Flood Risk and Climate Resilience Project Manager

The starting salary for this role is £38,746 per annum, based on working 36-hours per week.

Would you like a lead role implementing the Flood Risk Strategy in Surrey? This role will develop and implement the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy, flood risk management plans and set the councils flood risk priorities and influence flood resilience programmes being delivered by the 14 risk management authorities.

The Flood and Climate Resilience group are responsible for delivering the Council's flood risk management duties. Engaged across the county, Surrey County Council has three dynamic teams engaged with partners developing and implementing strategies, developing infrastructure projects and contributing to the statutory planning process in addition to supporting flood incident and recovery work.

This strategy is under review, and we are looking for a Project Manager to manage the updates as well as lead the County Council's work on the National Flood Risk Assessments and other statutory policy pieces.

About us

Based in the Highway depot in Merrow, Guildford, the Flood and Climate Resilience group has between 25 and 30 staff with a range of professional experience and career backgrounds. It is split into three teams covering:

• Flood Risk Strategy and Partnerships
• Planning and Consenting
• Infrastructure and Capital Programme

Working in partnership being at the heart of the Strategy, this role is positioned in the Strategy team but works across the wider FCR group and with partner authorities daily. The project manager role may require involvement with Members of Parliament, County, District and Parish Councils. Engagement with flood action groups and community resilience groups, as well as flood effected communities will form a key part of engaging stakeholders in collaboratively implementing the Surrey Local Flood Risk Management Strategy.

About the role

As a Project Manager, you will also be the policy lead for the flood and climate resilience group. Responsible for updating the Local flood Risk Management Strategy, you will assist with providing Surrey County Councils contribution to national and catchment assessments and plans. You will work closely with others in the Service, with service providers, with partner services and with partner authorities to develop joint ownership of flood risk information to inform practical solutions and proposals relating to all flood risk management activities within Surrey. It is also essential that you are capable of utilising GIS and data management software to inform the flood and asset management work of the team.

Examples of the day-to-day work you would get involved in include:

• Project manage and deliver the statutory projects required by the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA), including preliminary flood risk assessments, flood risk management plans and work on national flood risk assessments.
• Develop areas of the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy and its' objectives and manage deliver of parts of the strategy by working closely with Risk Management Authority partners.
• Organise and lead multi-agency groups as part of the team's governance of the Local Strategy.
• Monitor and update Local strategy action plans and priority areas using MS office and ARC GIS based software.
• Respond on behalf of the LLFA to consultations from other organisations.
• Where required, lead engagement and consultation with non-risk management authority partners such as river and wildlife trusts. To undertake flood investigation and report writing as part of LLFA under Section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act (2010)
• Manage and coordinate and quality control of flood risk and incident data with partners to enable to implementation of the Local Strategy.

About you

You will have good written and presentation skills on MS office systems, with the ability to use GIS software to analyse risk information and present geospatial data. In addition, you will have experience of monitoring and reporting on project, policy or strategy outcomes or charity sector impact reporting. You must have a full driver's licence and the ability to work anywhere in the county.

To be considered for interview, please provide a CV and cover letter which clearly evidences the above, as well as:

• Experience of working on environmental strategy or policy, with flood risk management plans or risk assessments or local flood strategies.
• An ability to organise diverse groups of people across multiple organisations/departments to achieve a goal.
• Project management experience including the ability to plan and organise and chair/lead meetings/events.
• Experience of working with partners to agree and achieve collective solutions.
• Training or education or experience in an environmental, geography or engineering discipline.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 08/10/2023.

Interviews will take place in week commencing 16/10/2023

We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.

Benefits

From flexible working to job sharing (where possible) we are committed to providing a healthy work life balance. A laptop and mobile will be supplied if applicable to your role. You will benefit from 26 days annual leave, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service, a generous local government salary related pension, as well as the option to join our car lease scheme. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our website.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applications where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role.

We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.