Flood Liaison Officer

Overview

The Flood Liaison Officer will play an exciting pivotal role in engaging with communities, building community flood resilience, liaising with Risk Management Authorities and other key stakeholders, and raising awareness of the sources of flood risk. This new role is situated in the Strategic Flood Management Team within the wider 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 Senior Flood Liaison Officer role has recently been recruited to, and we are now seeking to fill the Officer position.

About the role

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, and will take a lead on supporting more high-profile or challenging communities. 

Andrew Waugh, Strategic Flood Risk Team Leader said “This brand new Flood role will support 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 background in flood risk management or similar with a keen interest in communication and empowering communities.”

Key Accountabilities

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

• Deliver initiatives which increase stakeholders’ understanding of the sources of flood risk.
• Deliver/or contribute to projects and programmes that build community flood resilience in Buckinghamshire. This may include:
• Engaging with at-risk communities to support existing Flood Action Groups or the establishment of new Flood Action Groups
• Helping communities design and develop flood plans
• Supporting communities in building trust and effective relationships with the Council and partner Risk Management Authorities
• 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, Highways, the Environment Agency, the Council’s Resilience Team, Water Companies, and neighbouring Lead Local Flood Authorities)
• Support the Strategic Flood Management Team’s involvement in the council’s response to potential and actual flood events.  
• Provide accurate authoritative advice regarding flood matters.
• Respond to customer queries and resolve customer complaints, especially those relating to community engagement work or past flood investigations
• Improve Council communications on flooding, including contributing to the development and delivery of communications plans.
• Work with Risk Management Authorities and other stakeholders to collate information and help drive progress regarding flood risk mitigation activity and responses to flood events.  

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 relevant experience of communications and stakeholder engagement, and worked in the flood risk management field or a related professional field. As such you will have authoritative knowledge of relevant systems, legislation, policies, and funding in relation to flood risk management (including working knowledge of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 and the Land Drainage Act 1991, and the roles and responsibilities of different risk management authorities) and excellent interpersonal skills. Project, contract, financial, and funding management experience is desirable. 

For additional details, 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.

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

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.

We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While we welcome innovation, we expect all submissions to reflect your own experience, skills, and achievements accurately. Please ensure your application is truthful and demonstrates your personal capabilities, as this will be assessed during the selection process.

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/