Head of Emergency Planning and Resilience

About the role

Head of Emergency Planning & Resilience

The Emergency Planning team sits within the Public Health Service in the Public Health, Communities and Leisure directorate. This role is the strategic lead officer reporting directly to the Director of Wellbeing and Resilience and is responsible for the strategic leadership and management within the Emergency Planning function.

The Head of Service will be the lead for the council’s civil protection duties and overall preparedness for civil emergency or business disruption in relation to the duties associated with the Civil Contingencies Act and the Pipeline Safety Regulations, the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations and the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations.

You will find this job both challenging and rewarding, and that is why you need to bring a comprehensive understanding of how the service will reflect local and national agendas relating to risk, preparedness and community resilience.

If you are looking to further your career in a large complex organisation that can provide you with a range of career experience and help shape emergency preparedness within North Northamptonshire for future generations, then we would love to welcome you to our friendly team.

What will you be doing?

You will be the lead for the council’s civil protection duties and overall preparedness for civil emergency or business disruption. You will hold responsibility for the Emergency Planning and Business Continuity team to fulfil the council’s duties under the Civil Contingencies Act, its associated regulations and the Pipeline Safety Regulations, the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations and the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations.

You will develop and execute strategies, policies and plans to improve the council’s preparedness for civil emergency and business disruption, all while complying with current and future legislation, professional guidance, national standards, national and local risk. You will deliver the service efficiently and deliver value for money to ensure the best outcomes for the Council, its members, our employees, our fellow categorised responders, other partners, and those who live, work or visit North Northamptonshire.

You will lead and chair strategic and tactical groups within the Northamptonshire Local Resilience Forum (LRF) and beyond so to improve preparedness among all emergency responders in Northamptonshire, not just the council. You will lead a multi-agency work plan of coordinating delivery among the LRF responders. You will develop the council’s ability to support other partners regionally and the UK Government in the event of a widespread disaster or crisis in other parts of the UK.

About you

As the strategic lead for Emergency Planning, Business Continuity and Resilience Services to North Northamptonshire you will be accountable for the successful delivery of all day-to-day functions provided by the Emergency Planning Service in line with the job description and person specification which form part of the application details.

Submissions close: Midnight 27th September 2026. Interviews will take place 21st and 22nd October 2026. Should you wish to have an informal conversation regarding the scope of the role, please contact Lucy Frith - lucy.frith@northnorthants.gov.uk.

Our Benefits

Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we’re transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.

You’ll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think!

Why choose us?

We offer a vibrant working environment with:

• a competitive salary
• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.

We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.

About us

Our Values and Behaviours

Our values define who we are and how we operate, by forming the foundation for how we interact with our customers, colleagues and provide our services. They are also at the forefront of our decision making and delivery and are:

Customer-focused
Respectful
Efficient
Supportive
Trustworthy

Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.

Disability Confident Employer

We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer and is committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role.

Our Employment and Disability Service provides bespoke support to individuals facing barriers to employment, helping them work towards their goals to start, stay and succeed in employment. For further information please click here The Employment and Disability Service (EADS) | North Northamptonshire Council

Armed Forces Community

The council obtained the Gold status award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS).

Further information can be found at Jobs and careers | North Northamptonshire Council (northnorthants.gov.uk)