Climate Action Officer - Greener Kingston

About the Borough

Found in zone 6 with good transport links in and out of London, Kingston is a vibrant and diverse university town which creates the rich sense of community shared across the borough and its Residents. Kingston boasts an idyllic riverside location, good shopping and great restaurants, as well as a mix of modern and historic town centre. Kingston has lots of open parklands and cycle routes that help connect the district town centres into an enjoyable place to live and work.

We are passionate about working closely with our residents and vulnerable groups to help them maintain their independence and create a balance between support and independent living.

About the Service and Team

The Council declared a Climate Emergency in June 2019 and has since been delivering a programme of activities to deliver against our target of becoming net zero in our own operations by 2030 and enable Kingston as a borough to also progress towards net zero emissions by 2038.

The role will sit in the Climate Action Team, will report to the Climate Action Programme Manager and work closely with colleagues across the Council and relevant partners. The Climate Action Team sits in the Residents and Communities Directorate, recognising that the response to the challenges of climate change needs to be delivered in partnership with our communities. Therefore, a collaborative approach, working with a range of internal and external stakeholders, is integral to the success of the role. For example, this will include working with colleagues in our housing, public health, regulatory services, planning teams, highways and transport teams and external partners to identify and plan the delivery of actions that will support carbon reduction across the borough, identifying where initiatives can have the most impact and also meet aligned aims of reducing energy costs, improving health and air quality.

About the Role and Our Ideal Candidate

You will be instrumental in coordinating and delivering activities focused on reducing emissions across the borough from homes, buildings and transport across Kingston. This work is about creating a sustainable future that improves the health and wellbeing of our local communities.

What You'll Be Doing:

• Strategy & Delivery: Develop, coordinate, and monitor the strategies and actions required to deliver our 2038 net zero ambition.
• Key Projects: Drive new projects, including supporting a data-led retrofit programme for social housing.
• Partnerships: Build strong working relationships with colleagues and external stakeholders to drive carbon reduction initiatives across the borough.
• Funding: Identify opportunities and coordinate funding bids and business cases.

What You'll Bring:

• Operational experience and technical knowledge related to climate change, energy efficiency, retrofit measures, and/or the energy sector.
• High-level project management skills with a demonstrable track record of delivery and reporting.
• Excellent communication, engagement, and stakeholder management skills.
• A demonstrable enthusiasm and commitment to the climate emergency agenda.
• Education to degree level or equivalent in a relevant environmental subject.

The position is advertised as full-time, though we are open to considering part-time or job-share arrangements. Kingston Council is a place based organisation and as such, expects in-borough working 2-3 days a week and flexibility for weekend and evening working as required.

If you would like to discuss this role further please do not hesitate to contact Louisa Bertoldo: Louisa.Bertoldo@kingston.gov.uk.

Our Offer to You

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits to enable staff to achieve a work life balance, some of which include:

• A generous annual leave entitlement of 25-32 days, plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply) depending on service and grade.
• Enhanced Maternity, Paternity, shared parental, adoption and dependents leave
• Three volunteering days per year in Kingston
• Hybrid working (dependent on the role)
• Flexible and agile working arrangements using Google Chromebooks
• Learning and development portal offering a range of courses
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Confidential health & wellbeing and counselling support

Application Process

Apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application and check your CV details have been uploaded correctly in the relevant sections.

We understand and recognise the benefits of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace and are embracing AI where appropriate, to boost our productivity and streamline how we deliver our Council services efficiently; to provide the best possible outcomes for our residents and communities.
However, we reserve the right to reject applications where it is apparent that AI-generated content has been used in isolation and without personalised responses. At Kingston we value authenticity and are looking for individuals who can clearly demonstrate their own skills, experience and motivation for the role that they are applying for and embrace and demonstrate our STAR values.
Here at Kingston we have core values of Transparency and this is to be demonstrated during the application process and completion of the supporting statement and will be further tested at interview and selection stage for those who progress forward.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

As part of our award winning Diversity Programme we anonymise all applications received to reduce conscious and unconscious bias enabling every application to be reviewed on the knowledge, skills and experience shown in your application. We encourage our interview panels to be as diverse as possible (age, cultural, neurodiverse etc.) to reduce bias where possible. We are fully committed to removing barriers and enhancing the diversity of our workforce.

Additional Information

We are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough and we strive to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and instil a sense of belonging in our staff. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce, therefore we welcome applications from under represented groups.

To support our workers and their families we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

We are also proud to be a disability confident employer and guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role. As an accredited London Living Wage Employer all our employees are guaranteed the London Living Wage regardless of their length or type of contract.

The UK has a points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance. Sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.