy last year, which includes a number of exciting actions, including building community flood risk resilience. To this end, the Flood Management Team has recently secured funding for two new permanent roles: a Flood Liaison Officer position and a Senior Flood Liaison Officer position. The Flood Liaison Officer role has recently been recruited to, and we are now seeking to fill the Senior position.

Climate change is increasing the likelihood and extent of flooding, with communities in Buckinghamshire experiencing multiple flood events in recent years.

Pursuant to achieving the objectives of the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy, the Senior Flood Liaison Officer and Flood Liaison Officer will work together on initiatives such as:

• increasing stakeholders’ understanding of the sources of flood risk
• delivering flood resilience engagement with local communities
• effectively providing support regarding flood matters
• liaising with partner organisations to collate information, improve communications and help drive progress regarding flood risk mitigation activity

Whilst the two roles will work together, we expect that the Flood Liaison Officer will focus more on day-to-day community engagement, improving data management, responding to non-technical or community-related queries, and supporting lower profile or less challenging communities.

The Senior Flood Liaison Officer role is a more strategic role with leadership and organising responsibilities. The senior role also includes project and contract management elements, as well as contributing to policy development and business/resource planning. The senior position will take a lead on supporting more high-profile or challenging communities. Where needed, the senior role may be required to support the council’s recovery from significant flood events. We expect that the Senior Flood Liaison Officer will contribute to work managing the Flood Liaison Officer, provide them with guidance or advice, and support them with developing their own skills and expertise.

About the role

Andrew Waugh, Strategic Flood Management Team Leader said “This brand new role will lead the team in really making a difference to the communities we want to work with. This is a new area of work for the team and is a great opportunity for a self-starter with a strong background in flood risk management or similar with experience in communication and empowering communities.”

Key Accountabilities

The main responsibilities and duties of the Senior Flood Liaison Officer are to:

• Propose and oversee a work programme over the short, medium and long term to deliver against community flood resilience actions from the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy.
• Propose, procure as necessary, lead and oversee projects that build community flood resilience in Buckinghamshire in line with the work programme developed above. For example, this could include:
• • Leading on support to existing Flood Action Groups or establishing new Flood Action Groups, particularly in high risk or more challenging communities
  • Helping communities design and develop flood plans
  • Supporting communities in building trust and effective relationships with the Council and partner Risk Management Authorities
  • Community engagement events and forums e.g. bringing together groups of neighbouring communities, or facilitating forums with representatives of all the Flood Action Groups in the county.
• Co-ordinate the preparation of tenders, manage small specialist contracts, and support the preparation and submission of funding bids where appropriate.
• Lead the provision of accurate, authoritative advice to community stakeholders regarding flood matters, providing technical advice and expertise to the Flood Liaison Officer and others where needed.
• Take a leading role in LLFA input into the council’s response and recovery from significant flood events.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders (including the public, Parish and Town Councils, elected members of the Council, and other RMAs)
• Lead and resolve escalated or complex customer queries where relevant (e.g. complaints or VIP queries relating to community engagement work or past S19s)
• Improve Council communications on flooding, including contributing to the development and delivery of communications plans.
• Potential to lead and project manage flood investigations under Section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.
• Support others (particularly the Flood Liaison Officer) in their development, e.g. through sharing technical and procedural advice, skills and experience, acting as a coach or mentor, training or providing feedback

For additional details, please see the attached job summary, but please do pay attention to the information in this advert

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 at least twice a week, depending on your role and team requirements.

The role is likely to require some days or occasional evenings out on site or in the community – for example, attending flood group meetings, flood forums or multi-agency events.

About you

You will have:

• Substantial relevant experience of communications and stakeholder engagement
• Substantial relevant experience in the flood risk management field or a related professional field, with evidence of specialist knowledge and work responsibilities
• Expert knowledge of relevant responsibilities, policies, and funding approaches in relation to flood risk management (including good working knowledge of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, the Land Drainage Act 1991, and the roles and powers of different risk management authorities - particularly the LLFA)
• Excellent interpersonal and good customer service skills, with ability to communicate and engage appropriately with stakeholders in complex flood-related situations, investigations or projects.
• Self-motivation, with initiative and ability to manage and prioritise your own work with little supervision
• Good project management skills and experience
• It is also essential that you have a good understanding of local government practices

A full driving license is required to be able to carry out the role and you must be willing to undertake travel for work and work in the evenings occasionally.

For additional criteria, please see the attached job summary.

Other information

Number of positions available: 1 permanent contract.

Interview-type / process: In person at Walton Street Offices, Walton Street, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP20 1UA.  Further information on interview format and any prep work will be sent to candidates selected for interview.

For additional information or an informal conversation about this role or the team’s work, please contact Andrew Waugh ([email protected]; 01296 382621).

Interview dates to be confirmed but likely to be late Sept/early Oct 2025.

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

For further information on how long it takes for cautions and convictions cautions to become spent, please refer to our guide on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (updated 2023) | Nacro

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 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.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/