Climate Change Officer – Resilience

Hays seeks a Climate Change Officer – Resilience for Southend-on-Sea City Council to lead climate engagement programs focused on carbon mitigation and adaptation. The role involves building partnerships, increasing public awareness, and representing the council on various boards. Candidates should have experience in climate change and sustainability, strong communication skills, and the ability to work independently and in teams. Occasional evening meetings are required.
Your new organisation
Southend-on-Sea City Council is a unitary local authority, providing vital services to meet the needs of the local community. We employ around 1,800 staff who work alongside our partners and local communities to deliver the city vision and make lives better for the people of Southend. This is an exciting time to join the council as it takes strides to move away from linear waste management to a circular resources and recycling approach which prioritises minimising waste consumption and delivers a circular approach to resource management and recycling.

Working for Southend-on-Sea City Council offers a challenging and rewarding career in local government within a collaborative and innovative environment, with the benefit of flexible working practices to support a positive work-life balance. As a unitary authority, we are responsible for all local government functions ranging from social services, transport, public health and parks to planning, trading standards, community safety and education, so we offer a wide range of career opportunities. The diversity of our economy and communities and investment in a number of exciting regeneration projects makes our Council a great place to work, learn and make a difference.

Your new role
We are looking for a dedicated and forward-thinking Climate Change Officer – Resilience to support our mission of preparing communities, infrastructure, and services for the challenges of a changing climate. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to meaningful, long-term climate resilience across our organisation and region.

As a Climate Change Officer – Resilience, you will lead, develop and deliver citywide climate engagement programmes and campaigns on carbon mitigation, climate adaptation and resilience, ensuring that Southend-on-Sea’s communities are equipped to prevent, respond to, and recover from the impact of climate change. You will lead on the community engagement programme for the Catchment to Coast, advanced WINEP and other flooding and coastal resilience projects and programmes. You will build new and maintain existing partnerships to assist in the delivery of city-wide climate change initiatives to implement the Mayor's policies and programmes, including negotiating funding.

You will liaise with internal and external stakeholders to increase public awareness and influence the consumer habits of residents and businesses through targeted engagement programmes. You will represent the council on local, regional and national boards and partnerships, promoting the council’s interests in climate change engagement.

To meet the needs of the business, you will be required to attend occasional evening meetings.

What you need to succeed
To be successful in this position, you must have previous experience within climate change, environmental sustainability (including fuel poverty) and climate adaptation programmes, as well as working with and influencing Councillors, Directors and Managers. You must be able to work within a diverse team as well as independently in developing work to meet objectives and see work through from conception to implementation. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to confidently present to different audiences, are highly essential for this role.

Your application will not be considered if you do not have a full and valid driving licence.

What you need to do now
If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV.
Please note: Applications for this vacancy may close prior to the date advertised above so you are advised to apply as soon as you are able to.
The Council is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications, regardless of race, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, age or religion or belief.
#4690881 - Uzoma Nebechi